How to make kimchi

I decided to make some kimchi having read a bit about it. The Koreans credit is with the revival of their nation. Tall order for a food, but worth a try I thought.

Recipe

4 tablespoons of salt
1 litre of water
1 Chinese cabbage (Napa cabbage), sliced into rough 1cm discs
5 radishes, thinly sliced
3 chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
5 cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated

Add the salt to the water and mix until dissolved.
Submerge the cabbage, carrots and radishes in the brine and hold down with a plate. Leave this over night.
Next strain the vegetables, but reserve the brine for later.

Make up a sauce. There is a lot of variation between different kimchi recipes, but I prefer the combination of chillies, garlic and ginger given in the list above. Mix them into the drained vegetables.

Put the vegetables into a sealable glass jar. I use a Kilner, but anything with a reasonable seal is fine. The reason for the seal is that you don't want the brine to evaporate. If it does the cabbage rots with nasty consequences for your kitchen. A hard smell to get rid of. You only make this mistake once.

Press the veg down into the jar, flattening out the surface. Pour enough of the brine back in to cover the whole lot. Next you need to weigh down the veg to stop them surfacing. For this I use a jam jar with no lid. Make sure that everything is good and clean first. Lower the jar onto the surface of the vegetables and gently press to rise the brine level up. Seal the jar and leave it on a counter top in your kitchen for about a week until it sours. Once it is sour transfer it to the fridge and eat it at your leisure. It should keep for a good while at this stage, but mine never makes it beyond a week :)

When you are waiting for the kimchi to sour make sure to check it every day. My 'checking' involves taking a good big forkful out to have with my lunch. Kimchi is great as an alternative slaw. Very healthy too. Once you do this check press the rest of the kimchi back into place and replace the jar. Always make sure to use clean hands and utensils when touching the kimchi.

My first effort at this stank the house out. The second was lovely until it soured, then it was really good. My third go is nice (not soured yet), but I added finely chopped onions at the sauce stage and they have made it into a bit of a mess. Bit like brewing, so practice makes perfect.