The recipe for kimchi, a Korean dish made from fermented vegetables

THEINGREDIENTS FOR 2 JARS:
600 g Chinese cabbage
1 1/2 liters of water
60 g salt
1 carrot, peeled and grated
2 spring onions, peeled and sliced ​​into rings.
For the spicy mix:
1 apple, peeled and sliced
3cm grated fresh ginger root
2 cloves of garlic
2 small chillies
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 tablespoons of fish sauce (in ethnic emporiums) or anchovy sauce
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch (or rice flour)
1 tablespoon of tomato paste

Method

Cut the cabbage in half and remove the core, then cut it into strips approximately 3 cm wide and place it in a bowl with water and salt: cover it and leave it immersed for 4 hours, if possible overnight.

Prepare the spiced dough: combine all the ingredients in a blender with a few spoonfuls of hot water and puree them. Let it rest for an hour.

Drain the cabbage and reserve the salted water. Massage the vegetable leaves (better using a pair of gloves) with the spring onions, carrots and spicy puree.

Arrange the vegetables in clean jarspressing them very well towards the bottom and leaving a 2 cm margin at the top. Heat the salted water and pour it immediately over the vegetables, to cover them.

Close the jars and leave to rest at room temperature for at least 24 hours, then stored in the refrigerator. Kimchi is ready to eat after two or three days.

The décor idea

Fans of Korean TV series know this: before the night shift in the hospital, Doctor Cha prepare the kimchi for the family, and he does it with surgeon’s gloves due to the prevalence of garlic and onion.

His recipe (there are hundreds of them) is now a hit like that of Tteokbokki Squid Gamerice dumplings similar to macaroni (but not hollow!) abundantly seasoned with fish, omelettes, seaweed…

For dishes so rich in colors and flavours, the mise en place it will be essential. With chopsticks indicating the direction: Far East.

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