As many of you know, my son-in-law is Korean….and Italian and Polish but tonight we are talking about his Korean heritage. His dad was an Air Force pilot stationed in Korea when he met his mom – they fell in love, got married and moved back to the states, New Jersey to be exact and then out to Altus Air Force Base where son-in-law and his sisters were raised. The kids grew up and most of them settled in Norman so upon retirement the parents moved here too. About that time Top Girl and son-in-law began dating and eventually married. Rocket was born a year later and less than a year after that, Air Force Pilot passed away. During the time we have known son-in-law’s family, I have had the very best homemade Asian food I have ever had in my entire life! I’m telling you – his mom can cook Korean (and Italian) like nobody’s business! The lo mien and pot stickers are two items I might push old ladies down and kick dogs to get to first. Okay, I probably wouldn’t kick any dogs but the old ladies should watch out!
I have wanted to make Kimchi with a recipe of hers for a long time. She makes several different kinds, all family favorites. When I ask son-in-law’s favorite his response has always been – “any kind, just fresh”. In other words, he does not care for the fermented kind. After tasting the fermented kind, I must agree. Fresh can take 3 days so I was so happy to hear about Quickie Kimchi. You can make it in the morning and eat it for lunch or supper or you can leave it for up to 10 days in the fridge. I enjoyed the taste and son-in-law gave it the thumbs up! In fact, he said it wasn’t his mom’s but he liked it a lot. I’m pretty happy with that endorsement. Besides, I did change a couple of things in the recipe so I guess it wouldn’t taste just like his mom’s. If you have a hankerin’ for Kimchi, this is a very quick way to find out if you like it. I had mine on a special taco that I will post about soon. You can order the ingredients from a korean grocery store online and have them delivered to your home.
Quickie Kimchi
Ingredients:
1 large Napa Cabbage
Handful of shredded carrots
½ Cup Coarse Salt
4 Cups Water
4 cloves garlic – peeled and smashed
1” piece of ginger – peeled and grated
1 small onion – diced
2 teaspoons sugar
5 Tablespoons Korean chili flakes
½ cup Rice Wine
Toasted sesame seeds
Directions:
Cut off the end of the cabbage, then the inside part.
Take each leaf and then cut off the stem parts like this:
After you do all that, you will need to wash it all well.
Put the cabbage and carrots in a very large bowl.
Put all water in the saucepan with the salt.
Bring water to a boil dissolving salt.
Take off the stove and let sit for 5 minutes.
Pour over cabbage and carrots – give it a good stir and set the timer for 10 minutes.
Meantime, put garlic, onion, ginger and rice vinegar in a blender and puree.
Then add salt, sugar, and the chili flakes (they are very fine) and stir it up – is will look something like this:
After 10 minutes, stir the cabbage again and wait 5 minutes. See how “bendy” it is?
Drain and rinse the cabbage really well then put in a shallow bowl or plastic lidded container.
Massage in the Korean rub well. Let it “marinate” in the fridge for a few hours.
When you are ready, take it out and sprinkle with sesame seeds then eat!
Have you tried Kimchi before? What did you think?
I am partying at Weekend Potluck this weekend!
Yes I have tried it but it didn’t like me. I am planning on making spring rolls this week. I get along real well with those. LOL.
LOVE spring rolls! I’ll be right over!
Hey, Cuz! I love kimchi and am glad to have a “quickie” recipe – first tried it when Geoffrey was taking taekwondo – his master instructor had made it, the long version, and loved it! I was so hungry for some last month that I made some cooked cabbage with some of the flavors of kimchi – I enjoyed every single bite.
I have a cooked cabbage and bacon recipe on the blog that is one nana used to make with hot dogs – on the side – and I’ve always loved it! Glad you like the Kimchi recipe – it was very good! Love you!
No, I have never had kimchi but this recipe might be a good introduction.
You may like it Lillian – I think some of them are not as tasty as others.
I am thrilled you shared this authentic recipe, Kelli! I have always wanted to make this. (Remind me never to be in your way if pot stickers are on the menu.)
You should run and my cousins (who read this blog) can tell you I am dangerous with a fork if you try to grab my food! 🙂 I hope you will try the recipe and please let me know what you think!
I want to try kimchi, it looks so intricate 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
You can with this quick recipe – and it’s vegetarian! 🙂
kimchi fascinates me–never thought to make it myself. Thanks for the inspiration 🙂
I never knew what was in it – of course there are so many different kinds – so I wasn’t too interested but this is really good. I especially like the Korean chilie pepper flakes – they smell wonderful!
Maybe if we just called it spicy cabbage salad, folks would be more inclined to try kimchi? That said, I am with your son-in-law, I much prefer the fresh to the fermented, although I have been known to eat that, if it’s the only spicy addition available. I gotta have pepper with my food!
Your quickie version looks wonderful!
Thanks Stacy – yes, I think spicy cabbage salad would make it more mainstream……..and this version doesn’t have any fish sauce or oyster sauce in it. I don’t really care for the smell or taste of that! 🙂
Going to pin this recipe, love the sound of it. I haven’t had kimchi for many years. Thank you for sharing the recipe and the story behind it
Thanks Galina! Let me know how you like it! It’s great. Son-in-law took it with sticky rice to work yesterday – I think he really did like it! 🙂
A quick way to make kimchi?! I’m in!
Son-in-law says it is great with rice!
This looks really easy! I’m going to try it soon. But what specifically are Korean chili flakes? What separates them from regular ones?
I asked my daughter’s mother-in-law what the difference was – she works in Korean cooking professionally so I assumed she would know. She said that Koreans use only red chili peppers – crushed into flakes and then ground into powder whereas american chili powder is a combination of several different kinds of peppers dried and ground. She also said that Korean chili peppers are grown in the soil and conditions in Korea which makes the fruit of the plant taste different. She said when she came to America, she could not find it easily so she used regular (American) chili powder – AWFUL!! So I would try to get it – we have a big Asian population in our capital city and so it’s easy to get. Good luck and let me know what you think!