Kimchi success with slight modifications

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    • #50976
      tkamiya
      Participant

      Hello….

      Just made some Kimchi using Maangchi’s recipe with some modifications. It was a great success!

      I thought I’d share what we did as we had to deviate from the “official” recipe a little to adjust to our dietary needs. In particular, we needed it to be low(er) salt, less spice, and no fish sauce.

      We followed the Nappa Cabbage Kimchi recipe.

      To soak, we used 1/2 cup salt rather than 1 1/2 cup that recipe calls for. It was actually sufficient.

      We used 1 1/2 cup of pepper flakes rather than 4.

      1/3 cup of garlic rather than 1 full cup.

      2 tbs of ginger rather than 1

      We omitted 1 cup fish sauce but used 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup Kosher salt. We weren’t sure 1/4 cup was sufficient, so we packed one jar then added some for the rest.

      The end result was SUCCESS! Less salty and milder Kimchi!

      I am NOT sure if my version will last as long as normal ones as there’s less salt to preserve it, but so far so good. Fermentation happened normally, and after 2 weeks in fridge, it’s quite tasty.

      I hope this is helpful to someone who follows low salt diet.

    • #55735
      tkamiya
      Participant

      Hum….

      I wonder if this is a result of less salt in my Kimchi….

      It has been two weeks since we made Kimchi. They are in Mason jars and in fridge. I leave caps tightly secured. In 2 to 3 days it generates enough gas to make a fairly loud “POP” sound when I open it.

      I think that means it is still fermenting.

      Is this normal? I don’t recall store bought Kimchi doing this once I get it home, but I’ve never kept them in tightly sealed jar like this either.

      Would anyone like to share experience?

      Do your kimchi, POP?

    • #55736
      ddnorman
      Participant

      Tkamiya,

      I don’t think that’s too odd. I have had it happen to me especially with kkakdugi. It *is* a sign that the kimchi is still fermenting. In my opinion there’s nothing wrong…that batch is just very vigorous. I just keep checking the lids on my mason jars and if they look or feel like they are bulging, I open them to release gas. I have yet to find any of my kimchi that kept fermenting like this that have gone bad. In fact I’m always happy when my kimchi pops! I like it strong!

      As for the store bought containers, the ones with the plastic lids may have a loose enough seal to allow excess gas to leak out. I had a jar of kimchi bought from Marketbasket (local supermarket chain in New England) that overflowed on me when I opened it. The kimchi was bubbling as well. It was tightly sealed wit a metal lid. That kimchi tasted just fine (not as good as Maangchi’s homemade though ^^).

      I hope this helps!

      Dave

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