The two most important factors in kimchi-making are the cabbage and the chili powder/flakes. Make sure you pick out a firm heavy head of cabbage…the best chili mixture will not save a bad/bitter cabbage. Maybe even taste it while you’re buying it; it should have a certain sweetness. This rule is also crucial when picking out radishes for radish kimchi (I still have a hard time picking “good” ones).
You have the get the right chili powder/flakes. Firstly, it must be a Korean brand. Secondly, it should not be too flaky nor too finely ground. Thirdly, it should be a really bright, vibrant red (avoid the darker variety). The best chili powder comes directly from Korea, my mom keeps hers in the freezer.
Now, onto easy and delicious recipes that kimchi lovers must try:
The best kimchi jjigae is made with pork ribs. period. Just throw the ribs, kimchi, and kimchi juice (the more the better) into the pot, cover with water, and just let it simmer and simmer and simmer until the ribs are meltingly cooked through (maybe the fermented kimchi helps tenderize the meat?) and the kimchi is soft but still has some bite to it.
Adding sliced tofu is also a must, but you want to add it about 10 min before you’re done cooking the jjigae, otherwise the tofu will break apart and make the jjigae too messy.
Of course, for a faster, lighter version, you can omit the pork. But the ribs bring an amazing richness and depth of flavor to the jjigae. Plus, that lip-smacking oily goodness.
If you have an ample amount of liquid / if you make the jjigae without the pork (=less thick soup), you can also add dried udon noodles directly into the jjigae, or almost fully-cooked glass noodles (potato starch noodles, I think). But make sure you have a lot of soup to spare. The noodles help thicken runny soup, plus, who doesn’t love noodles? My aunt also adds spam to her jjigae, which is actually pretty good too once the spam chunks have soaked up the kimchi goodness.
I love to have my jjigae and rice with gim (salted/roasted nori). I don’t know why, but the addition of the gim just makes it so…oh my. I am salivating.
Another fast and light recipe to try (especially during the warmer months) is kimchi bibim gooksu (noodles). Chop the kimchi (older and stinkier is better) and toss with a little sugar, a few drops of sesame oil, a couple sprinkles of vinegar, a smattering of sesame seeds. Add some kimchi juice if the mix is too dry. T
he concoction should be sweet and somewhat tangy, definitely pungent, with a slight toastiness. Now toss this with some rice noodles or buckwheat noodles and top with sesame seeds and some sliced scallions. It’s refreshingly delicious and I’m sure you’d love it.
Or, pair the kimchi mixture with sliced mook (it’s like a savory jelly made from starch…I think?). The white kind is the plain version that has no taste and is slightly softer, and goes better with a soy sauce mixture (you might’ve had this as a banchan at Korean restaurants). If you can find it, try getting the brown (acorn) mook, which is slightly firmer and has a richer, earthier taste, which better compliments the kimchi mixture. (with the mook, you might have to cut around the edges because sometimes a rubbery skin forms…edible and tolerable, but not too pleasant.)
You can probably also find packaged powder to make the mook at home, but just be prepared to do a lot of stirring.
If you are familiar with and like fermented soybean paste, try sauteing old kimchi with a little sesame oil and said soybean paste. It’s rich and almost meaty…kind of like super-reduced kimchi jjigae. Mound onto hot rice, thick juices and all, stir, and proceed to shovel into mouth with the largest spoon you can find. Also great with thick, cold slabs of firm tofu.
Or, instead of the soybean paste, saute the kimchi and sesame oil with marinated bbq pork (the spicy, red kind). And perhaps throw in some sliced rice cakes (those soft, long, white logs that usually come in a mound on a styrofoam plate covered in plastic wrap. They also come pre-sliced and frozen, but you need to soak those first). Anyway, serve this with those thick, cold slabs of firm tofu, and you’ve got kimchi jeyook bokkeum.
As others have said, there are so many possibilities when it comes to kimchi, and so many delicious varieties of kimchi as well. I love kimchi lots and love to hear when non-Koreans love kimchi too, and I must commend you for making it yourself (hooray!). Enjoy your kimchi escapades…and make sure you’ve got plenty of toothpicks, floss, and gum on hand…
