CABBAGE KIMCHI Vicky Oh used to be a kitchen assistant at Salvation Taco. Her family
makes about 4 litres
runs its own kimchi company, Arirang, which makes a very tasty version of the pickled vegetable condiment that is Korea’s national dish.
SPECI A L EQUIPMENT
For my Steamed Radish Salad with Kimchi and Sesame (page 000), I’ll
A pair of disposable food prep gloves
often use a jar of Arirang kimchi. But I got curious about the process of making it myself and just had to have a go at. I based this recipe on one Vicky shared with me. Turns out it’s good fun, slathering a paste of
200g sea salt
sticky-r ice flour, salted shrimp, and ground Korean chilli on cabbage
2 large heads Chinese leaf cabbage, bottom trimmed, outermost leaves discarded, and quartered lengthwise
leaves and scrunching the heads. I also like tasting it at different stages, from the time it’s fresh and crunchy all the way until it gets funky and even a bit fizzy.
Combine the salt and 3½ litres water in a very large container and stir until the salt dissolves. Add the cabbage so that it’s entirely submerged, then cover the container and store it in the fridge until the cabbage has wilted and looks like wet towels, overnight or up to 24 hours. Drain the cabbage well, discarding the water. Combine the rice flour and 335ml water in a small pot, whisk until smooth, then set the pot over medium-low heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens to a loose sludge, 1 to 2 minutes. Take the pot off the heat and let the mixture cool to room temperature. Combine the chilli, garlic, ginger, salted shrimp, sugar, and rice flour mixture in a food processor and process until the mixture is smooth. Put the chilli paste in a very large mixing bowl along with the daikon and spring onions. Use gloved hands to mix all three together very well. Ready a 4-litre container or four 1-litre containers. Make sure they’re clean. Take one of the cabbage quarters and add it to the bowl with the chilli paste mixture. Using gloved hands again, slather the chilli mixture all over the cabbage, spreading it on and between the leaves. Tuck an especially healthy amount into the spaces between the leaves near the bottom of the cabbage. Once the entire cabbage quar-
30g sweet rice flour (also called sticky rice or glutinous rice flour) 150g ground Korean dried chilli (gochugaru) About 20 peeled garlic cloves 50g fresh ginger (a knob about 8 × 4cm), peeled and very roughly sliced 100g Korean salted tiny shrimp in brine 50g sugar 900g daikon radish, peeled, topped, tailed, and cut into matchsticks about 8cm long and and ¹⁄4cm wide 450g spring onions (about 5 bunches), roots trimmed, whites and greens trimmed of ugly bits, cut into 2½cm lengths
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