Goldilocks Kimchi

Finally...  I got it just right.  Take 1 was too salty.  Take 2 was not salty enough.   

For the second go-round, I tried the method of directly salting the chopped cabbage and that batch was lacking in salt.  Plus the cabbage was still really crunchy and it just tasted too "fresh".  

This last time, I soaked the cabbage as I did the first take, but paid careful attention to the time.  But even with the shorter brining time, it was still tasting rather salty after it was rinsed, so I soaked it overnight in un-salted water to see if I could pull a little more salt out of it.   And that did the trick -- the cabbage was softened, but the salt level was just right.    Yay!

Here are the amounts I used: 

1 large head Napa cabbage

1/2 cup kosher salt

1 cup water

Chop cabbage into large pieces and soak for 4-6 hours.  Rinse thoroughly in three changes of water and then soak another 4-6 hours (or overnight) is fresh water.  Drain and set aside.

1/4 cup rice flour

1 cup water

Mix together in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened.   Then scrape into food processor and add:

1 head garlic, clove separated and peeled

1/2 medium onion, peeled and chopped into large pieces

2" piece of ginger root, peeled and cut into thin slices

1/4 Asian pear, peeled and chopped into large pieces

Process the mixture until everything is finely chopped.

2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 teaspoons shrimp paste

1 tablespoons dried red pepper, medium grind (I don't know if it was the pepper I got or what, but it is still plenty hot with just 1 tablespoon, you'll need to adjust this to your particular taste and pepper)

1 bunch green onions, chopped into 1/2" lengths

Mix the above with the ingredients from food processor, add the reserved, drained cabbage and mix well.  Refrigerate for at least a day for the flavors to meld.