Kim-chi for the Elimination Diet

I made some of this a few weeks ago to prep for the ED when I was reading Wild Fermentation.  Here is my modified version that I will definitely be keeping in stock as a condiment!  This is an incredibly flexible recipe: the onion, garlic, ginger paste (I left out the chilis that are usually a part of the paste) is the basis for all kimchi, and then you can add whatever you have on hand or sounds good!  Here's what I put in mine.

Kim-chi for the Elimination Diet

1 lb bok choy, rinsed well and chopped into thin, short strips
5-6 radishes, coarsely grated
2 carrots, coarsely grated
any other veggies you have around that sounds good

1-2 onions (or onion type things like leeks, shallots, scallions, etc)
3-4 garlic cloves (or more!)
3 T fresh grated ginger (or more!)

2-4 T salt

When preparing the kim-chi, I keep in mind that I'm going to be using it as a condiment, not as a dish by itself.  So I focus on keeping the pieces small enough to eat in bites with other things.  I coarsely grate the carrots and radishes instead of chopping them so they can add their flavor to bites without being large pieces that fill up the bite by themselves.

I cut the leaves of several stalks of the bok choy into about 1 inch strips, and then cut those into about 1/4 inch strips.

I cut the stems in half (or even thirds if they are wide enough) lengthwise and then chop them fairly finely.  

 

Mix a brine of about 4 cups of water and 2-4 T salt, depending on how salty you like things.  I don't like them terribly salty, so I only used 2 T.  Stir well to completely dissolve the salt and pour over the veggies in the bowl.  Put a plate or a plastic bag filled with water on top of the veggies to weigh them down and hold them below the brine.

 Let it sit for a few hours or overnight, until the veggies are tender and flexible.

Drain the veggies, reserving the brine.  Taste them for saltiness.  You want them to be salty, but not unpleasantly so.  If they are too salty, rinse them off, if not salty enough sprinkle a teaspoon or 2 over them.

Chop the onion, mince the garlic and grate the ginger, then put them all in a food processor and process them into a paste.  Mix the veggies and the paste together and pack it into a clean quart jar, pressing down until the brine rises.

 

After packing it all in, if the brine is having trouble staying over the veggies, add a little of the reserved brine from soaking the veggies.  You want it all to be completely submerged so it can safely ferment.

Once it is all in, I like to use a 4 oz jam jar in the mouth of my wide mouth jar to weight down the veggies and keep them under the brine.

Then I write the date on a coffee filter turned upside down over the top of the jar and and screw a metal band on top of it.  This allows the kim-chi to breathe and prevents random things from getting inside.  If you have a fermenting lid with an airlock, that works great too.

Put the jar in a bowl (to catch overflow during fermentation) and set it in a room temperature environment, some place out of the way, but where you won't forget about it.  If you aren't using an airlock lid, the smell of the garlic, onion and ginger can get pretty strong, so take that into account.  I get small food safe buckets from my local bakery, and I've delegated one for smelly ferments.  I just put the jar in the bucket, put the lid on loosely and then it doesn't smell up the whole house!  It has the added benefit of catching any overflow from the bubbling ferment too.

Let it ferment about a week, and then taste it to see if you like the tang.  Keep tasting it every few days until you like the flavor, then remove the weight, put a lid on it and place it in the fridge.  It will keep for months, and I'm finding it a very delicious condiment for my tacos!

Yield: 1 quart