Make This in 15 Minutes
Posted by Avi
Friday September 24, 2010Last night I assembled the following dinner for myself:
1. Ginger-Scallion Sauce (made it last month too for this David Chang-style dish)
2. Ramen noodles, from the cheap-o packages that cost 20 cents–they’re small, 3 oz. of noodles per package, so I used a few (discard the little flavor packets, just use the noodles)
3. Poached egg
4. Homemade kimchi, which I’ve been making using the recipe (see below) from The Joy of Pickling
A completely incredible dinner, which took all of 15 minutes to assemble. And don’t be afraid of those cheap-o ramen noodle just because they’re 20 cents a package: if you multiply it out to the price it would cost to buy a pound, it’s over a dollar, so suddenly they don’t seem as cheap. And they’re delicious, especially with the Ginger-Scallion Sauce. And with a runny, poached egg yolk on top. And kimchi on the side.
Basic Cabbage Kimchi
Makes about 1 1/2 quarts
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon pickling salt
6 cups water
2 pounds Chinese cabbage (1 large head), cored and cut into 2-inch squares
6 scallions, cut into 2-inch lengths and slivered lengthwise
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons Korean dried ground hot pepper (or other mildly hot ground red pepper)
1 teaspoon sugar
Dissolve 3 tablespoons salt in the water. Put the cabbage into a large bowl, crock, or nonreactive pot and pour the brine over it. Weight the cabbage with a plate. Let the bowl stand at room temperature for 12 hours.
Drain the cabbage, reserving the brine. Mix the cabbage with the remaining ingredients, including the remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Pack the mixture into a 2-quart jar. Cover the cabbage with some of the reserved brine, push a food-grade plastic bag into the mouth of the jar, and pour the remaining brine into the bag. Seal the bag. Let the kimchi ferment in a cool place, preferably at no higher than 68°F, for 3 to 6 days, until the kimchi is as sour as you like.
Remove the brine bag and cap the jar tightly. Store the kimchi in the refrigerator, where it will keep for months.
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[...] We’ve also been finding new ways to use our revised edition of The Joy of Pickling. A month or so ago, readers of The Kitchn were commenting on how useful this book is, and that’s especially true at this time of year. There’s so much fall bounty in our gardens and at local farmers’ markets, so I’ve been using Linda Ziedrich’s book to make, among other things, bread-and-butter pickles and kimchi. [...]