Carrot Sriracha Kimchi

Kimchi is probably my favourite ‘condiment’ in the world. There are so many possibilities with kimchi and its big bold flavours. Enjoy this delicious version that uses sriracha powder instead of traditional Korean chili powder.

Ingredients

1 head napa cabbage
2 large carrots (julienne)
1/3 cup sea salt
1 bunch green onion (remove the root and then separate the whites from the greens)
kimchi paste:
green onion whites
¼ cup of ginger (mostly peeled)
6 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon of sugar
2 tablespoons of sriracha powder
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

Directions

After washing the cabbage, cut in half length ways. Cut each half into thirds lengthwise and then make your final cuts so that you end up with ~ 2 inch chunks. Transfer to a large mixing bowl along with carrots and sprinkle the salt evenly over the mixture. Do so in layers. A layer of cabbage/carrots and then a sprinkle of salt and repeat.
Stir very well and let the cabbage sit for a couple of hours. We need to brine the cabbage and carrots and this is how we do it.
After the 2 hours is up, rinse the salt off of the cabbage and carrots and drain the water off, well. Add to a mixing bowl and toss with the green onion greens.
Puree the green onion whites, ginger, garlic, sugar, sriracha powder, fish sauce and vinegar all together to form the paste.
Now mix the paste into the cabbage mixture by hand and work really well to incorporate completely. Transfer to a 1 L mason jar and crush and cram the mixture into the jar until the juices start to flow. By crushing you will release the liquid within and that is what we need. We need the liquid to cover the cabbage for the whole fermentation process. Sometimes you will need to weigh the cabbage down with a small ramekin or something similar to keep the liquid above.
Now we let it ferment at room temperature for 24 – 72 hours. This time will largely depend on temperature. If you can find a cool place to do this, it is best. We will know that the fermentation is happening once the presence of bubbles occurs. When we give the mixture a press, lots of bubbling action should be happing. You have kimchi! Keep it in the fridge and enjoy for weeks or months even. The kimchi will continue to ferment slowly in the fridge. After a couple of months the flavour will likely be quite strong. Aged kimchi is great for cooking with but may be a bit too strong to enjoy as a condiment.