Quick Kimchi

Kimchi, Korean spicy pickled cabbage, is a great side dish with almost anything. Cabbage ferments quickly, especially if you start it off at room temperature for a day. Kimchi is even delicious eaten as soon it’s made, without waiting for it to ferment. It’s a very versatile pickle, carrot and daikon are commonly included and krill in brine (saeujeot) is often used as well as or instead of fish sauce. Here’s my basic quick kimchi recipe to get you started, be inspired to experiment further and adapt it to suit your taste. Keep kimchi refrigerated after the first 24 hours and use it within a month.

Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients

½ Chinese cabbage or 2 baby wombok (about 750g-1kg total)
⅔ cup coarse natural salt
4 green onions, finely sliced on the diagonal

Kimchi Marinade

⅓ cup fish sauce
1 tablespoon castor sugar
4 cloves garlic, crushed
3 teaspoons finely grated ginger
1 tablespoon sesame oil
¼ cup Korean chilli flakes (gochugaru)

Method

Cut cabbage into 1cm-thick slices and place in a non-reactive bowl.
Sprinkle with salt and add enough boiling water to cover it. Set aside for an hour or so.
Meanwhile, make Kimchi Marinade: combine all ingredients. Set aside.
Rinse cabbage well in several changes of cold water. Drain well, squeeze gently to remove excess moisture then pat dry on a clean, dry cloth.
Toss cabbage and green onion with Kimchi Marinade.
Pack into a sterilised small glass lidded container.
Press a cartouche cut from baking paper onto the surface, close the lid and set aside at room temperature overnight.
Then refrigerate until needed.