Kimchi with a Japanese Twist

One of our loves is Kimchi, and growing the ingredients is a year-round process. Traditionally most would use Wombok, but in the past six months we have been growing Bekana (a Japanese cabbage or Brassica rapa var. chinensis ), this is a quicker growing cabbage with less water content so it remains very crisp once fermented.

Other ingredients take a bit more time like garlic, ginger and onions take upwards of 9 months, though these can be cool stored. Chillies grow all year but growing enough to dry and grind into powder just takes a lot of chillies bushes. The only other ingredients are sugar (to initiate the fermentation) and dried shrimp which can be purchased in most asian grocery stores.

Preparation is a weekend affair as Bekana needs to be soaked in brine for 24 hours before adding all the ingredients, sterilizing the jars and finally bottling…..then in a few weeks its ready to eat. By the way investing in proper fermenting jars is worth every cent. The Kilner Fermentation Set jars are pricy but they come with a range of spare lids, rubber seals and weights making them usable for many years.