Kimchi quesadilla
Kimchi is surprisingly easy to make and makes a great addition to rice dishes or a pork sandwich. Please note, if mould forms on your kimchi at any point, discard the batch and start again. Put the cabbage in the clean mixing bowl and kimchi quesadilla using your fingers. Arrange in layers, with a little salt sprinkled between each layer.
The cabbage will soften and become limp, and should be sitting in a pool of water when you return to it. It will have reduced in volume by about a third. Drain the salted cabbage in the clean colander, then return to the bowl. Cover with cold filtered water and swirl the cabbage around, then set aside to soak for 10 minutes. Drain in the colander and return to the bowl. The cabbage should taste slightly salty. In a blender or pestle and mortar, grind the garlic, ginger and chilli flakes to a paste.
Add the mooli, spring onion and carrot to the cabbage and tip in the chilli paste. You can do this with a spoon, but it is less effective. Spoon the cabbage mixture into the clean jar until it comes up to just under the top of the jar. There is no need to pack it too tightly but you don’t want too much air to reach the surface of the vegetables. Cover with the lid and fasten securely.
If your room is warmer, the kimchi will ferment more quickly. If it tastes spicy, sour and slightly cheesy with a good umami flavour, it can be transferred to the fridge to slow down the fermentation process. In particularly warm weather, you may see small bubbles appearing in the kimchi, which shows the vegetables are creating the lactic acid needed to preserve them. You can begin to eat your kimchi right away, but it will continue to ripen and become more fully flavoured the longer it is fermented. You’ll get to know which degree of flavour you prefer. If you are dipping in regularly, you may inadvertently introduce other bacteria to the jar, so it’s best consumed within a week or two. Either use a filter jug or bottled water.
Look out for Korean gochugaru chilli. It will give an authentic flavour and is available online and in Chinese or Korean supermarkets. If your jar is larger than needed, reserve one of the cabbage leaves before slicing and salt with the rest of the sliced cabbage. Take out of the bowl before adding the other vegetables and chilli paste, then place on top of the cabbage mixture once it is in the jar to help create a barrier to the air. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
