Kimchi lettuce with recipe by Chef David Chang.
This recipe is part of the Chef’s Roll Test Kitchen.
Kimchi
INGREDIENTS
- 1 ea. Small to medium head Napa cabbage, discoloured or loose outer leaves discarded
- 2 tbsp. Kosher or coarse sea salt
- ½ cup plus 2 tbsp. Sugar
- 20 ea. Garlic cloves, minced
- 20 slices Peeled fresh ginger, minced
- ½ cup Kochukaru (Korean chilli powder)
- ¼ cup Fish sauce
- ¼ cup Usukuchi (light soy sauce)
- 2 tsp. Jarred salted shrimp
- ½ cup Spring onions, coarsely chopped (greens and whites)
- ½ cup Julienned carrots
METHOD
- Cut the cabbage lengthwise in half, then cut the halves crosswise into 2.5cm-wide pieces. Toss the cabbage with the salt and 2 tbsp of the sugar in a bowl. Let sit overnight in the refrigerator.
- Combine the garlic, ginger, kochukaru, fish sauce, soy sauce, shrimp and remaining ½ cup sugar in a large bowl. If it is very thick, add water 1/3 cup at a time until the brine is just thicker than a creamy salad dressing but no longer a sludge. Stir in the spring onions and carrots.
- Drain the cabbage and add it to the brine. Cover and refrigerate. Though the kimchi will be tasty after 24 hours, it will be better in a week and at its prime in 2 weeks. It will still be good for another couple weeks after that, though it will grow incrementally stronger and funkier.
- This recipe makes about 1-1.5 litres.
This recipe is reprinted from ($65, hbk) by David Chang and Peter Meehan. Copyright © 2009. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House. Many of the ingredients used in these recipes are available from Asian supermarkets. Chang’s recipes have been reproduced with minor style changes.
