Kimchi (Korean Sauerkraut/Fermented Cabbage) Recipe

I've been very busy with studying and work so I haven't been able to make a lot of blog posts. Anyway, I've realized that when you are on a gluten free and dairy free diet there are limited things that you could eat and you will also miss out on some very important vitamins, minerals, etc. For example, since I've been on a dairy-free diet, I haven't been able to eat Yogurt. Yogurt is the bacterial fermentation of milk and it also contains Probiotics which provides a lot of health benefits, such as creating a balance of good bacteria and bad bacteria in the gut and helping the immune system.
For the past 3 months or so I've been making Kimchi which can also provide me the probiotics that I would need. I got the idea for the recipe from Maangchi.

Here is my kimchi recipe. It is a bit different from the ones on the net. Warning: It is very spicy.

Gluten Free Trini's Kimchi Recipe

Ingredients
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp crushed ginger
1/4 cup chilli powder
1/2 head of cabbage
1/4 cup kosher/sea salt

Items that you will need:
2 large bowls
a large plate/ 2 smaller plates
gloves for mixing the kimchi
airtight container
plastic wrap
ziploc bag

Method
  1. Wash the cabbage leaves after separating and cutting them into smaller pieces.
  2. Place the cabbage in a large bowl with water and salt (saline water). The water should be covering the cabbage.
  3. Place a plate on top of the cabbage to keep it under the liquid.
  4. Leave to soak for 4-5 hours or overnight.
  5. After the cabbage is soaked, strain the liquid into another bowl. The saline water needs to be used later.
  6. Make the kimchi past in a large bowl. Mix the garlic, ginger and chilli powder.
  7. Add the cabbage and mix it into the paste with your hands. Make sure that you use gloves since the chilli stains.
  8. After mixing, add the kimchi to the containers. Then add the saline water to the cabbage until it is covered. There should be 1-2 inches of liquid above the cabbage in the container.
  9. Place the container in a dark place/somewhere away from direct sunlight. 
  10. Make sure that the covers are not tightened on the container. The gas from the fermentation process needs to be released. 
  11. Leave the kimchi to ferment for 3 days.
  12. You may have to check on it occasionally and press down the cabbage to make sure it stays under the liquid.
  13. After 3 days, plastic wrap the containers and place in a airtight ziploc bag (kimchi tends to smell very strong and this is a way of preventing the food in the fridge from smelling like fermented cabbage). There are actually kimchi refrigerators made for storing kimchi.
  14. Then store in the fridge. Do not freeze the kimchi. 
  15. When serving, do not heat the kimchi because that can kill the bacteria/probiotics.



References:
Probiotics - MedicineNet.com
Here is a helpful pdf that I found about How to make kimchi.

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