[Sca-cooks] A Question

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Daniel Phelps wrote:
>
> Does anyone know of a mail order site to get kimshi from?
>
> Daniel Raoul

Offhand, it strikes me that such a site may exist, but some necessary
considerations might include the fact that kimchee is somewhat volatile,
like sauerkraut (which it resembles in many respects). You can probably
get all kinds of canned and other stable products (I've even seen it
dried or freeze-dried, just add water, etc.), but by far the best is a
fairly fresh, actively fermenting  product whose distinctive flavor is
contributed to by carbonation of the vegetable itself.

I've also seen it in little plastic tubs resembling those little pudding
containers in the dairy case, but it is not, AFAIK, pasteurized and
would need to be refrigerated, or you may end up with explosions almost
as interesting as with surstromming.

On the other hand, it really is not difficult to make, and if you're
going to purchase and store the stuff, you're already letting yourself
in for the same kind of unique aroma experience you'd have if you made
it, so unless you have a constant local supply of the fresh stuff, your
best bet probably really is to just make your own. I'm sure I have a
recipe someplace, assuming there's none online, which would surprise me
greatly if there weren't. Basically it involves salting raw vegetables
with lots of garlic, ginger, and red chilies, maybe a scallion or two,
and allowing it to form a brine, which then undergoes a lactobacillic
fermentation. The toughest part will be finding a nice, big Mason jar,
but if you've made dill pickles you probably already have this. The
whole
process might take four days or so.

I actually had some nice daikon kimchee with lunch yesterday, alongside
different types of Korean mandoo dumplings. (Presumably these are
cognates of, and directly related to, Chinese and Central Asian m'an tou
and Uzbeki mantee.) I earned raised eyebrows from the manager of the
Mandoo Bar, upon requesting a second consignment of kimchee, but his
mother, also present, it turns out, was duly impressed. It also turns
out that the chili-laced pickle juice makes a fine sauce for that type
of dumpling.

Adamantius (not normally a proponent of the little mints available at
some restaurant cash registers... however...)
--
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com