Korean Kimchi (or Kimchee) - fermented cabbage

My mother is Korean and I have inherited a deep love for eating and cooking Korean food.  One staple of Korean food is kimchi, which is the most common type of banchan (small side dishes eaten with a Korean meal) and it is used as a primary ingredient in many main dishes.  Kimchi is also know for its digestive aid effects as the fermentation process creates "good bacteria" in Kimchi to act as a probiotic.  I have to add that Kimchi is certainly an acquired taste but once you enjoy it, you will love it forever. :)

Ingredients

- 2 large heads of napa cabbage
- 1 large asian radish
- 1.5 cups kosher salt
- 1/2 cup sweet rice powder/flour
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 small onion
- 1 cup of peeled garlic
- 1/2 cup fish sauce
- 4-6 cups asian hot pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you want your kimchi)
- 6 green onions
- 1 pair rubber or disposable plastic gloves

Directions

1.  Cut the cabbages in half (or quartered - up to you), and spread out leaves.

2.  Soak each piece of cabbage in cold water and sprinkle fair amount of salt on the inside of each individual leaf.  The stem should receive more salt than the leave portion of the cabbage.  After rinsing and salting all leaves, cover and leave for 4-5 hours.  After 2 hours, turn cabbage for even salt distribution.

3.  Peel radish and use grater to shred 1.5 cups of radish.  Squeeze with towel to remove excess liquid and keep separately in side dish.  Cut up remaining radish into 1 inch cubes and place into a big bowl and sprinkle with fair amount of salt and toss.  Cover and leave for same amount of time as cabbage and toss after 2 hours for even salt distribution.

4.  After 4-5 hours, rinse the salted cabbage and radishes and SQEEEEZE the water out. 

KIMCHI PASTE


1.  Add 1/2 cup of rice flour/powder with 3. cups of water and bring to a bubble on medium high heat in a skillet on the stovetop.  Pour 1/4 cup of sugar into mixture and stir for one more minute.  Stir constantly until thickened and remove from heat.  When you see some bubbles, pour 1/4 cup of sugar into the porridge and stir one more minute. Then remove from heat and allow to cool down.  When cool, place the cold porridge into a big bowl.

2.  Combine garlic, fish sauce, ginger and onion in a food processor and blend until smooth.

3.  Add garlic mixture to porridge and mix well, slowly adding in hot pepper flakes.

4. Add 6 diagonally-sliced green onions and 1.5 cups of shredded Korean radish and mix all ingredients well.


KIMCHI PASTE + CABBAGE & RADISH

1.  Put on gloves

2.  Spread the kimchi paste onto each leaf of the cabbage in its entirety.  When complete with head, squeeze into an oval and place into air tight or sealed container.  Continue this process with each head of cabbage, placing into a snug position in the container.

3.  Mix leftover paste with radish cubes (kakdugi) and add to the top of the container before sealing.

4.  Leave kimchi in refrigerator for a week before it is fermented enough to eat.

Enjoy! :)

  

Broiled Ginger Salmon

On a starving whim, I picked up salmon from the market and decided to make it ASAP for dinner.  I found a great recipe to prepare the salmon in limited time and it was wonderful. :)  This recipe is very flexible.  Feel free to adjust to the size of your salmon and preferred cooking time.

 

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 inch piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 clove garlic, pressed
  
• 1pound whole salmon fillet with skin

Directions

1. Whisk together the soy sauce, muscovado sugar, minced ginger, olive oil, and garlic in a bowl, and pour into a resealable plastic zipper bag. Add the salmon fillet, coat with the marinade, squeeze out excess air, and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight or up to 2 days (I marinated for 20 minutes and it was great!).
2. Turn on oven broiler to preheat and prepare foil to enclose salmon and excess liquid.
3. Remove the salmon from the marinade, and shake off excess. Pour remaining marinade on top of salmon. Place the salmon, skin side up, onto foil.
4. Broil until the salmon is opaque but still juicy and slightly browned on top - about 20 minutes.  Make sure to flip salmon once midway through. 

Thai Green Curry with Zucchini

My stomach is feeling better than it has in over a year (thanks to lovely Thi and her herbs) and I am looking forward to cooking more of the foods i love.  I've recently wanted Thai food and decided to give it a go.  The original recipe is with chicken and I'll show you how to add it if you'd like.  This was delicious. :)

- 2 large zucchini
- 1.5 cups coconut milk
- 2-3 tbsp green curry paste
- if you want to add chicken: 3/4 pounds boneless chicken breast or thighs cut in big bite-sized pieces
- 1.5 cups chicken broth or water (i did half and half)
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
- dash of dried (or fresh) basil (optional)

Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and then crosswise into 1-inch chunks; set aside.  In a medium saucepan or heavy skillet, bring 3/4 cup of the coconut milk to a gentle boil over medium-high heat.  Cook for 2-3 minutes, until it begins to thicken and becomes fragrant.  Add the curry paste and cook 2-3 minutes, pressing and stirring to dissolve into the coconut milk.  If using chicken, add it now and cook 3 minutes more, tossing to coat with the sauce.

Add the remaining 3/4 cup coconut milk, the chicken broth/water, zucchini, fish sauce, palm sugar, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to maintain a lively simmer and cook, stirring now and then, until the chicken is cooked and the zucchini is tender but still firm, 9-11 minutes.  Remove from heat and stire in basil, if desired.   Serve hot or warm.

Salsa, cha cha cha!

Oh, how I miss Mexican food.  I never knew how good I had it (with access to authentic Mexican cuisine EVERYWHERE) until I graduated and left Arizona.  After leaving Tucson, my cravings and Mexican palate were never fully satisfied until I moved to LA.  Here in Geneva, the only salsa one can find is in the Old El Paso section (which disgusts me) and I cannot touch anything in that aisle anyway as it's all full of gluten.  Hmph.  Ben made (and devoured as he was on the phone with me) his famous  homemade guacamole the other day and I thought I would give it a shot.  I have the avocado and the salsa shouldn't be too difficult to make...

Homemade Salsa 

• 2 pounds tomatoes
  
• 2 pounds tomatoes, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic (pressed)
  
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons chili powder pepper
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped  

1.  Bring a large saucepan of water to boil. Place 2 pounds tomatoes into water for 3 minutes to loosen skin and set color. Drain, peel and crush (i placed half in my processor and chopped the rest).

2.  Mix chopped tomatoes, garlic, lemon juice, salt, cayenne pepper and cumin into the saucepan with crushed tomatoes. Stir. Bring to a boil. Mix in onion and cilantro. Continue boiling until onions are soft and mixture has reached desired consistency. Taste and add more salt, coriander, or garlic as needed. Remove from heat. Refrigerate until serving.

Yummy!

Homemade Albondigas Soup

I wanted to make a soup using ground beef purchased from AGEA, and this was a perfect recipe I found without flour or any other form of gluten.  Delicious!

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound ground beef
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups chicken broth (i made my own with this recipe using a roasted chicken carcass)
3 stalks celery, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 potatoes, cubed
salt and ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
1.  Place the ground beef, 1/2 of the cilantro, 1/2 of the chopped onion and garlic in a bowl.  Sprinkle with sale and black pepper, and mix gently until combined.  Form the meat mixture into golf ball-sized meatballs.

2.  Spray a large skillet with nonstick spray, and brown the meaetballs carefully over medium-high heat; remove the meatballs and set aside (the meatballs do not need to be fully cooked; they will finish cooking in the soup).  Cook and sire the remaining onion in the same skillet over medium-low heat until translucent; about 10 minutes.

3.  Pour the chicken broth into a large pot, and stir in the onion; add the carrots, celery, and potatoes.  Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are nearly tender, about 15 minutes.  Add the meatballs and the remaining cilantro; simmer for 30 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Enjoy!