Not really a true Kimchi in the strictest sense but a delicious hot variation on fermented wild garlic...
Everyone always asks for this recipe so it seemed fitting to make the first Foraged blog article the recipe for this Wild Garlic Kimchi!
As with all lacto-fermentation it's really simple - although that said this recipe has a few ingredients that need preparation. I'm always asked how to prepare the vegetables and my response is 'as you like them - do you like your coleslaw grated or chunky?'. I actually like my coleslaw chunky but tend to make my ferments finer so that they are easier to extract from the ferment vessel at the time of serving. This is mainly due to needing them to last longer to serve to as many customers as possible before I run out!
As with other lacto-fermentation the key ingredients are vegetable/herb, salt and lactobacillus bacteria. The salt extracts the liquid from the plant matter and the bacteria provides the rest of the magic - converting sugars into lactic acid to give the wonderful sour taste associated with the likes of Kimchi, Sauerkraut, Dill Pickles etc. Also due to the salt pulling water from the plant matter the vegetables retain a crunchiness long into the future.
The basic process is to get your veg, weigh it and then add between 2 & 3 percent salt. So for every 1kg of veg add between 20g and 30g of salt - depending on your taste. With experience you can drop the salt quota to a lower percentage but to start with this is my recommendation.
In this recipe there are two salting elements - the one mentioned above for which is used for the wild garlic and an overnight brine of the tougher vegetables.
Ingredients
- 2 medium potatos
- 1 medium onion (or equivalent in wild garlic leaf stems)
- 150g of wild garlic leaves
- 750ml vegetable stock
- Pepper (and or Alexanders seeds)
Ingredients
- 500g Wild Garlic Leaf & Stem
- 300g Chinese Cabbage (or white cabbage)
- 100g Carrot
- 100g Radish
- 20g Redchilli
- 10g Fresh Ginger
- 1 Scotch Bonnet (For additional heat - optional)
- Salt
Method
- Chop 1kg Wild Garlic and mix with 20g to 30g of salt - squash down and leave overnight for juices to extract.
- Compress the well mixed contents to expell air and also to submerge under the wild garlic juices.
- Place a glass or other 'weight ' ontop of the vegetables to raise the liquid level further to help submerge the vegetables.
- Leave at least a 3rd of the vessel empty to allow for the ferment to breath as the bacteria does it's thing.
- Each day check the ferment and push the vegetable mass back down to expel the gas and 'burp' the ferment.
- The ferment should be ready to start eating after around a week - depending on the warmth of where the fermentation is taking place.
- After two weeks place inside a fridge to slow down the fermentation process - or freeze to stop in it's tracks.
- Enjoy!
Method
- Chop Cabbage, carrot and radish to desired chunkiness.
- Brine overnight (12hrs). I use 3tbsp per 1litre of water and make enough brine to cover the vegetables.
- Chop 500g Wild Garlic and mix with 10g of salt - squash down and leave overnight for juices to extract.
- The following morning blitz the chilli & ginger in a food processor.
- Strain the chopped vegetables to remove brine.
- Combine the vegetables, wild garlic (and juices) and chilli/ginger paste.
- Transfer to a large vessel - ideally a tall one.
- Compress the well mixed contents to expel air and also to submerge under the wild garlic juices.
- Place a heavy bottomed glass or other 'weight ' on top of the vegetables to raise the liquid level further to help submerge the vegetables.
- Leave at least a 3rd of the vessel empty to allow for the ferment to breath as the bacteria does it's thing.
- Each day check the ferment and push the vegetable mass back down to expel the gas and 'burp' the ferment.
- The ferment should be ready to start eating after around a week - depending on the warmth of where the fermentation is taking place.
- After two weeks place inside a fridge to slow down the fermentation process - or freeze to stop in it's tracks.
- Enjoy!
