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| summer of 2024 |
This is my third time in a row making summer kimchi at home. I stuff a 1 gallon container with bright red, pungent, sour, spicy cabbage, and after letting it ferment at room temp for 2 days on the counter, the lot of it goes in the back of our fridge where it lasts G and I all year.
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| the goods |
Over the months it becomes an assorted selection of dishes: midnight kimchi grilled cheese, bibimbap topper, kimchi mac and cheese, hang over soondubu kimchi jjigae, kimchi fried rice, bibim guksu, the list goes on and on. Kimchi is both a condiment and side dish, and the longer it ferments, the more sour it gets, which pairs wonderfully with anything fatty.
This year I tried a kimchi experiment in a separate 2 pint jar, filled with kohlrabi and shiso leaves from the red hook CSA. The root vegetable is a fun cross between the cruciferousness of a napa cabbage and the bite of a korean radish, so I feel like it should turn out well.
I used to buy my kimchi at the store like a lot of non-Koreans, but during the pandemic my friend Kayla offered to give me some of theirs whenever they made a huge batch at home. I'd bring them a liter glass jar, venmo them 10 bucks and get it back filled with gorgeous bright red kimchi. Pretty sick deal. Kayla ended up moving out to the PNW with their partner three years ago, so I had to fill the kimchi void in my life myself. Once you get used to homemade kimchi, there's no going back to store-bought. So I bought a huge stainless steel prep bowl, some gochugaru flakes, 6 pounds of napa cabbage and some korean radish, and turned to the one and only Maangchi for guidance. She's never led me astray.
Kayla also tipped me off about making bo-ssam as a treat to tuck into when you've finally finished making your kimchi, because by then you've really worked up an appetite. So now I also buy a pound of thick sliced pork belly for the occasion, which boils on the stovetop in a delicious brown stock as I work. When I'm done packing the gallon container with my freshly made kimchi, I get to taste it immediately in a little salty, sour, umami pouch filled with fatty pork slices...which of course is immensely satisfying. I highly recommend doing this if you make your own kimchi. If you were hesitant before, this is your sign!
Go forth and ferment!
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| bo-ssam inspired by kayla, miss you! |