Kim Chee
- 5 pounds napa cabbage coursely chopped in one inch squares
- 1 cup hot new mexican red chili flakes
- 4 tablespoons pickling salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger minced
- 5-7 heads scallion chopped in one inch lengths
Start by sprinkling a small amount of salt, chili flakes,onion and ginger in the bottom of your 1 gallon pickling container. layer in about 1/4 of the cabbage and top with another small sprinkling of salt, chili, onion and ginger. continue like this until all the cabbage, salt, chili, onion and ginger is used.
The napa cabbage should weep enough water to create a brine for fermenting the kim chee. You need to wait an hour or so to make sure that you are getting enough water. Make sure to press the cabbage down. This should force some water out. If not make up a batch of 2.5 percent brine by adding 1/4 pound (about 1/3 cup) of pickling salt to 1 gallon of water. Add just enough brine to cover the cabbage completely. Make sure you have at least two inches of space between the top of your brine and the top of your container.
Seal the cabbage within its fermenting container by tucking a water tight plastic bag into the mouth of your container. Press the plastic down to form a pocket. Fill the pocket with the remaining brine. This will alow gas to escape while preventing mold from forming on the surface of the kim chee. Don't be alarmed by a layer of scum which may rise to the surface of the brine. Simply scrape it away with a spoon.
Allow the kim chee to ferment like this for 3 weeks. Bubbles may form within the brine as the fermentation process gets underway. This is a natural and desirable effect caused by yeast givning off gas (very much like beer).