One of the side effects of achieving a degree in culinary arts is that you become a resource for friends and family (and just about anyone) who have cooking questions. These questions range from the general “how do I make (insert dish name here)” and “how long should I cook it” to the very specific “do I need to adjust the portion if I am using kosher salt.” (Hi Mom!)
In addition to these general inquiries, I seasonally become a resource for all of the subscribers to our Fallon Food Hub Farm Share program. The beauty of eating seasonally and locally is that everything is so fresh, sourced from the neighborhood, and grown by people we know. The challenge is that sometimes you get produce items that you have never cooked before (and may not even recognize - I’m looking at you kohlrabi)--I take the responsibility of equipping folks with the tools they need to feel confident in preparing the strangest of local ingredients very seriously.
I was thinking about this responsibility last week when I stopped into Telegraph coffee. They have a stack of The Fallon Post print editions on their counter--this last issue featuring a fun photo in which I am holding a very large Napa Cabbage that was grown last year by the incomparable Scott Goodpasture of Pioneer Farms. What transpired was a detailed conversation about what I was holding and how you use it. We really didn’t need to get much further than kimchi when everyone sighed with pleasure. I was surprised at the love expressed for such a funky foreign ferment, pleased but surprised. While kimchi takes time (and some special ingredients), the flavors of kimchi can be quickly replicated and enjoyed in a matter of moments. So for more my friends at Telegraph Coffee - I present you with “Instant Kimchi.”
Instant Kimchi is a flavorful dressing that can be tossed with a wide variety of fresh vegetables and topped with your choice of Korean influenced proteins (meatballs, short ribs, tofu). In my house we have even gotten really wacky and used a crunchy instant kimchi slaw on top of shrimp tacos.
Sticking with the dueling themes of: tasty sauces; answering questions; and inspiring DIY kitchen adventures, I have also included my “recipe” for fermented hot sauce. This one is especially for you Rachel!
Instant Kimchi Ingredients
: • 1 T fish sauce •
1 T toasted sesame oil
• 1 T sugar
• 4 cloves of garlic-minced (or 4 cubes of minced garlic from the freezer packs)
• 1 T ginger-grated (or 3 cubes of minced ginger from the freezer packs) •
2 T Korean red pepper flakes “gochutgaru” (Now available in the Safeway spice section - with a green top)
• 1 T Korean red pepper paste “gochujang” (in the Asian section)
• 1 T water
Directions:
1. Mix all ingredients together until well combined.
2. Store in the refrigerator and enjoy tossed with fresh veggies or used as a marinade. Veggie ideas: mung bean sprouts, shredded napa cabbage, julienned carrots, greens (mustard, spinach, kale, watercress, arugula), cucumber slices, micro-greens.
Fermented Hot Sauce
Ingredients:
• 1 lb. peppers (you can use whatever peppers you want--the hotter the pepper mix, the hotter the sauce)
• 1-quart unchlorinated water
• 3 T salt • Vinegar (white wine, apple cider, champagne)
• Sugar or Honey
• Optional: Ginger, Garlic, Onions, Cilantro
Directions:
For the Ferment 1. Remove stems and cut peppers into chunks. Pack peppers into a quart size mason jar.
2. Mix salt into water and stir until dissolved. Pour salt-water brine over the peppers so they are fully submerged. Weigh down peppers with either a fer mentation weight or a Ziplock bag par tially filled with brine (they idea is to keep the peppers below the water where they are not exposed to oxygen). Loosely seal the jar.
3. Leave your pepper jar on the counter and let ferment for at least 1 week. Within a day or two you will start to see little bubbles and the liquid will get cloudy--this is how you know your fer mentation is working. There really isn’t an end time to fermentation. My last batch went 4 months.
4. Make sure that your container has the ability to “breathe”.. As fermentation happens, gas is released that needs to escape from the jar--if you seal your fermentation container to tight the pres sure grows inside the jar and will ulti mately cause a disaster.
To Make the Sauce
1. Strain the peppers - keep the fermen tation liquid.
2. In a blender, puree peppers with whatever flavoring ingredients you want to add (I use ginger and garlic), about ½ cup of the fermentation liquid, honey or sugar, and your choice of vinegar (start with ¼ cup).
3. Adjust seasoning--to make it: sweet er add sugar; funkier add fermentation liquid; tangier add vinegar.
4. For a finished sauce like tabasco, strain through a colander squeezing out as much liquid as you can.
5. For a thicker sauce, leave the pepper skins and seeds intact. Your sauce is still “alive” - you will want to store in the fridge and leave the top unsealed.
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