Kimchi is the Asian equivalent of sauerkraut but has way more flavour, its spicy and delicious, flavoured with ginger, garlic and chilli pepper flakes but not for the faint hearted!!

Traditional kimchi involves an additional brining step which makes it a much longer process so I prefer this simpler but equally good method. You need to use Napa or Chinese cabbage, not the hard, white variety, which is used for sauerkraut.

A lot of traditional kimchi contains fish sauce and or shrimp, so my version uses seaweed flakes and tamari instead. 

This is also simpler in that its just chop, grate and mix everything in a bowl, no need to make a paste with the chilli powder, ginger and garlic then massage it into the pre brined cabbage.

I am all for simplifying recipes, so long as they still taste great and have the same level of nutrition!

You can adjust the amount of chilli if you prefer less spicy food! 

You can use either traditional Korean Gochugaru red chilli pepper powder or just standard hot chilli flakes. You can add a tablespoon paprika to give the authentic red colour, if you are just using chilli flakes.

The amount of chilli you add is entirely up to you, I would suggest anywhere between 1 to 5 tablespoons. The Korean chilli powder will list its spice level, which is very handy! Mine is medium hot so I add 2 tablespoons.
Try it before you pack the mix into your jars, and adjust spice level to your preference.
Bear in mind it won't become less spicy as it ferments so I would always err on the safe side and add less rather than more, but I am a chilli wimp! 

Kimchi, like most fermented foods is fairly addictive, it wakes up your taste buds, with its spicy, zingy, salty, sour flavours, so its a good thing its a fast ferment! If you eat it all then you only have to wait 3 to 5 days for your next batch to ferment.

Napa cabbage can be found in Asian supermarkets, along with daikon/mooli/white radish, although Waitrose, Tesco and Sainsburys usually stock it.

Kimchi is delicious on a wrap, sandwich, baked potato, with steamed or fried rice and greens, blended into dips, with salads, or just on its own!

It livens up any plate of food!

So what are you waiting for, go and buy a Napa cabbage and some chilli flakes and make some kimchi!


Ingredients

• 1 head of napa or Chinese cabbage, chopped
• 3 carrots, grated
• 1 large daikon radish, grated or a cup of small red radishes, finely sliced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup of dulse or nori seaweed flakes
• 1 tablespoon hot chile pepper flakes or 2/3 tablespoons Korean Gochugaru red chilli powder
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons good quality sea salt (Himalayan salt is good)
• 1 tablespoon tamari sauce 

Method

1. Simply mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and let it sit for 30 minutes.
2. Squeeze and massage the mix together until you have brine dripping out when you squeeze it.
   
3. Pack the mixture into a large glass mason jar or 2 smaller jars. Press it down firmly. and leave a inch gap at the top of the jar.
4. Top with a water filled ziplock bag to keep oxygen out and keep the veggies submerged under the brine.
5. Clip the jar closed and set aside to ferment for  3  to 5 days. Put a bowl underneath it to catch any escaping brine. Taste it after 3 days and decide whether it tastes sour enough. It’s a matter of personal taste so just keep trying it until you like it! The longest I have left mine is 10 days, I forgot about it but it still tasted great. 
6. Once you are happy with the flavour you can store the kimchi in the fridge where it will continue to slowly mature. It keep happily for months, if it lasts that long!!

Asparagus is one of my absolute favourite summer ferments! I decided to try it last year and I was delighted by how fabulous it tasted. 

Still lovely and crisp with lemony hints and a perfect wee sour tang after 10 days fermenting in a 2 % salt brine.

I added lemon slices, lemon thyme, a couple of cloves of crushed garlic and a couple of bay leaves, which contain tannins and stop your ferments going soggy!

Fermenting veggies is the best way of preserving them and extending the season so you can enjoy them at a later date. Especially with veggies like asparagus which have a short season!

So all you need to do is find a glass jar, preferably a clip top one, make up a salt brine, pack the asparagus in tightly with the herbs and make sure all the asparagus is submerged in the brine while it is fermenting!
I have been eating my asparagus straight out of the jar, in salads, in risotto, on open sandwiches, canapes and stirred through pasta. 
Don't cook your lovely asparagus or you will destroy all the probiotic bacteria, just add it to warm foods or eat it as it is!

Ingredients

• 2 or 3 bunches of asapargus
• 3 or 4 lemon slices
• 2 or 3 cloves garlic, bashed
• 2 or 3 bay leaves
• a few sprigs of fresh thyme (optional)
• 20g natural salt
• 1 litre filtered water

Method

1. Wash your glass jar with hot soapy water and rinse it well
2. Trim the ends of the asparagus so that they fit under the shoulder of your jar, you don't want any bits sticking up or they will be at high risk of mould.
3. Put the herbs, garlic and bay leaves in the jar then start packing in the asparagus, you really want enough to fill your jar quite tightly.
4. Dissolve 20g of salt, any natural salt, himalyan pink salt or sea salt, in 1 litre of filtered water, or if you have a smaller jar, then half the amount to 500 mls water and 10g salt.
5. Pour the salt brine over the asparagus, making sure its completely covered.
6. Add a weight to keep the asparagus under the brine. The bottom end of a butternut squash, trimmed to fit the jar works well, a cabbage leaf trimmed to fit or a wee plastic ziplock bag scrunched in the top. 
7. Veggies have a habit of floating to the top of the jar, and if they are not fully submerged in brine while they are actively fermenting, then they will be at risk of Kahm yeast, which is a wild yeast, and although not harmful it can be a precursor to actual mould. It always forms at the top of the jar, if there is oxygen present and forms a white film which spreads by filaments throughout the ferment.
8. Once you have your jar full and weighted, you can clip it shut and leave it at room temperature to ferment for 7 to 10 days.

​The brine will turn cloudy as the fermentation proceeds and you will see some bubbling so put a bowl underneath the jar to catch any escaping brine.
Try the asparagus after 7 to 10 days and when you are happy with the flavour, then transfer it to the fridge where it will keep for a few months, but will become softer the longer you store it.
It will taste a bit sour, and lemony and should be lovely and crisp, not raw tasting!