Kinda Kimchi
Kinda Kimchi
Makes about ten 1 cup servings
(on my video, I make a double batch)
CKD: K+ 171mg, Pho 25mg, PRO 1g
DASH: 2V
Cabbage. It's one of the few things on this planet that proves Mother Nature is not totally against us. Cabbage defies her in that it loves us and wants only to take care of us and keep us strong, healthy, nourished, and satiated - which it has been doing world-wide for over 2500 years! Yup, it's an Old World food, or if you prefer, it's O.G. Cabbage is versatile, inexpensive, keeps a while in the fridge, is very nutritious, and low in potassium and phosphorus - raw or cooked! Bonus!
I call this recipe Kinda Kimchi because it’s mostly the same ingredients as vegan kimchi except it is not fermented (it's more like a slightly brined salad), it uses MUCH less salt, and you can use whatever kind of chili you like. I use gochuhjang, California red chili flakes, and New Mexican red chili powder because this combo is spicy, sweet, and slightly earthy. I will give some suggestions in the ingredients list for you, but please use what you like!
Also, I use a mix of cabbages and the counts above reflect that. If you want to keep your counts lower, use only green cabbage instead of the variety. The recipe works just as well - I promise.
And lastly, if you think you are going to have too much dressing/sauce, use a little more than half of it for the kinda kimchi, the rest to marinade some chicken or tofu. Or use it to dress some fresh cucumbers or canned bamboo.
Sauce:
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
3 tablespoons Gochujang (or gochugaru, aleppo, harissa, sriracha, or whatever your fav choice of chili powder or paste may be)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons of grated ginger or ginger paste
3 to 5 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
optional 1 teaspoon of hot mustard or horseradish
Mix these ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside to flavor-meld.
Salad: (this is NOT the doubled version in the video)
3 cups green cabbage, cut into bite-sized chunks
3 cups of napa cabbage, cut into bite-sized chunks
2 cups of bok choy, stalks cut into ¼ inch slices, leaves sliced a little thicker
¾ cup or a medium onion (any variety - I usually use a white onion)
¾ cup green onions, tipped and cut into 1 inch pieces
¼ cup chopped parsley (absolutely, cilantro works just as well!)
3 tablespoons of coarse kosher salt
If your cabbage is dry, pour in about 2 tablespoons of water
Place the cabbage(s) into a large metal bowl or pot. Sprinkle in the salt and then use your hands to mix it all in. Cover the pot or bowl and let it sit for about 3 hours. Give it a stir every hour just to turn the cabbage around in the salt solution.
When the three hours are up, transfer the cabbage into a colander and rinse the salt off. Then dry the cabbage either by placing it in a kitchen towel and squeezing the water out, or use a Salad Spinner. It doesn't need to be completely dry, damp is good. Put it back in the pot or bowl and add in the onions and as much of the sauce as you deem good. Store this in containers or jars that have lids. It needs to flavor-meld for at least an hour, and is perfect the next day. This will hold for about a week. It eats well cold as a salad, or cook with it, serve it over hot rice or noodles, in soup, or do like I do and walk around the house eating it straight from the jar. Only your cat will judge you.
