Kim Chi--Radish Kim Chi

I remember when I first set eyes on an Asian radish. I was accustomed to European style radishes, which are small and cute and pink. These radishes are huge and kind of scary looking! Korean radishes (like the one shown here) are regularly 3-5 pounds, much larger than a large baking potato. There are some species of daikon that can reach up to a hundred pounds.



The flavor is a little milder than that of their European cousins, crispy and a little sweet. There are many ways that it’s used. In spring they are eaten young and fresh. They can be made into soups, sliced or grated into salads, stir fried, stewed…and of course pickled. Throughout Asia there are a variety of radish pickles, but today I’m talking about Korean style radish kim chi. I often like to make a lunch of just radish kim chi and rice. It’s surprisingly filling.

This recipe is very similar to last week’s recipe. The main difference is in technique. I like to add a little bit of mirin or rice wine. For this recipe I used the white and green Korean radish, but daikon can be substituted.

Per radish:

1 or 2 tsp salt (to taste)
Korean red pepper flakes to taste, approximately 4 tbsp.
One or two green onions, minced
Asian chives, minced
1-3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tbsp dashi or fish stock (optional)
1 tbsp sugar (optional)
2-3 tbsp mirin or rice wine (optional)

Peel the radish and cut into roughly bite sized pieces.


Salt the radish well, mixing it to make sure that all surfaces are salted. Allow to sit for a couple hours.

After the radishes have sat for a bit and started to soften, add the other ingredients and mix well.

Pack into jars as well as possible and tighten the lids. You will most likely have the radish sticking up out of the liquid at this point and need an extra jar or two. Let sit overnight.

The next day open the jars and redistribute the radish slices. Chances are if you used three jars yesterday you can redistribute the contents of one jar between the other two. Press down the radish so it is completely or nearly completely submerged in the liquid.

In this recipe, fermentation happens very quickly and very vigorously. You will want to open the jars every day for the first few days to allow gas to escape. Even though the radish starts out exposed to air in the jars, the fermentation protects the radish from contamination. Naturally, as with all fermented foods, keep an eye on it, smell it, and taste it to make sure that it is fermenting correctly. This version is ready in a couple days to a week depending on the weather. It doesn’t keep as long as the cabbage kim chi so I recommend refrigerating if you plan to keep it longer than a month.

This is a good recipe to start in a larger container and press in the traditional manner. However, this IS Life in a Jar, and this is the method I first used with great success. Part of my purpose in creating this blog is to demonstrate how easy these techniques are, and that it doesn’t take a lot of time nor fancy (read “expensive”) equipment to create wonderful and healthy fermented foods. If I can do this in my humble bachelor’s kitchen with just a few jars, then anyone can do it…YOU can do it, and I hope that you are inspired to try these techniques if you haven’t yet. You will be glad you did.

Thank you very much for reading. In later posts I will explore different techniques and recipes with radishes because they are so tasty and versatile. Next week, I’ll be going in a slightly different direction and start discussing sprouts.

But for now, it's lunchtime:

Kim Chi--Cabbage Kim Chi

As I mentioned last week, kim chi (or kim chee or gimchee or however you choose to spell it) is the national dish of Korea. To be sure, Koreans have been making the stuff for about 3,000 years, so they’ve had a bit of time to perfect it.

Originally, kim chi was vegetables like radish and cabbage fermented in beef stock. Over time the beef stock was replaced with salt and the variety of vegetables increased. Near the coast seafood was often added. Sometime in the 1700s peppers from the New World made their way into Korea. The first written reference to chili peppers in kim chi dates to around 1776, and modern kim chi was born.

There are literally thousands of variations of kim chi. The Kim Chi Field Museum documents 186 varieties of kim chi, and every region has its own style. Also, each family has their own recipes. Kim chi varies according to season and what crops are available. Fermentation times also vary, from one day to several months. One thing I’ve learned about kim chi is that it’s really hard to generalize it. Kim chi is often made with Korean peppers and very spicy, but there are many varieties of “white” kim chi that are not spicy. Kim chi can also be sweet, and there are many kinds that include fruit. Often sea food is added, which adds to the complexity and nutritional value. Kim chi also figures prominently in Korean cooking: soup, stews, crispy pancakes, fried rice, etc. One thing is very clear: whether spicy or mild, sweet or sour, complex or simple, kim chi truly is a national treasure.

Today, kim chi is still very important to Korea and Koreans. It is perceived as a very healthy food and is present at virtually every meal. Government researchers studying its benefits have found a correlation between kim chi consumption and protection from the recent outbreaks of SARS and Bird Flu. Do I believe it? You bet I do! The vitamin C and other nutrients in healthy foods like cabbage, radish, garlic, and chili peppers helps boost the immune system, while the various bacteria in the fermentation process actively defend their territory (in this case their territory is you.)

Koreans are the largest per capita consumers of chili peppers in the world, much of it in their kim chi. Modern Koreans have a variety of pre-made kim chi to choose from but often make their own. When I go to the local Korean market, all the makings are available in abundance. For urban and suburban Koreans who do not have a place to bury the crocks in traditional fashion, there are special refrigeration units to keep the fermenting kim chi at the ideal temperature.

This picture from the Kim Chi Museum shows traditional kim chi storage urns and a modern kim chi refrigerator.

When Koreans are taking pictures and want people to smile, instead of saying “Cheese”, they say “Kim Chee!”

…and they very well have reason to smile.

This week my recipe is my take on cabbage kim chi. This is a relatively simple recipe that I’ve adapted from a number or different recipes I’ve tried. in later postings I’ll explore other more complex techniques. I made this recipe for my Korean Dahn Yoga instructor, who seemed to like it. She ate it some of it straight but also made a soup with it. If you cannot find Korean red pepper flake I would recommend using a medium heat dried pepper, crushed by hand, or minced fresh peppers to taste. The dashi (fish stock) is optional, as is the sugar.

INGREDIENTS:

Napa cabbage, one or more heads

Per head of cabbage:

1 or 2 tsp salt (to taste)

Korean red pepper flakes to taste, approximately 4 tbsp.

One or two green onions, minced

Asian chives, minced

1-3 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup dashi or fish stock (optional)

1 tbsp sugar (optional)

1. Cut cabbage into quarters and rinse well. Allow to drain.

2. Slice cabbage into small slices, put into a pot or other container, and add salt and dashi to taste.

3. While letting cabbage “sweat”, slice up other vegetables and mix with the cabbage.

4. Add the red pepper and sugar.

5. Mix well with your hands, gently squeezing the cabbage. Pack tightly into canning jars and screw lid tightly.

Within a day or two fermentation will be apparent. Occasionally open the lid to let the built up gas to escape and sample the kim chi. This recipe is ready to eat within 24 hours, or can be aged for several weeks to develop flavor. It should keep unrefrigerated for at least a month. Often I will make a light meal of kim chi and rice, or I will add it to some other dish for a bit of pizzaz.

Next week I'll post my recipe for radish kim chi. Stay tuned!

Sauerkraut, Part 3--Culture

There are many negative things I can say about Los Angeles, but there is one thing I LOVE about living here: There is a tremendous cultural diversity to this place. L.A.’s culture is best defined as global rather than local.

Within walking distance of my suburban apartment there is a supermarket that caters to Middle Easterners and Russians with an Armenian bakery inside, separate Middle Eastern and Russian markets, a Vietnamese market, a Korean market, a Japanese market, a couple of Indian markets (specializing in different regions of India) several Latino markets (both Mexican and Central/South American) and a Ralphs.

If I decide to go to a restaurant I have a similar pick: Vietnamese pho? Across the street, next to the Thai place that is next to the Chinese restaurant…Mexican (which region do you want?) El Salvadorian, Brazillian, Argentinian, Indian, Armenian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Thai, Russian, Hungarian, Romanian, Middle Eastern, Southern Comfort foods…you name it, and it’s within a short walk, bike, or bus ride from me. For example, there’s a mini mall near here which has an excellent Japanese ramen restaurant, a Chinese fast food buffet, a Persian kabob place, and a French bakery. Next to these is a Jewish Kosher store and restaurant.

When I go to a Farmer’s Market, I see many exotic fruits and vegetables grown locally. Local farmers get a boost from growing foods that are too expensive or too perishable to ship halfway around the world. They are able to survive because they have found their niche markets. I still come across produce I’ve never seen before and often don’t have a clue as to how to prepare.

One thing that ALL of these different cultures have in common is that they have a tradition of cultured and fermented foods. Breads, alcoholic beverages, pickles, cheeses, misos, condiments…and sauerkraut.


It’s well known the Korean National Dish is kim chi, a (usually) spicy cabbage and/or radish or turnip sauerkraut dish. There are many variations and I will be discussing kim chi greater detail in later blogs. Koreans generally will serve at least one or two versions of kim chi with a meal, or simply by itself with some rice.



The Japanese version, Tsukemono, is a term that applies to a wide variety of pickles, including pickled cabbage. In many Japanese homes a meal is considered incomplete without a little bit of Tsukemono for flavor and to aid digestion. Tsukemono can be sophisticated and subtle, or it can be very simple and bold.


All across China and most of Asia there are a wide variety of sauerkrauts and krautlike dishes. These can range from very plain and basic to very spicy depending on the region’s crops and cuisine.

Here are large urns for making the pickled cabbage:


And here's a sample of the finished product:



Many Eastern European countries depend on sauerkraut for health and survival. Germans, Hungarians, Czechs, Poles, Russians, etc. all have traditions of making sauerkraut and sauerkraut dishes. I have been to Jewish and German delis that don’t make their own pickles and kraut…but not twice.


Sauerkraut, like a large city, benefits from cultural diversity. At beginning stages of fermentation there are certain bacteria that begin the fermentation process. A few days later other bacteria such as lactobacilli start developing, giving sauerkraut it’s distinctive flavor. All told, in different stages of the fermentation process there can be dozens bacteria species living and doing their thing. This gives sauerkraut a more complex flavor and nutritional profile.

You also benefit from this cultural diversity. Inside the average human digestive system are about a TRILLION bacteria, representing about a thousand species. There are literally more bacteria cells inside you than human cells. All of these bacteria interact with each other and with you in different ways. Picture yourself as a gigantic biosphere, as diverse as any rainforest or coral reef. What you eat affects the bacteria inside you. This in turn affects your health. The bacteria in sauerkraut helps to bring your digestive system to a healthy PH balance and defend against dangerous bacteria that can cause food poisoning.

When you take a probiotic pill, you are generally introducing or reinforcing only one strain of bacteria, in a weakened and dormant state, into a vast microscopic jungle. This is like being set down in the middle of a wilderness, injured and starving, with only the clothes on your back and a knife. The diversity you get when eating sauerkraut is more like being set down in that same wilderness, only now you have a few hundred of your friends with you, tools and supplies.

Since making and eating my own sauerkraut and other cultures I have very little in the way of stomach problems. I always used to keep antacids and other stomach remedies handy, but for the past 3-4 years I haven’t needed any. The diverse, naturally occurring probiotics that I grow in my little jars keeps me healthy and also seems to strengthen my entire immune system.

Speaking of culture, my recipe this week is from my own cultural heritage. In honor of St. Patrick’s day I’m making corned beef and sauerkraut. Now, I know what a lot of you are saying: “Don’t you know that corned beef and cabbage isn’t really an Irish tradition? …And what’s this about sauerkraut?” I know that in Ireland it would be pork, possibly a rasher of Irish bacon or perhaps some trotters. Also, I’ve looked hard and I can’t find any references to Irish sauerkraut or recipes using sauerkraut anywhere. Well, this may not be an Irish tradition, but it IS an Irish-American tradition, and it is my tradition. I’m not an Irishman. I’m a non-Catholic Scots/Irish/Swedish/Norwegian/Estonian-American, and if ye be comin’ to me Dimity with a dram o’ Poteen, this is what ye’ll be havin’ wi’ yer praties!



I barely need to outline the recipe and procedure as it’s very simple, but here it is:

Ingredients:

1 medium sized corned beef brisket
One or two jars or cans of sauerkraut, with or without the juice (if a milder flavor is desired, omit the juice)
One or two onions, quartered and sliced not too small
One or two potatoes (optional, this time I wasn’t in the mood and didn’t add them) peeled and sliced into large pieces
Carrots (optional, normally I don’t add them, but I had a couple in the fridge)
Green onions, cut (not a normal ingredient, but again, I had some in the fridge, so into the pot they went)
Cooking sherry (again, not normally used, but I had a half bottle left over)
Several cloves garlic, minced.
Mustard seed, about 1-2 tsp.
Sour cream (Optional, to be put in at the end)
Paprika, to taste

Put about half the sauerkraut and other veggies in the bottom of your crock pot to make a bed for your brisket. Add the brisket and the rest of the veggies and mustard seed. Add cooking sherry and water to cover. Turn on crock pot, cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 4-6 hours. Sit back and enjoy the aroma wafting through your home!

When ready, serve in a bowl with a bit of the broth. If desired add a little sour cream and paprika. Keep some mustard handy.

When I was a wee lad we’d often have corned beef and cabbage, not only on St. Patty’s day. It would be cooked in a crock pot or on the stove and served simply with potatoes and/or carrots and onion. My father would keep telling me that the only way to eat it was slathered in mustard, but I hated mustard. He could never believe I didn’t like it that way and keep trying to convince me to eat it with mustard. Now, nearly 40 years later, I LOVE mustard and put it on a lot of stuff, and I’d never dream of having corned beef without mustard!

For the next week I’ll be making sandwiches and hash from the corned beef itself, and not only having the broth and cabbage by itself, but using it as a base for other dishes. Tonight I’m going to have it “Paprikash” style, with sour cream and plenty of paprika in the Hungarian tradition.

However you celebrate St. Patrick's, when everybody is Irish for a day, wishing you all the best and I offer this traditional Irish toast:

May the road rise to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
May the rains fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.

Sauerkraut, Part 2--History

The story of sauerkraut is really the history of the cultivation and spread of cabbage. Evidence seems to indicate that cabbage began in the Mediterranean. To be sure, the Romans ate cabbage. The word “salad” comes from “Sal”, which means salt. Romans were fond of putting salt on their raw greens…salted greens? Sounds like sauerkraut to me!

However, I’m going to start with China, where cabbage has been cultivated for about 4,000 years. When the Great Wall of China was being built, some 2,000 years ago, the laborers were fed cabbage fermented in rice wine. Work on the Wall was certainly arduous, and many of the locations were remote. A food supply was needed that would keep and travel well.

When Genghis Khan invaded China about 1,000 years later, he adopted this fermented cabbage, added salt, and was so happy with it, that he gave it to his army to spread the good news about this nutritious and tasty food.

Pictured here is a band of Mongols, getting ready to bring the joys of sauerkraut to YOUR town:

The Mongols invaded a huge chunk of Asia and parts of Eastern Europe. Sauerkraut gave the soldiers a “sour” attitude and they were famous for both their speed and rapaciousness. From the parts of Europe that the Mongols invaded, the Jews as they migrated are credited with spreading sauerkraut making throughout Europe and Russia.

In Europe, especially in colder climates, cabbage was a popular crop. It was easy to cultivate, thrived in cooler climates, and it kept well in winter. Cabbage was a staple for many farmers, and continues to be one today. Making the cabbage into sauerkraut made it more nutritious and last longer, crucial for surviving the cold harsh winters of Russia and Eastern Europe.

I should note that although Jews are noted for sauerkraut and pickles, I’m not at all certain that they got the knowledge from the Mongols, nor am I certain that the Germans or Russians got it from the Jews. There certainly seems to be a connection, so I don’t discount it, and it makes a good story. Cabbage, salt, and a container are all that is required, and salt has been used as a food preservative for tens of thousands of years. It's possible that the culturing of sauerkraut occurred spontaneously in several places, but it is certain that as these human cultures moved and interacted that they would have influenced each other and shared techniques, plants, recipes, etc.

Sauerkraut is a great source of vitamin C, and when the Dutch and Germans went exploring on the high seas, they took sauerkraut with them to prevent scurvy. The British learned to do the same thing, but later switched to limes which I suppose were plentiful in some of their territories (plus I'm sure that the sauerkraut was adulterating the delicate flavor and texture of that wonderful British hardtack.) As the British switched to limes, they became known as “limeys”. The Dutch and Germans continued to carry sauerkraut and were known as “krauts.”

In the Americas, sauerkraut was brought by Germans, who became known as the Pennsylvania Dutch. The Pennsylvania Dutch and the Amish are still known for their krauts and pickles. Soon after came Jews with their excellent versions, and later came Eastern Europeans, also with their great versions. Who makes the best? Depends on who you talk to.

Due to food rationing during the World Wars, sauerkraut was very important in the U.S. as a means of stretching food value. Of course, it wasn't called sauerkraut...it was called "Liberty Cabbage." So, a "frankfurter with sauerkraut and french fries" would become the more patriotic "Liberty Dog with a side of Freedom!"

All American Victory Victuals! Yum!

The history of sauerkraut is a living history. It is a story of a relationship between people and plants, people and beneficial bacterial cultures, and between people and other people. In tracing sauerkraut from Ancient China to Europe and the Americas, I'm only touching on the tiniest fraction of this story. It is an amazing and personal story. Since most cultures have some sort of fermentation tradition, chances are that I am talking about YOU. Whether you are of European, Asian, or African descent, your parents most likely didn’t make sauerkraut or pickles, but your grandparents or great grandparents CERTAINLY did. If you go back a generation or two, you’ll find members of your family that made sauerkraut, pickles, yogurt, wine, etc. Our personal relationship with these cultures and history is intrinsic to human survival, but that is for another blog.

My recipe for this week I’ve decided to call “Genghis Jim’s Mongolian Horde Kraut.” It’s inspired of my reading about sauerkraut being fed to laborers working on the Great Wall 2,000 years ago and Genghis Khan's later assault of that Wall and his invasion of China. I started out by trying cabbage in rice wine and mirin, which was a little soggy and flat. I then added some salt, which helped, but it still needed something. Even 2,000 years ago the Chinese had herbs and spices. Also, Genghis Khan would have had access to herbs and spices from throughout the world. This recipe is not meant to be an accurate representation of an ancient sauerkraut recipe, but rather is my tribute to a period of history. I have mostly tried to keep accurate to ingredients that would have been available, but I think Mr. Khan would have liked chili peppers if they were available. This is a spicy blend that will get you going and ready to scale whatever Great Wall lies in front of you. I invite you to try it and hope you enjoy!


INGREDIENTS
1 or more heads of Chinese (Napa) cabbage, chopped
Per head of cabbage:
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 or 2 green onions, chopped
1 small bunch of chives, garlic chives if available (optional)
1 or two carrots and/or radishes , grated (optional)
2 to 4 tablespoons rice wine, mirin, or sherry
Chinese black or white pepper (or fresh ground black pepper) to taste
5 spice powder to taste (or you can add star anise, ground cinnamon, and ground cloves)
Korean red pepper flakes or a small hot pepper cored and chopped (optional)
Salt to taste, about 2 tsp per head.

Chop cabbage and put into a pot. Add salt and mix it with your hands thoroughly. Taste it—it should be salty. Let it sit and “sweat” while chopping the other veggies.



Add the other vegetables and mix thoroughly. Then add spices, mixing and tasting it. Add the wine until you are satisfied with the blend of flavor.



Pack tightly into canning jars as per my instructions in my previous post. Seal and leave it for a week or so to ferment. Sample occasionally until it’s fermented to your satisfaction. This should keep for several months unrefrigerated.

Thank you for reading. Next week I’ll discuss sauerkraut and human culture and present another recipe or two.

He looks hungry!