Speedy Kim Chee

So I usually am someone who likes to take on the most challenging and time consuming culinary adventures, but today I thought I would give myself a little break. Kim Chee, or Korean pickled cabbage,  is usually a process that takes a very long time. However, I found a fun recipe from Tyler Florence, my favorite Food Network star, for a quick Kim Chee.

I adore spicy food and Kim Chee is a favorite. One of my favorite restaurants back in Monterey, where I studied for graduate school, was a Korean restaurant. Before you even ordered your main dish, they filled the table with about 30 small plates of pickled goodies, all free! You could pretty much make a meal out of just the pickles. They had a few Kim Chee options, and I just love that funky, spicy flavor.

What I liked most about Tyler's recipe, is that besides the cabbage, I actually already had all the ingredients at home! I tried his recipe with a few changes of my own. (The original recipe can be found here).

You will need:

1 head of Napa cabbage
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup rice vinegar (I had flavored rice vinegar at home, so I used that)
1 TBSP sugar*
2 TBSPs hot chili paste.**
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
2 colves of garlic, chopped (I used a garlic press)
2 scallions, finely sliced


*While Tyler calls for sugar, I actually use a product called Caster Sugar. It's super fine and dissolved easily. It's used a lot in desserts, and I always use it when making dipping sauces that call for sugar.

**Tyler recommends using Srirachi paste. I had Srirachi sauce at home, but to make sure that my marinade was thick enough, I mixed equal parts of Srirachi sauce and a Thai chili paste I had on hand. The Thai sauce has a bit of sweetness and a little funk from fish sauce.



Remove the outer leaves of the washed cabbage. Remove the hard core of the cabbage and cut the whole thing into 2 inch strips. Put the cabbage into a colander over a bowl. Add the salt and mix it up with your hands. Let it sit in the colander for 2 hours so that the leaves are wilted.

When the cabbage is done, mix up the brine by combining the vinegar, garlic, ginger, chili paste and scallions.

Rinse the cabbage to get rid of the salt and then dry it. I used a salad spinner. Add the cabbage into the brine and give it a good mix.

Put the mixture into a sterilized jar (boiled for 10 minutes). Pack it down well and add enough water to just cover it. Label your jar and put in the fridge. According to Tyler, it will be ready to eat in 4 hours. However, the flavors get deeper and deeper the more it sits, so I would give it overnight.

Since this is my first time making this, I figured I would wait until it was ready and give an update. So it's now been overnight and I tasted the finished product... It tastes great - but not like Kim Chee at all! I like it a lot - but it's super gingery, almost has a flavor of pickled ginger. Next time, I probably will use less ginger and more Srirachi. The ginger gives it a kick that goes right up your nose. It's very refreshing and summery. Try it out and give it your own twist!