Monday, October 11, 2010

kimchi stuffed cucumbers

10 kirby cucumbers
kosher salt for pickling
homemade kimchi (recipe below)

homemade kimchi:
1 large napa cabbage (2 pounds)
2 tbsp. kosher salt

1/4 cup white rice vinegar
1/4 cup dashi broth (see recipe below)
3 tbsp. hot korean chili paste (gochujang)
2 tbsp. course korean chili powder
1 tbsp. sweet japanese chili paste
1 1/2 tbsp. fuji apple (grated)
1 tbsp. garlic (grated)
2/3 tbsp. ginger (grated)
1 tsp. fish sauce
2 carrots julienned
2 1/2" daikon slice julienned
4 scallions cut into about 2" slices keeping the green part

first you want to start the pickling process of the cabbage. cut the cabbage lengthwise in have, and remove the core. slice the cabbage into about 2" slices. rinse of the cabbage, and place on a paper towel to dry completely. place dry cabbage into a large bowl, and mix with the 2 tbsp. of salt. you'll need to apply pressure to the cabbage to start the pickling. i used a large tupperware container and placed the cabbage in. on top of the cabbage i then placed a plate with another medium size tupperware filled with water to apply pressure. let set for 24 hours.

in a large bowl add in the white rice vinegar, dashi broth, both chili pastes, chili powder, apple, garlic, fish sauce and ginger and mix together to form a paste. place this in the fridge and chill for 24 hours. (same timing as the cabbage)

in a large bowl add in the carrots, daikons, and scallions and mix together. strain out the cabbage of all the liquid and add the cabbage into the bowl and mix all together. pour over the korean marinade and mix everything together and place into mason jars. let set for another 48 hours in room temperature, and then into the refrigerator for an additional 4 day to finish the process.

makes about 3 cupspickling time: 7 days*side note* if making this in the summer you can reduce the kimchi pickling time in half to 24 instead of 48 hours, and 2 days in the fridge instead of 4 before serving.

dashi broth:
8 cups water
2 pieces of dashi konbu (about 5"x5")
1 1/2 cup bonito flakes (packed)
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp. soy sauce
1/3 cup mirin2 tbsp. sugar

cook time: 1 hour 30 mins.

place the 8 cups of water and the konbu pieces in large pan. bring to a boil then lower heat to low, cover and low simmer for 30 mins. remove the konbu pieces and add in 1 cup of the bonito flakes. cover and low simmer for another 30 mins. strain the broth into a bowl, and add liquid back to the pan. add the remaining bonito flakes to the broth and low simmer for another 30 mins. strain again, and pour broth back into the pan. add in the soy sauce, mirin, and sugar and mix together. cool and place in the refrigerator.

broth will last 3-4 days chilled in the refrigerator or pour into ice cube trays and freeze for later use.makes about 8 cups of dashi broth.

kimchi stuffed cucumbers:
cut each cucumber in half, then cut a slit down the middle up to 1/2″ of the end. rotate the cucumber 90 degrees and cut another slit down the middle up to 1/2″ of the end. cover the cucumbers in a generous amount of kosher salt. the salt helps coax the water out of the cucumbers making them more crunchy. don’t worry about over-salting as we will be washing off the extra salt later. make sure you get the salt in between the slits in the cucumber. set them aside for at least 1 hour.

when the cucumbers have gone from an opaque pale green to a translucent green with water collecting at the bottom of the bowl, they are ready. rinse them thoroughly in cold water and squeeze as much water out of each cucumber as you can. stuff a few tablespoons of the homemade kimchi into the pocket of each cucumber. chill in the fridge, and serve cold as a side dish.

enjoy :)

justin

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