Fermentation Nation

For culture to be strong and resilient, it must be a creative realm in which skills, information, and values are engaged and transmitted; culture cannot thrive as a consumer paradise or a spectator sport. Daily life offers constant opportunities for participatory action. Seize them. -Sandor Ellix Katz from The Art of Fermentation

Adam's Kimchi #2

Ingredients:

• 2 heads napa cabbage
• 1/8 cup soy sauce
• 1/8 cup fish sauce
• 3 tbls sugar
• 3 tbls kosher salt
• 3 bunches of scallions
• 4 large carrots
• 1 large daikon radish (2" diameter X 7" long)
• 1 habanero 
• 1 1/2 dried congo chilies from Uncle Eddie or 3 tbls congo pepper paste
• 5-inch ginger piece
• 12 garlic cloves
• Vegetable culture starter or 2/3 cup Kimchi juice from the last batch
• 1/2 cup Korean chili powder

Instructions:

• Rough chop the cabbage and add fish sauce, soy sauce, salt, and sugar to a bowl and then transfer to a vacuum seal bag. Vacuum sealing the vegetables allows us to skip the traditional step of pounding the cabbage to help it release the juices. Allow the cabbage to sit in vacuum sealed bag for 30 minutes to an hour. 
• While the cabbage is in the vacuum seal bag, julienne the carrots and daikon and chop the scallions

• Next, add the garlic, habanero, dried chilies, and ginger to a food processor. Add the cabbage liquid if necessary to help chop. 

• Combine all of the processed vegetables with the juice from the vacuum sealed bag. Add vegetable culture starter or 2/3 cup juice from the last Kimchi batch. 

• Combine in a gallon glass container and seal. Store at room temperature for 1-2 weeks and then refrigerate and enjoy. 

St. Eddie's Devil Sauce

Ingredients:

• 75 grams dried Congo chiles from St. Eddie's garden, crushed
• 11 cloves of garlic, minced
  
• 1 tbls kosher salt
• 1/4 cup Kimchi juice
• 1 bottle of Sweet Riesling

Instructions:

• Combine all ingredients in a half-gallon mason jar. 
• Add lid with airlock and store at room temperature for 3-6 weeks.

Sauerkraut

Ingredients:

• 3 heads of cabbage. I like mixing the red and green cabbage.
• 3 tbls kosher salt
• Vegetable culture starter
• 1 tbls cumin seeds
• 1 tbls caraway seeds

Instructions:

• Chop the cabbage and combine with salt and spices. 
• Vacuum seal cabbage to allow the salt to draw out the liquid from the cabbage. Let sit for 1-2 hours. 
• Once the cabbage has wilted, combine with vegetable starter in two half-gallan mason jars. Then push all the ingredients below the liquid level, seal and store for 1-2 weeks at room temperature. 
• Cook up bratwursts on the grill and serve at a campfire in the spring sunshine. 

I love how that bright pink sauerkraut dresses up an otherwise beige plate. Plus, the probiotic benefits of the condiment is awesome. I am aiming to eat fermented foods with every meal. It's a delightful shift!