Wild Fermentation was Re: [Sca-cooks] My Christmas dinner & LOOT

[Phlip]

Ene bichizh ogsen baina shuu...

> I hesitate to share a recipe that I have not actually used yet,
successfully
> or otherwise.  Sandor's instructions give you a lot of latitude for
> experimentation.  He basically has you mix a brine of 4 cups of water and
4
> Tablespoons of salt, chopped cabbage and whatever other veggies you like.
> Soak these in the brine, with a weight on them to hold them all under
water,
> a few hours or overnight.  Drain, add spices including 1 to 2 onions, 3 or
4
> cloves of garlic [or more!] and 3 or 4 hit red chilies [or more!] and 3
> Tablespoons of grated ginger.  Pack back into the jar with enough brine to
> cover.  Ferment in kitchen or other warm place, or more slowly in a cold
> place like a hole in the ground or cellar.

Not much different from the one my mother gave me. We just salt the Hel out
of the chopped cabbage and let it sit in a strainer for a few hours, or
overnight.

Usual veggies are the Chinese types of cabbage (although the regular heads
work fine), lots and lots of fresh garlic (I've added garlic powder when
that was all I had, when I was refreshing it- worked fine), lotsa hot
peppers (one of my favorite uses for dried Thai peppers, crushed THEN HANDS
WASHED THOROUGHLY!!!! ;-), Daikon radish- have tried both shreds and small
cunks (dice) both work. Never added onions other than chopped scallions, or
ginger, but I could see both of them working fine. Usually threw in the
fridge for a week before it was considered edible. Used it as a condiment
with many meals- in the summers, if it's refrigerated, it's really good with
the hot flavor and the cold texture.

Once we have a batch going, we'd refresh it as we used it- add about one
cabbage and associated vegetables and water at the bottom, put the already
made back on top. If you don't keep it in the fridge, it's important to keep
an eye on it, make sure the juices don'y evaporate so the veggies are
exposed. Other than that, there's pretty much nothing you can do to hurt it.
We've always produced ours in a gallon glass jug, but Margali just gave me
about a two gallon food-safe plastic jug, so I'm going to try it that way-
I'll know it worked if it doesn't eat through the side of the plastic ;-)

It really is a nice side with most meats, although it's a bit strong to
serve with chicken or turkey, unless they're highly spiced too, as in my
Chicken a la Benson. Do a breadless hamburger- the fat and juicy kind ;-)
with a bit of Kim Chee and some rice on the side, and you've got a nice easy
lunch. Goes well with pork roasts, venison roasts, and beef roasts as well-
not at its best beside lamb- still good, but the flavors don't conpliment
each other well.

If, instead of chopping the cabbage, you grate it like you would for
sourkraut (and all it really is, is Korean sourkraut) you put a heaping
tablespoon in a basic stock for a soup (one serving), maybe add a few other
veggies like peas or diced carrots, it makes a kickass soup.

Saint Phlip,
CoDoLDS

"When in doubt, heat it up and hit it with a hammer."
 Blacksmith's credo.

 If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably not a
cat.

Never a horse that cain't be rode,
And never a rider who cain't be throwed....