Sichuan Pepper Cabbage Kimchi + Sweet Miso Pumpkin Kimchi

Make your own food fireworks with homemade kimchi. This spicy, pungent, fermented vegetable dish will make any savoury recipe sparkle with added umami and interest. Try adding it to tagines, chilli, omelettes, cornbread, nachos and, of course, that Korean staple, bibimbap. Sure kimchi is a bit smelly, but goodness it’s good. And good for you. Go on, I dare you!

For the cabbage kimchi the Sichuan peppercorns are optional, but I love the distinct tingle of cold spiciness from these little terracotta-red berries. 

1 small head Chinese/napa cabbage, or you could use Savoy cabbage if you can’t find napa

1.5 litres water (I filtered mine)

120g pure sea salt (any additives will affect the fermentation process)

The Paste (enough for 2 heads of cabbage, or one cabbage kimchi and one recipe of pumpkin kimchi, see below)

100-115g chopped leek or spring onions, including the green parts

120g chopped mooli/white radish/daikon

3 chopped garlic cloves

40g peeled and chopped gingeroot

50g gochugaru (Korean pepper flakes – they aren’t too hot)

1 tbsp soy sauce, coconut aminos or fish sauce (fish sauce shown, but I use soy sauce these days – old pic!) or 2 tsp sea salt

1 tbsp honey or sugar 0r 2 tbsp grated apple or pear – something sweet is needed to feed the bacteria.

OPTIONAL

1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, lightly toasted then crushed to powder – for cabbage kimchi (use 2 tsp if using two cabbages and not making the pumpkin one)

1 tbsp white/yellow miso or Clearspring umami paste with ginger – for sweet miso pumpkin kimchi recipe (double these and the honey if making double of the pumpkin cabbage and no cabbage one)

1 tbsp honey or maple syrup – for sweet miso pumpkin

Equipment needed:  large mixing bowl(s), sterilised large jar(s) or fermenting crock(s), a weight and plate (I used a boiled stone for my jar, and the the weight that came with my kimchi kit), cutting board and knife, plastic gloves for mixing with kimchi (or use plastic sandwich bags), blender or food processor (hand blender is fine).

Method for cabbage kimchi:

1. Pour the water into a large bowl and add the salt; stir to dissolve. Rinse the cabbage and slice in half vertically; add to the large bowl. Weigh the leaves down with a plate topped with some kind of weight – I use a large round stone that I boiled in water and left to dry in the oven with my jar during sterilisation. Leave covered in a cool room for 6-24 hours.

2. Drain and rinse the cabbage under running water. Taste the cabbage and stop rinsing when it no longer tastes more than a tiny bit salty. The cabbage should be very soft. Squeeze the cabbage of its moisture in a clean tea towel. Cut into small pieces (about 3-4cm) and add back to the bowl.

3. Place all of the main kimchi paste ingredients to a blender or food processor (not the optional ingredients unless you are making a double batch of the cabbage kimchi, in which case use 2 tsp of Sichuan pepper) and blend until you achieve a smooth paste. Divide the batch in half and add the ground Sichuan peppercorns to the cabbage and the sweet miso and honey/maple syrup to the pumpkin one.

4. Add HALF of the paste (or all if making a double batch) to the bowl. Don your rubber gloves and mix the paste and cabbage very thoroughly with your gloved hands.  

4. Pack the kimchi into your sterilised crock or lidded jar, pressing out any air from the bottom. Cover the jar/crock with a tight-fitting lid and leave at room temperature to ferment for two days. After this time put in the fridge for 7-10 days (seal in a plastic bag to prevent any aroma from leaking out). It is ready to eat now and will last in the fridge for up to two months. After this time it will still be safe to eat but the flavour will be very pronounced.

Sweet Miso Pumpkin Kimchi

Follow the recipe above, but with the following instead of cabbage. You are using the other half of the paste mix. If you wish to make this all pumpkin then double the optional ingredients. Ignore the cabbage leaves in the ingredient image. 🙂

400g peeled and small dice winter squash or pumpkin – I used half an onion squash here

80g tbsp sea salt

Method: Mix the salt and pumpkin; cover and leave overnight at room temperature. Rinse well and carry on with the recipe, adding the miso and honey to the spice paste as indicated above. Place the coated pumpkin pieces in a jar or crock and leave covered overnight. Mix again, cover and refrigerate for 10 days. It should be used within five weeks.

How long does kimchi last? Well-made kimchi can last a year or so, but I wouldn’t go that far. The longest I’ve kept homemade kimchi is four months. Do not use if it seems  very “carbonated” or fizzy (a little tingle is fine but not if it sounds like you’ve opened a can of Coke) and the vegetables are mushy. Others say only toss it out if it has mould on it. I would err on the side of caution with homemade and use it within three month. Also, use only clean utensils to pull it from the jar as contamination by a dirty fork can shorten its life and taint the flavour.