Can anyone tell me how badly I screwed this up?
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sanne.
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- December 30, 2014 at 9:54 am #58201
WindInLeavesParticipantI made tongbaechu kimchi for the first time ever following the directions here (somewhat, no minari could be found)…. In reality, I had a bit more cabbage than the recipe called for, probably a head and a half more. I added a little bit extra of everything else to accommodate for it and have enough paste for filling. So, I added about half a cup more red-pepper flakes (to the two I began with), double the onion, a few extra buchu and green onion stalks, a few shakes more of fish sauce, a bit more salty shrimps…. Ultimately though, I’m afraid I added too much garlic (because it smells VERY strong, even after 36 hours). And another potentially fatal oopsie was the use of iodized salt.
Can anyone tell me what to expect? My hopes are still stupidly high and I’m trying to talk myself out of the initial, “Oh crap, just pitch it all…” phase. I mean, hopefully the iodized salt won’t inhibit fermentation too much (which is what I’ve heard). There is iodine in shrimp, so I’m not sure how that works… Like everything, there is probably a “sweet spot” or balance to the mixture.
I made it a few days ago and let it sit out for about 36 hours. It’s bubbly, but not as bubbly as you would expect. And the paste is very thick still, mostly only juicy at the edges, despite liberal use of daikon radish.
So, just in case this stuff does decide to ferment, I am now worried about it being bitter from the garlic. I’ve heard from a lot of online recipes that if I wanted to use tons of garlic, I shouldn’t have blended it into the paste. Rather, I should have left them whole or split in half.
Okay, so to tell you all exactly what I am smelling… Over the last few days the smell has mellowed and individual scents have blended together. There is still a powerful garlic and cabbagey smell. I can’t tell if it is souring up right though. It doesn’t smell vinegary and it doesn’t taste vinegary yet either. Just spicy-salty….
How long should I wait to know for sure? I’ve heard that some tongbaechu kimchi takes up to 21 days to ferment (isn’t that only in onggi though?). Let me try to figure out how to get a pic off my phone and onto the computer so I can share some pics…
- December 30, 2014 at 10:08 am #58202WindInLeavesParticipant
Should I just try to forget about it and check on it in like two-three weeks?
- December 31, 2014 at 11:39 am #58218LynnjaminParticipant
Don’t worry about the garlic smell. It takes some getting used to, but it sounds like the normal “oh my word! What evil have I wrought?” we all experience when it is fermenting in our homes. Give those little microbes a chance to convert those harsh compounds into the bold, intense, awesome flavors that are unique to kimchi. The smells they are emitting will not be part of the final product. But it sounds like it’s ready to go into the fridge. Try it in a week and see how it tastes. When it is cold, it will taste totally different. By the way, My first batch of oi sobagi woke me up in the middle of the night with the garlic smell. A few days later, it was mellow and delicious.
- December 31, 2014 at 10:41 pm #58221WindInLeavesParticipant
Hah! You’ve really put me at ease with the info on the garlic!!! How long do you think it will take for the fermentation to really get going? And will the kimchi go bad/not ferment properly because of the use of iodized salt? And, how often can I check on it? Is looking at it daily too much?
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- January 1, 2015 at 10:03 am #58225LynnjaminParticipant
We all know that anxious, new-kimchi-mom feeling; you are not alone! I think it’s funny that the only time we worry about bacteria NOT doing its job is when we actually WANT to eat the food afterwards.
I really doubt a tiny trace of iodine is enough to stop the powerful force of nature that is lactic-acid fermentation. Your kimchi looks beautiful. It’s making me hungry! I don’t see any harm in checking on it, but maybe it’s better to leave it alone for a few days. You know that old saying, “a watched pot never boils”.
Peak-season vegetables exude much more liquid than the cabbage and radishes we have to buy in the middle of winter. That can lead to a slightly less-juicy paste. That’s okay, but it makes it so big bubbles of gas don’t form. Fermentation is still occurring though. The results of fermentation vary because there are so many moving parts, so if it doesn’t look precisely like the stuff you see in the videos, it’s okay. It’s going to be YOUR baby, and it will be delicious!
- January 1, 2015 at 5:46 pm #58239WindInLeavesParticipant
Thank you, Lynjamin! And Happy New Year!! <3 <3 <3
- January 4, 2015 at 3:08 pm #58302WindInLeavesParticipant
Okayyy It’s officially been a week since I made this stuff and the smell has mellowed WAY more. I tasted it and so far it doesn’t smell or taste sour. Still a little funky-stinky. (But I don’t know if that’s normal still). Not slimy yet and not moldy yet either. The brine isn’t clear, but that’s because of blending garlic, ginger, onion and using iodized salt. I read somewhere that a good batch will swell and bubble. Mine looks like it’s shrunk, although its a bit more liquidy now. Hopefully in another week or two it goes sour in the right way!
- January 7, 2015 at 4:33 am #58393sanneParticipant
Hi WindInLeaves,
Looking good!
Try to push everything down a bit so that it’s more submerged. If far too dry, add a little well-salted water (preferably boiled and cooled down again) to cover it. Put a weight on top.
Don’t worry; it takes it’s time in the fridge!
You may put a small batch in an extra container, keep that at room-temperature and see what happens.Bye, Sanne.
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