Sugar and grain free Kimchi?
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- This topic has 4 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 4 months ago by mill89.
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- November 21, 2017 at 10:02 am #75768devinamParticipant
I have friends who are on the GAPS diet to control their irritable bowel syndrome – which means NO SUGAR or GRAINS in their diet. They want to try kimchi – any suggestions on how to make kimchi without using mochiko and brown sugar? They can use honey as a sweetener. What can I use instead of mochiko to make the kimchi paste? Thanks so much!
- November 22, 2017 at 12:39 pm #75777EvilGrinParticipant
You dont have to use any sugar or grain products to make kimchi. It can be as simple as gochugaru, salt and cabbage if you wish. I use some Asian pear puree as my sugar source and it works very well.
Honey is a mild antibacterial so its not the best choice for lacto ferments.
My paste is fish sauce, onion, garlic, pepper flakes and Asian pear. It works great. Puree everything but the pepper flakes with a little water or kombu stock. Add pepper flakes to the puree until you have a thick paste.
Freeze any leftover paste.
- November 24, 2017 at 7:58 am #75787devinamParticipant
Excellent! Thanks for the pear suggestion and warning about honey. I found that Red Boat makes their fish sauce without sugar, so I think this will work just fine!
- November 24, 2017 at 11:28 am #75788EvilGrinParticipant
I use Redboat40n and its excellent fish sauce. Chung Jung One also has a good fish sauce with no sugar. Its the one with the gold label. Its just anchovies and salt.
Asian or even Bosc pear are fantastic for ferments. You wont even taste it after its well fermented. Even fresh the flavor is very subtle. IMO its a must have for kkaktugi especially if you like it semi fresh.
- November 29, 2017 at 8:09 am #75832mill89Participant
You can make kimchi without sugar and grain/thickener, for that matter. That’s how I used to make it. However I do use fine gochugaru instead of coarse, which is not traditional, but that is the only type available to me. I guess that has the effect of thickening the paste, so I can skip the porridge. Garlic and onions contain some natural sugars, as well as the cabbage and other vegetables to a smaller extent. I liked it this way, once well fermented.
I have now started using sweet rice flour porridge, sugar and pear, and this is also nice, and tastes better fresher, to me. But both are good.
For what it’s worth, I skip all seafood also, as I have a lot of vegetarian friends. But all my kimchi tastes better than the versions I’ve had from a pack or at a restaurant (in the UK) so I don’t mind!
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