Kimchi is a fermented cabbage preparation with bold seasoning, best known from Korean cooking. This local-style version keeps the spirit of kimchi, but seasons cabbage with red peppers, garlic, fennel fronds, and fermented condiments already at home in Uri’s fermentation pantry.
The flavor is stronger than plain salt-fermented cabbage: sour, savory, spicy, and aromatic. It asks for patience, a tightly closed jar, and enough brine to keep the vegetables covered.
Use clean jars and keep the vegetables submerged. If fuzzy mold, unpleasant smells, or slimy texture develop, do not taste the ferment.
Ingredients:
- For a 2-quart jar (about 2 liters): 1 cabbage, cut into eighths
- 2 red peppers, quartered and seeded
- 4 whole garlic cloves
- Fennel stems and fronds
- 2 tablespoons fermented hot sauce (30 ml)
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce (30 ml), or omit for a vegetarian version
- 2 tablespoons fermented ginger (30 ml)
- 2 tablespoons fermented turmeric (30 ml)
- For the brine: 1 heaping tablespoon salt for each 1 cup water (240 ml)
Instructions:
- Pack the cabbage, red peppers, fennel stems and fronds, garlic, and seasonings tightly into a clean jar.
- In a separate bowl, prepare the brine: stir 1 heaping tablespoon salt into each 1 cup water (240 ml) until fully dissolved.
- Pour the brine into the jar until it covers the vegetables, leaving about 1/2 inch (1 cm) of headspace for gases to collect.
- Close the jar tightly and leave it on the counter.
- During the first 3 to 4 days, open the jar once a day to release gas, then close it tightly again.
- Let the kimchi ferment for at least 1 year.
Keep the vegetables under the brine throughout fermentation. Discard the batch if fuzzy mold, unpleasant odor, or slimy texture develops.
