Kimchi, the easy version

Every once in a while I have this strong urge to make kimchi.., it must be the Korean blood in me!

So I made a simple cabbage kimchi called "mak-kimchi".

I have posted 3 episodes of how to make the authentic cabbage kimchi about a year ago.

Although the method of that type of kimchi in those posts will yield truly amazingly tasting kimchi, it is quite time and labor demanding work.

This version is basically quick and easy. "Mak" literally means whatever fast.

I will show you how easy it is to make delicious kimchi with its pungent yet refreshing flavor.

Even a novice to kimchi making can succeed with a great result. 

I bet you would like that.

Kimchi Gratin, Kimchi Casserole or baked Kimchi rice????

 

I liked the movie, "Julie vs Julia".

It is a true story about a woman named of Julie challenged all the recipes of Julia Child's first book in one year and blogged the process. 

My blue eyed husband suggested that I should challenge making different types of Kimchi everyday for one year and blog about it. 

I still don't know if he was serious or joking.

Well, for his sake, I am not making Kimchi everyday nor every week. 

But..,  I can come up with 365 Kimchi ideas though.

There are so many dishes you can make with Kimchi, not only to authentic Korean dishes but also to fuse with other cuisines as well. Possibilities are limitless and creativity is all you need.

Bindaetteok - Savory Mung Bean Pancakes

 

I am very excited to present a special recipe today.

A while ago I was contacted by "Kimchi Chronicles", the sentational PBS series on Korean food. 

Marja Vongerichten, the wife of famous chef, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, shared true beauties of not only many Korean delicacies but the cultures that follows. I have been a big fan of the show and enjoyed many episodes.

It is my honor to be as their first guest blogger to present a post.

So here I am, presenting a wonderful savory mung bean pancakes called Bindatteok.

Kimchee Tofu Dumpling, Our New Year Tradition

If you come to my house, you will find at least one or two packages of frozen dumplings stored in my freezer any time of the year. I purchase them from the grocery stores, of course.

But during the New Year, I like to make home-made dumplings with my family.

It is a fun activity that you can do with anyone - young or old, and you can store them in the freezer for later use if you can't finish them all at once.

Koreans love dumplings. We steam them, pan-fry them, deep-fry them, boil them, and throw them into soups and stews. Yes, some even juggle with them (?). 

What can I say more?

Kimchee Jjigae 2, the easiest Korean stew you can make

After indulging myself with deep-fried turkey feast for Thanksgiving and got busy taking all the Christmas stuff out to decorate the house afterward...

I simply don't have much energy to cook. 

But I gotta eat..., you know.

So here I am.

I am going to make an easiest Kimchee stew in the world.

Only 4 ingredients and you will get a nice pot of stew that can awaken your soul for the spirit of Christmas. 

All because I found a container of store-bought kimchee (kimchi) I purchased about 2 month ago that I totally forgot about its existence... (I left it in my 2nd fridge where I don't check often)

Cucumber Kimchee, easy peasy summer kimchee

Don't you just love SUMMER?

The heat, the humidity, the sweat, nicely preheated car in the parking lot, fully crowded beach, kids nagging out of boredom, loads of Popsicle boxes taking over your freezer, etc... 

Okay, these are not my favorite things of summer but there is nothing like sipping lemonade on your porch and watching the whole world goes by in front of your eyes.

Spring Cabbage Kimchee, the taste of home

 

Have you ever shed tears over a plate of food?

A while ago I was watching an episode of "Baking with Julia" out of boredom and I saw this world famous cook, the Julia Child, was weeping over a plate of brioche tart that her guest pastry chef made.

I had no doubt that the brioche tart tasted divine and I am sure Mrs. Child was so satisfied with it.  However people just don't cry over a plate of food no matter how delicious, scrumptious, out of this world it is. Why do you think she got so emotional over that tart?

Cold Buckwheat Noodles w/ Spicy chili Sauce, Hot Sour Salty Sweet

Buckwheat noodles, buckwheat noodles...

I was craving something hot, sour, salty, yet sweet. I thought of the Korean style buckwheat noodles smothered with spicy chili sauce would calm down my craving and it did.

Baby Radish Kimchee, only for the early birds

So I went to my handy-dandy Korean store the other day and noticed a bunch of ladies gathered-up in the produce section, head to head around the pile of green thingy, trying to grab them as much as they can. I went close to see what they are digging in for.  

For my surprise, those green thingy were the young Korean baby radishes. They are only available in spring (sometimes early in the summer). They came to market quite early this year.

They are basically baby radish that had been harvested when they just started to grow. Tender, mild, crunch..., they make wonderful Kimchee for the warmer season. They don't get available in the groceries that often. No wonder those ladies are packing their plastic bags with these cuties. Of course all of them were all Koreans! 

Being a Korean housewife I had to be part of that early bird deal (they were selling very cheap) and was able to grab two bunches in the midst of all those desperate housewives.

So, I am going to show you how you can make a wonderful Kimchee with these babies. It is called  Yulmoo Kimchee (열무김치). It is easier and quicker to make (good news, right?) than most cabbage kimhcee. However, in most cases, this kimchee has more watery, juice like filling than other kimchee. The addition of fresh chili makes the juice so refreshingly cool and tangy once fermented. It will make a wonderful cold noodle dish - one of my old time favorite summer lunch, or a quick Bibimbap as well. A true rustic Korean way of enjoying the radish babies...

By the way, why all the babies have to be so cute whether they are of humans, animals, and even vegetables?

*****

 Here are what you need. Baby radish, Asian pear, red chili, Korean chili flakes, garlic, salted shrimps, anchovy sauce, ginger, garlic, onion, glutinous rice powder, and sugar.

 

First thing you need to do... Make rice glue. Combine water and rice powder and let it boil until it gets slightly thicken, about 3-5 minutes string constantly. It will be very runny like syrup. Remove from the heat and let it cool completely.

 Cut off the piggy tails from the radish babies. Scrape off the outer skin gently with a blade of your knife. On the base, where the white meets green stems, remove all the soiled part of skin by cutting off a little.

Cut off the very end leafy part of the stem. They will be too tough. Discard!

You can say Good-bye or Sayonara to them. I usually save them to make soup, though...

 

Slice the radish to your middle finger size. Sorry! For being a decent educated woman, I just can't show my middle finger to you. Hope you understand.

 Rinse them gently twice. Be gentle! They are babies...  Drain well.

 Now you will need a good quality Korean coarse sea salt, about 1/2 cup.

 Take about 1/4 of these greens and sprinkle some salt all over. Repeat the layers.

 Let these babies to absorb salt for about 1 hr, turning once or twice in between.

You will see what salt did to these green guys. It sucked the life out of them.
Bad salt! No dessert for you!

 Rinse about 2-3 times and drain well. Be very gentle when you rinse them. DO NOT rub or massage. If you act rough on them they will be grassy on you.

 Meanwhile puree the pear in a blender. I love to see how the solid matter becomes liquid in one touch button.

 You want to filter the puree to get rid of the fiber and the foam. You will get clear juice that way, which creates gorgeous color and texture in Kimchee juice later on.

Process fresh chili, anchovy sauce, salted shrimp, garlic in a blender. You don't need puree finely on this guys.

 Now, get a big mixing bowl. Place the radish greens, add chili mixture, Korean chili flakes, sliced, fresh chilies and onions, sugar, and ginger. Pour the cooled rice glue and the pear juice.

 Very gently toss all together. Taste the juice to see if it is seasoned right for you. Add more anchovy sauce or salt according to your taste.

Two bunches of these baby radishes fit just right in a large ziplock container. 

Let it sit on the counter for 1-2 days and keep in the fridge for at least 1 week to ferment. 

This radish kimchee won't taste that good when freshly made but once they get fermented? 

Well, you won't get enough of them...

After one week...

Still vibrant in color,

Crunch yet tender greens,

The divine taste of the juice,

Behold! 

the Korean baby radish kimchee is ready to eat...

Baby Radish Kimchee

(열무김치, yulmoo kimchee)

2 bunches Korean baby radishes

1/2 cup Korean coarse sea salt

1/2 large onion, sliced

3 fresh red chilies, sliced

3 Tbsp Korean chili flakes 

2 tsp sugar

1 Asian pear, peeled, seeded, pureed, and filtered to collect clear juice

Rice glue:

2 Tbsp glutenous rice powder

4 cups water

Filling:

4 fresh red chilies, diced

4 garlic cloves

1/2" ginger stem, peeled or 2 tsp pureed ginger

3 Tbsp salted shrimps

1 Tbsp anchovy sauce

Make a rice glue by combining water and the rice powder with a whisk in a small pot, and bring to boil. Let it thicken, about 3-5 minutes, stirring constatnly. The glue will be very runny almost like a syrup. Remove the pot from the heat and let the glue cool completely.

Cut off the long tails of the white part of the radish greens and scrape off the dirty outer skin with a blade of your knife. Make sure to clean on the base where it meets the green stems. Cut off the very end leafy parts of the stems as well. Discard them or save them for other uses, such as soup.

Cut the greens into about 2 1/2" - 3" long pieces.

Rinse the baby greens twice gently and drain. In a large mixing bowl spread 1/4 of the greens and sprinkle the 1/4 of salt all over. Repeat the layers until all the green gets sprinkled with salt evenly. Let it sit for 1 hour, turning them once or twice in between. You will see some water extracted from the greens and the volume has been reduced to nearly a half. Rinse 3 times very gently and drain well.

Process all the filling ingredients in a blender or food processor. In a large mixing bowl combine the radish greens, sliced chilies and onions, Korean chili flakes, pear juice, rice glue, and the filling. Toss very gently with hand until everything gets incorporated. The whole mixture will have lots of liquid. Taste the juice to adjust your seasoning if you need. You can add more salt or anchovy sauce according to your taste.

Transfer the Kimchee into airtight container. Let it ferment on a room temperature for 1-2 days and continue to ferment in the fridge for 1 week before you serve. Serve cool.

Printable recipe

Kimchee Shrimp Cakes, farewell my Kimchee...

Oh, no! My winter cabbage Kimchee came to an end... :(

There was only one head of Kimchee left lonely in my Kimchee container. Alas! Tears streaming down on my cheeks (just the imaginary tears)... I have to say goodbye to her.

I have enjoyed stews, pan cakes, fried rice, and patties, etc with it all through the winter. It has been a wonderful culinary journey with my fabulous Kimchee this winter.

So for my final farewell party, I made Kimchee cakes with the help of shrimp and tofu.

If you have some nasty fermented Kimchee abandoned in the back corner of your fridge, bring them out to the world. This recipe will bring the dinner in snap. It is quick and easy to make, wonderful for weeknight menu.

Let's get our hands in action! But first, allow me to wipe off my tears... Thank you.

*****

The guest lists are; Kimchee, shrimps, tofu, chives, panko crumbs, eggs, sesame oil, sesame seeds, salt and pepper. 

I used 8 of 21-25 counts big shrimps. Dice them into small chunks.

Squeeze your kimchee to remove her juice. 

Chop her as fine as you can. 

Wrap the tofu tightly with the cotton cloth and squeeze him to remove his juice as well.

In a bowl combine shrimps, kimchee, tofu and some chopped chives (or green onions).

Add panko crumbs, sesame oil, sesame seeds, salt, pepper, and an egg. Then I realized...

One egg was not enough to hold the mixture together. They looked too crumbly.

So I added another egg and mixed all with hand by massaging them around. Looks just right.

You want to massage them so the tofu will get mashed and incorporated with everything.

Scoop a spoonful of mixture onto hot oiled skillet. Press gently to flatten down a bit.

I wouldn't worry about making perfect shape on these cakes. Save your worries to other things in life...

Pan fry them for 3-4 minutes on each side over medium to med-low heat, until nice and brown.

That is all to it. Quite simple and easy, right?

My sweet angel loved it.  I meant to serve them as a snack but she ate them like a dinner with some rice.

Time to say goodbye to my dear winter cabbage kimchee.

So long,

Farewell,

and

Auf Wiedersehen.

Winter has ended and the spring buds are popping everywhere.

My favorite season has arrived...

Cherry blossom festival is coming soon here in D.C.

I bet the blossoms will be in their peak in Japan as well.

My thoughts and prayers are with them.

Words can't describe their losses.

But there's always a hope blossoming somewhere,

and

I believe they will make it happen,

with their noble and strong spirit to unite...

Kimchee Shrimp Cakes

(새우 김치전, saewoo kimchee jeon)

makes about 15 patties

1/3 head (about 1/3 pound) Kimchee

8 (21-25 counts) large frozen shrimps, thawed and chopped

8 oz firm tofu, drained

1/4 cup chives or green onion finely chopped

2 large eggs

1/2 cup panko crumbs

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp sesame seeds

pinch salt and pepper

some canola or grape seed oil for sauteing

Squeeze kimchee to remove its juice and moisture, chop finely, reserve about 1 cup.

Wrap tofu with a cotton cloth tightly and squeeze out to remove as much water as possible.

In a mixing bowl combine kimchee, shrimps, and tofu. Add chives, eggs, panko crumbs, sesame oil, sesame seeds and season with salt and pepper. With your hand, massage them around to mix so the tofu will get mashed and everything gets incorporated. The mixture should feel wet and sticky.

Heat about 1 Tbsp of oil in the skillet over medium heat. Scoop a spoonful of kimchee shrimp mixture on the skillet and gently press down to flatten a little bit. Saute for 3-4 minutes on each side until nice and brown.

Adjust heat so they won't burn. Drizzle more oil in the skillet if needed.

Serve hot with some rice or eat as it is.

Printable recipe

Kimcheese Rice Patties, Kimchee + Cheese = ^.^

When Kimchee meet cheese, it is heaven on earth. I call it Kimcheese.

As you know they both are fermented food, one is from cabbage and the other from milk of cow, goat, and/or sheep. I don't think Mr. Cow ever eats cabbages but perhaps he wouldn't mind having a blind date with Ms. Cabbage in the rice park. Kaboom! You won't believe how divinely delicious they are together.

My brilliant inspiration of putting these two fermented god and goddess together came from the Italian risotto ball I had at my local Neapolitan pizzeria called Pupatella. The true Neapolitan style pizza I love.

When I bite into a risotto ball as an appetizer, something just clicked me as an light bulb. "Why don't I mix Kimchee with cheese to make rice balls?" So I did.

Ooooh! you will love it, my dears... 

They are so meant to be together. Why on earth did I not try that before?

 So here I am... urging you to try this recipe. I will give you two options to choose from.

One is deep fried and the other pan seared. They both are good. The deep fried one offers irresistible crispness while pan seared one offers more aromatic substance to overall flavor. You will need well fermented cabbage Kimchee to bring out the full flavor.
I will share with you my East meets West version of rice patties. Kimchee rocks!

*****

Revealing my glorious ingredients!

Mozzarella cheese, Feta cheese, Kimchee, ground pork, parsley, green onion, eggs, flour, and panko crumbs. 

 

You will also need some cooked short grain rice and Parmesan cheese.

Squeeze your Kimchee to death to remove their juice.

Parental discretion advised. Looks a little R-rated on this scene. Scary...

 Chop Ms. Cabbage as fine as you can.

Saute the piggies in the hot oil until they are no longer shy in pink...

Chop the greens...

 

Add the chopped Kimchee and fry until it gets softened, about 6-7 minutes over medium heat.

When the Kimchee gets nice and soft, add green onion and parsley. 

Remove from the heat. Let it cool down for a few minutes.

 

 Add Mozzarella cheese and feta cheese, stir well.

 Add Parmesan cheese and pinch salt to rice and mix well.

Take some rice onto your hand and flatten it. Scoop the Kimchee mixture over rice.

Take more rice and cover the top. Gently squish it to mold into shape

My brain was tuned to a play-mode that moment so I made into triangle shape. 

If you want some fun, try star shape to see if it works...

 Prepare your coatings for deep frying.

 

 Coat with flour, egg, and panko crumbs.

Deep fry them, babe!  about 170ºC until NGB (Nice and Goden Brown).
Version 1 finished.

Version 2 : Want to know how you can pan sear these patties? Super easy...

 Just press onto Parmesan cheese on both sides.

Sear with a little bit of oil over hot skillet until NGB. You better serve these patties when hot.
Leftovers aren't that great unfortunately.

"Pretty Darn Good!"

A praise from my NOT so Kimchee-lover husband.

"You can totally sell these!"

He cheered me as he was devouring the patty.

I felt good and accomplished, then, made me wonder...

If a man ever tells the truth in regards of food his wife made.

Hmmmmm...

"Did he really like it or did he just say that to make me feel better?"

I hope someone can tell me the real truth.

Hope you like them...

Kimcheese Rice Patties

(김치즈 주먹밥, Kimcheese jumuk bap)

makes 6-8 patties

1/2 lb fermented cabbage kimchee

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/3 lb ground pork

1 green onion, chopped

3 Tbsp parsley, chopped

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

3/4 C shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

3 cups cooked short grain rice

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

pinch salt

flour, eggs, and panko bread crumbs for coating

oil for deep frying and/or pan sear

Squeeze out the kimchee to remove its juice, chop finely. 

Heat the skillet over medium heat, add oil and saute ground pork until brown. Add kimchee and continue to saute until kimchee gets softened, about 6-7 minutes. Remove from heat, add black pepper, green onion and parsley, toss. Rest the mixture to cool down for a few minutes. Add mozzarella cheese and feta cheese, mix well, and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine rice with 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese and pinch salt.

Grease your hand with a little oil.  Scoop some rice, about 2 Tbsp, on the palm of your hand and flatten it with the other hand. Put 1 1/2 Tbsp of kimchee mixture on top of the rice. cover with more rice over the kimchee and make sure to cover the kimchee completely. Gently squish the rice patties to make into desired shapes.

For Deep frying, coat the patties with flour, egg and panko breadcrumbs. Deep fry in 170ºC oil until golden brown.

For pan seared, press the patties onto the rest of the grated Parmesan cheese both sides. Heat a little oil in the skillet and sear the patties until it creates golden crust, about 3 minutes on each side.

Printable recipe

 Note : I don't mind sharing my personal recipe with anyone but I would love to know whom I am sharing with.  Please, leave a comment if you are printing this recipe. Thank you.