The Alchemist Pub And Brewery

As winter drags on and gets painfully colder, I find that I exercise less and eat lots of fatty food. I would imagine that I am not the only person who falls into this pattern, as evidenced by the large amount of full racks of ribs that I sold last night. As my good deed for the day, I am passing along my recipe for vegetarian kimchi. Eating this delicious fermented cabbage will help maintain a healthy body even as we actively try to ruin ourselves with ham.

My simple recipe is basically the following:

3 Large heads of green cabbage, rough chopped
3 Large heads of napa cabbage rough chopped
2-3 cups of frenched red onion
4 bunches of scallion rough chopped
1/2 cup crushed fresh garlic
1/4 cup fresh grated ginger
2 cups grated carrot
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
4 large daikon radishes peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/4 to 1/2 cup good organic chili paste

Toss everything in a solution made of the following:

4 cups of hot distilled water
1/2 cup unrefined sugar
1/2 cup sea salt

Put everything into a 5 gallon bucket and compact it with your hands to remove as much air space between the cabbage leaves as possible. Find a lid or plate just small enough to fit inside the bucket and place it on top of the vegetable mix. Weigh the lid/plate down with a 4 to 5 pound weight. I generally use a large can of tomatoes or something that shape and size. Cover the bucket with a towel or sheet and cinch it tight with rubber bands. Place the whole bucket in a cool dark place for 2 to 4 weeks to allow fermentation. Check periodically to make sure that the top is not dry or moldy. When the green cabbage appears “cooked”, taste some to see if it is fully fermented. When it is fermented to your liking, put it into tightly sealable jars and refrigerate until using.