Cabbage kimchee

2 Quarts

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1 pounds Chinese cabbage
1 pounds White radish
3 tablespoons Salt
2 tablespoons Finely minced fresh ginger
1½ tablespoon Minced garlic
5 Scallions, cut into fine rounds, including green
1 tablespoon Cayenne
1 teaspoon Sugar

Directions

If you are using a small, whole cabbage, cut it in half lengthwise, and then cut it across at 2-inch intervals. If you are using half of a large cabbage, cut it in half again lengthwise, and then crosswise at 2-inch intervals.

Peel the white radish, cut it in half lengthwise, and then cut it crosswise into ⅛-inch-thick slices. In a large bowl put 5 cups water and 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons of the salt. Mix. Add the cabbage and radish to this water and dunk them in a few times as they have a tendency to float. Leave the vegetables in the salty water.

Cover loosely and set aside for 12 hours. Turn the vegetables over a few times.

Put the ginger, garlic, scallions, cayenne, sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt in another large bowl. Mix well.

Take the cabbage out of its soaking liquid with a slotted spoon (save the liquid) and put it in the bowl with the seasonings. Mix well.

Put this cabbage mixture into a 2-quart jar or crock. Pour enough of the salt water over it to cover the vegetables (about 2 cups). Leave 1 inch of empty space at the top of the jar. Cover loosely with a clean cloth and set aside for 3 to 7 days. In the summer, kimchees mature with much greater speed; in the winter, the process slows down unless the central heating is ferocious. Taste the pickle after 3 days to check on the sourness. When it is done to your liking, cover the jar and refrigerate.

To serve, remove just as much of the kimchee solids as you think you will need for a meal--a cupful is enough for 4 people--and put it in the center of a bowl. The kimchee liquid in this pickle is left behind in the jar and may be used to flavor stews and soups. Serve this cabbage kimchee with any Korean meal.

~- Madhur Jaffrey, _World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking_ (Be sure and keep a close eye on the kimchee after the third day. If mold appears, scoop out the mold, and refrigerate the kimchee immediately).

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