Rotten Cabbage 2, Craig 0
July 7th, 2007 | by Craig |So a while back, I decided to try sauerkraut after a 30-year hiatus, and decided that it wasn’t bad.
Then, I developed a taste for sushi.
In the back of my head, and after some readers comments, I decided to give kimchi a go not too long ago, and found it rather tasty as well.
$4/jar for kimchi is a little excessive, so I did some research, consulted with a friend of Korean descent, and gave this recipe a try. The recipe calls for two heads of Napa cabbage, but it doesn’t specify the size (hint: try medium to small). The ones I got were pretty big, so I didn’t have enough “sauce” (everything but the cabbage) for 3 full quart jars, so one jar ended up being mostly cabbage.
My Korean friend hasn’t tried it yet, so I can’t give an “official” word on it, but my patience lost out and I cracked open the green jar yesterday and all I can say is, “Day-um! That’s some good kimchi!” The green jar is plenty hot, so I can’t wait to tear into the red ones.
On a more pragmatic note, though, the paste that you make with garlic, ginger and fish sauce is pretty nasty, so you might want to leave the windows open when you make it.
Other than that, though, I give the recipe two hearty thumbs up, and I plan on making a bigger batch sometime in the near future.
I’ve got 9 empty quart jars lying around. No sense in letting them go unused.
17 Responses to “Rotten Cabbage 2, Craig 0”
By Cammy on Jul 7, 2007 | Reply
I’m surprised you haven’t tried the [ultimate kimchi recipe](http://www.treelight.com/health/nutrition/UltimateKimchi.html).
What’s next on the docket? [Balut?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut)
By DMerriman on Jul 7, 2007 | Reply
My ex is Korean (from Korea), and there’s definitely something to be said for genuine kimchi. I like the taste, but I’m afraid that it simply doesn’t agree with me. If you can handle it, more power to you.
I’ve been asked what kimchi is; best I’ve ever been able to come up with is to suggest that the person try to conceive of Mexican sauerkraut
Don’t listen to Cammy — step away from the balut.
By Craig on Jul 7, 2007 | Reply
No worries about balut around here. I feel pretty confident in saying that it will never be a preferred dish around Casa del Sprout.
By Randy Heinz, SFO on Jul 7, 2007 | Reply
I was going to ask you about baluts also but Cammy beat me to it. I’m still thinking you may yet come over to the dark side and partake of some mushrooms.
If you like kimchee and sushi you may yet find ’shrooms appealing.
By Craig on Jul 7, 2007 | Reply
I’m not going to rule it out just yet. I’m intrigued, yet repulsed by the idea of grilled portabellos. I may have to try one just to say I did.
By david on Jul 7, 2007 | Reply
Yo Craig — totally off topic, but I’ve been instructed to inform you that you have been tagged with a meme over at my place.
By JP on Jul 7, 2007 | Reply
Let me know when you’re ready to make the jump to portos and I’ll help you with a couple nice grilled recipes… Maybe I’ll try kimchee in exchange.
By Amber on Jul 7, 2007 | Reply
Happy Birthday to Amber — Craig’s a convert!
By TMM on Jul 7, 2007 | Reply
Well, I was hungry…but since you liked it, I’ve got a nice three coiled steamer in the front yard that you might be interested in.
By Walter Greenspan on Jul 7, 2007 | Reply
30 years without sauerkraut? Then how did you eat your hot dogs?
Hebrew National hot dogs (beef franks) are best when par-boiled and then broiled, and served on a lightly toasted hot dog bun with sauerkraut and spicy brown mustard.
By Blue Jean-Wearin' Jooess on Jul 8, 2007 | Reply
Mushrooms of any sort–portabello, shittake, ad nauseum–are the most reprehensible narsty grosslings that exist in this world, and eating one, for me, would be no different than biting down on a crunchy waterbug.
Hebrew National Hotdogs on a toasted bun with some sauerkraut, on the other hand, is the shizz, although I prefer Empire Kosher, which also has stronger Rabbinic backing on its hekhsherim.
I wish I could ship you over Jay & Lloyd’s triple decker corned beef, pastrami and turkey on rye with all the trimmings (Dr. Brown’s Black Cherry soda, Kosher pickle, stuffed derma with gravy).
[/drooling, trying to take my mind off of mushrooms]
By Mark Tokarski on Jul 9, 2007 | Reply
Any dish based on cabbage is, in my mind, awful. I grew up in a house where cabbage was turned into sauerkraut in a barrel in the basement. The place stuck to high heaven all the time. I hated going down there. To this day I avoid both cabbage and sauerkraut. My folks used to serve little meatballs wrapped in cabbage - I had to eat something, so I carefully pulled the cabbage off, set it aside, and drowned the meat in mustard.
I hate cabbage and sauerkraut. I can pick it out of anything. Just sayin’.
By Walter Greenspan on Jul 9, 2007 | Reply
Mark, stuffed cabbage, made correctly, is a great dish. My Romanian grandmother made this and the sweetness of the cabbage mixes very well with the tartness of the tomato sauce and the warmth of the chopped meat (you know chopped meat as ground beef) and rice mixture (the cabbage is wrapped around the chopped meat-rice mixture and sauteed in tomato sauce).
By Mark Tokarski on Jul 10, 2007 | Reply
Ah, but what works for you doesn’t work for everyone. I remember those little meatballs with the rice sticking out, the the smell of boiled cabbage. Break out the mustard!
By Cammy on Jul 15, 2007 | Reply
We’re ready for the porto recipe, JP.
Hurry before he changes his mind!
By Craig on Jul 15, 2007 | Reply
Oops! Too late!
By Cammy on Jul 15, 2007 | Reply
We made a bet. Remember?
I’m holdin’ you to it.