I realized I hadn't made any since running out of the "good" red
pepper flakes my Korean friend used to get shipped to her from her
mother in Korea. She always disdained the stuff she could get here
(US) but mom is gone, friend is back in Seoul and incommunicado, and I
had a hankerin', so off to the local Korean store for some of theirs
(1 lb. bag $3.99. 5 lb. bag $16. Do you know how much red pepper 5
pounds is?? :-) ). I had everything else I needed in house.

I decided to try a version that used a rice "pudding" to bind things
together and settled on this:

http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/easy-kimchi

albeit without the salted squid (I've had a tough time with the smell
of old squid ever since my Japanese-Hawaiian college roommate
regularly snacked on the stuff around me :-) )

Anyway, made it yesterday. The bulk of it is sitting the the fridge,
but I left some in a container out on the counter overnight to
expedite the fermentation and tried it out this afternoon.

Still has a ways to go, but it is awesome. Not too hot, balance of
flavors is just right. I have to remember to keep this stuff around,
as a snack, a condiment, a side, or ingredient for other dishes.

--
Silvar Beitel

On 2/25/2013 11:28 AM, Silvar Beitel wrote:
> I realized I hadn't made any since running out of the "good" red
> pepper flakes my Korean friend used to get shipped to her from her
> mother in Korea. She always disdained the stuff she could get here
> (US) but mom is gone, friend is back in Seoul and incommunicado, and I
> had a hankerin', so off to the local Korean store for some of theirs
> (1 lb. bag $3.99. 5 lb. bag $16. Do you know how much red pepper 5
> pounds is?? :-) ). I had everything else I needed in house.

Those big bags of Korean pepper blew my mind when I first saw it. I
chickened out and just got the 1 lb bag. For a while, I was using it in
everything - like coating loaves of bread and meatloaf. That was some
goofy looking food.

My wife likes that real Korean kimchee. I like the lighter Hawaiian
style i.e., "the sissy stuff." Anyway, she's on a diet and can't eat
very many things but my guess is that she could eat all the kimchee she
wants. Hopefully, I can make a small batch of it. She likes it fresh,
not fermented.

>
> I decided to try a version that used a rice "pudding" to bind things
> together and settled on this:
>
> http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/easy-kimchi
>
> albeit without the salted squid (I've had a tough time with the smell
> of old squid ever since my Japanese-Hawaiian college roommate
> regularly snacked on the stuff around me :-) )

My mother-in-law would dump in raw oysters - holy smokes!

>
> Anyway, made it yesterday. The bulk of it is sitting the the fridge,
> but I left some in a container out on the counter overnight to
> expedite the fermentation and tried it out this afternoon.
>
> Still has a ways to go, but it is awesome. Not too hot, balance of
> flavors is just right. I have to remember to keep this stuff around,
> as a snack, a condiment, a side, or ingredient for other dishes.
>
> --
> Silvar Beitel
>

On Feb 25, 5:45*pm, Sqwertz > wrote:
> On Mon, 25 Feb 2013 13:28:38 -0800 (PST), Silvar Beitel wrote:
> > Anyway, made it yesterday. *The bulk of it is sitting the the fridge,
> > but I left some in a container out on the counter overnight to
> > expedite the fermentation and tried it out this afternoon.
>
> It'll take forever to ripen at fridge temps. *Tod o it properly it
> needs to be kept at a higher temp, at least for a few days, before
> going into the fridge. I keep mine in a 58F wine cooler. *It's
> currently housing a couple quarts of pickles (needs at least another 2
> weeks).
>
> -sw

I agree, but in my case, "forever" is good. I'm the only one here who
eats it and what I have should last me six months. I will take some
out of the main stash at regular intervals and let it sit at a warmer
temperature for however long I like to get just the right level of
rotten-ness :-)

--
Silvar Beitel

On Mon, 25 Feb 2013 13:28:38 -0800 (PST), Silvar Beitel
> wrote:

>I realized I hadn't made any since running out of the "good" red
>pepper flakes my Korean friend used to get shipped to her from her
>mother in Korea. She always disdained the stuff she could get here
>(US) but mom is gone, friend is back in Seoul and incommunicado, and I
>had a hankerin', so off to the local Korean store for some of theirs
>(1 lb. bag $3.99. 5 lb. bag $16. Do you know how much red pepper 5
>pounds is?? :-) ). I had everything else I needed in house.
>
>I decided to try a version that used a rice "pudding" to bind things
>together and settled on this:
>
>http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/easy-kimchi
>
>albeit without the salted squid (I've had a tough time with the smell
>of old squid ever since my Japanese-Hawaiian college roommate
>regularly snacked on the stuff around me :-) )
>
>Anyway, made it yesterday. The bulk of it is sitting the the fridge,
>but I left some in a container out on the counter overnight to
>expedite the fermentation and tried it out this afternoon.
>
>Still has a ways to go, but it is awesome. Not too hot, balance of
>flavors is just right. I have to remember to keep this stuff around,
>as a snack, a condiment, a side, or ingredient for other dishes.

That's the same recipe I use, sans squid also. Love the stuff.

http://www.kokoscornerblog.com/mycor...hi-heaven.html

or
http://tinyurl.com/8bzbevc

koko
--
Food is our common ground, a universal experience
James Beard

www.kokoscornerblog.com