Making (and loving) Kimchi
It has been a long slow road for me to embrace fermented foods. First there was the unfortunate sauerkraut incident but a mere 14 years later I learned to enjoy making and eating homemade sauerkraut and turnip kraut. However, one dish I have never made friends with, until this past weekend, was kimchi. I have never liked the texture of it. But that all changed and I'm a kimchi convert thanks to my husband and a great recipe.
My turn of heart (and taste buds) all started when Robert found a recipe (see note at bottom of post) that Jolene Katzenberger shared in her September 16, 2009 column. We got some beautiful cabbages from Lebanon producer Laura Karr, owner of KG Acres, and Robert made the recipe. He gave it a week to hang out in the fridge to allow the flavors to develop.
On Sunday we sampled the kimchi. WOW! This was not your usual kimchi suspect. You heard it from me--the newly reformed kimchi eater--you have got to try this kimchi. The cabbage was crisp and the flavor was out of this world. Robert made a pork and kimchi stir fry with it for Sunday supper--his recipe is similar to this one but he used a pork tenderloin instead of the pork belly. It was the best.
Sunday night Robert caught me standing in front of the fridge eating the leftover kimchi out of the container proving that some people can change given the right motivation or, in this case, the right recipe.Thanks, Jolene!
NOTE: The recipe is no longer on the STAR site, but if anyone wants it, just send me an email and I'll send you a copy that I've scanned.
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It looks like Indy Star took down the kimchi recipe. Can you repost it?
Posted by: Joel | October 17, 2009 at 02:00 PM
The texture and flavor are incredible. It's a keeper.
Posted by: victoria | October 16, 2009 at 10:51 AM
You're welcome! It really is good, isn't it?
Posted by: Jolene Ketzenberger | October 16, 2009 at 10:30 AM