How to Make Kimchi / Kim Chee

Step 4 Prepare spices

In this step, you will grate ginger, press or pulverize garlic, slice scallions or onions, chop or crush chilis if using whole ones, and add dish broth, sauce, or crumbled dried fish.

I recommend a Microplane grater for the ginger, though traditional ginger graters work well with the hairy root also. Many recipes say to peel the ginger, but I never bother; I just wash the root first, and the skin has never harmed a recipe.

If you use Hondashi, you may want to add a little of the vegetable soaking brine to moisten the resulting mixture into a paste. This will happen without any additions if you use fish sauce. You may also omit fish for a vegan kimchee.

Comments

[Instructinator]

Correct me if I am wrong, but this doesn't say how much of the red pepper to use. I think I have the same brand of Kimchi-specific dried red pepper flakes.

[megmaine]

The amount of pepper is purely to your own taste, but as a ballpark starting point, for a quart of kimchi you might use a half cup of pepper flakes. Less or more depending on how spicy you like it. The spiciness will also be dependent on what type of peppers you use and whether there are seeds. It's ok to taste as you go and add more of this or that, but taking out is impossible. If you get too much of something, all you can do is brine up more vegetables to add. Hope this helps!

[DOC808HI]

Do you have an actual recipe?

[megmaine]

If you click on Step 1 and scroll down, I give the recipe. Note that amounts are given, but adding more or less of all the optional things like carrot, scallion, fish (if you use it at all) and garlic, ginger, and pepper, will merely vary the flavor according to your own preference. Varying these amounts will not prevent it from turning into Kimchi, with the exception of salt. You can of course vary the salt, but none at all is something I have never tried, but think would produce something that did not resemble Kimchee, and too much salt will keep fermentation from happening. Kimchee and other natural fermentables are great for experimenting, and are very forgiving... so exact measurements are given as a starting point for those who may not know what they are shooting for, but in reality, it's made to be easy and exactness is not required.