Discover the recipe for kimchi, a delicious dish made from fermented Chinese cabbage that boosts our immunity.
If you like traditional Korean food, you know that kimchi is a healthy ally. This fermented cabbage made of chili peppers, condiments, and spices is rich in flavors and benefits. Here are all the steps of the kimchi recipe.
What is kimchi?
Kimchi is an authentic dish of Korean origin. Although there are many varied and tasty recipes, the most famous is the one based on Chinese cabbage. This vegetable is fermented in a spicy sauce (spices, condiments, and chilies), which preserves it, enriches it with vitamins and micronutrients, and also helps digestion.
Kimchi has a tangy (due to fermentation), spicy and salty taste. It can be eaten as is, without rinsing (because the juice is rich in nutrients), or as a side dish in salads or hot dishes, for example. It is up to you to vary the pleasures and enjoy as you wish this healthy food which "is one of the healthiest in the world", as our colleagues in Le Parisien point out.
Kimchi: proven benefits
Kimchi provides many natural and essential probiotics to the body. They balance our intestinal flora and activate our immune system. And if this fermented cabbage is also recommended, it is because it is associated with condiments that are excellent for health: garlic, onion, ginger, carrot, radish, turnip, sesame seed...
According to the nutritionist Jean-Michel Cohen, eating kimchi regularly allows to "reduce the development of different types of cancers", especially of the colon, the rectum, and the stomach. And for good reason, cabbage, the central vegetable of this recipe is rich in flavonoids, antioxidants that act against aging and prevent cancer. Another key food in kimchi, chili pepper, contains capsaicin, a pungent molecule known for its antimicrobial (infection reducing) and analgesic (pain-relieving) properties.
How to prepare kimchi?
Here is the famous kimchi recipe and, above all, discover how to enjoy this tasty preparation in a thousand and one ways.
The list of ingredients
one organic and local Chinese cabbage
1 shallot
1 head of garlic
1 ginger
20 g of salt
1 tablespoon of Gochugaru (Korean pepper) or Espelette pepper
1 tablespoon of nuoc-mâm sauce
The traditional kimchi recipe
Start by cutting the Chinese cabbage into several rectangular strips and mixing with the salt. Once this step is completed, you only have to wait 24 hours.
The next day, add the rest of the ingredients: nuoc mam sauce, chili, shallot, garlic, and minced ginger. Then, place this mixture in airtight and sterilized jars. Leave at room temperature and away from the sun (garage, cellar, or cupboard) for 4 days, then refrigerate for 3 weeks. If bubbles form, it is quite normal, it means that the fermentation is going well.
Let's start tasting
Now that you have completed the kimchi recipe, all that remains is to taste it. This is the last (and of course the best) step. To enjoy this product without spoiling it, you have several possibilities.
To stay in the classic style, you can simply taste it with fragrant rice, just out of water or sautéed in a pan with soy sauce and onions. It also goes very well with eggs, in an omelet, for example. You can also prepare it as a stew by cooking the traditional kimchi jjigae. This is a Korean soup made of kimchi, pork, and hot sauce.
As for the kimchi juice, don't throw it away. It can be used instead of vinegar or to marinate meat or fish.