Third attempt in a year.
It’s the right texture, but I’m still missing something. It’s not as good as store bought, but good enough. And I’m working on improving that zest.
Kimchi sans fish sauce. Via https://www.liveeatlearn.com/how-to-make-kimchi/
Third attempt in a year.
It’s the right texture, but I’m still missing something. It’s not as good as store bought, but good enough. And I’m working on improving that zest.
Kimchi sans fish sauce. Via https://www.liveeatlearn.com/how-to-make-kimchi/
I’ve made kimchi before, but under the supervision of my mom. So I’m not exactly an expert.
To me it looks like your kimchi is too watery. After looking at the recipe I think I may know why. This is a vegan recipe, traditional kimchi not only has fish sauce, but it also has quite a bit of fermented shrimp brine.
It doesn’t look like the recipe you linked has enough salt in the actual spice mix, traditional kimchi gets this from the shrimp. If you don’t have enough salt, the marinade won’t fully saturate the cabbage.
If you are trying to do a traditional vegan recipe I would suggest just doing This but substituting salt for the shrimp, and something like tamari or something with umami for the fish sauce.
I actually don’t know if I would use that recipe, it seems low on both sugar and salt for preservation.
You could also add some some extra veggies to help reduce overall moisture and kick the flavor up. Some recipes use Korean Pear or julienne carrots in place or reduction of sugar - both work great. Throw some thinly sliced Korean Radish in there for a little bit of bite, and you get that Kkakdugi bit when it’s done. Lots of options.
My mom always made a rice porridge with a ground up Korean pear in it for the sugar in her starter. Makes the paste really thick and sticky so it coats really well. I think it also gives the kimchi a bit of a kick, but I think my family likes stronger fermentation than most people.