Homemade Kimchi

I have never thought that I can become a Kimchi fan. I tried Kimchi a few times years back, but I had never liked it a single bit until last month. Last month, I visited my 厨房老将, she had a bottle of Kimchi on her dining table. She told me, her husband's Korean friend commented that, her Kimchi is better than Korean made Kimchi!! Wow, no harm give it a try right? So I did. Believe me, it is so different. I know why it taste so different. It is not sour, not yet turn sour at least. I prefer my Kimchi not sour. However, to make it sour, just prolong the fermentation process. There comes the core of this post. The Kimchi recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 Chinese cabbage(Don't wash it yet)
• 3 carrots
• about 1/2 cup salt
• 10 stalks of spring onion
• 1 small bunch of Chinese garlic chives
• 1 bulb of garlic
• 2 tbsp ginger(sometimes I use ginger powder)
• 1 apple
• 1 pear
• 1 onion
• 1 cup water
• 5 Tbsp of Korean hot pepper powder(if u like it hot, add more)

Procedure:
1. Cut chinese cabbage and carrot into bite size, put a handful of them into a big pot, layer them with 1tbsp of salt. Repeat the process until 1 cup of salt is used up. Leave them for 4 hours.

2. Meanwhile cut spring onion and chinese garlic chives into 1.5 inch length then set aside.

3. Cut apple, pear and onion into small pieces, add garlic and ginger, then put in blender with a cup of water.
4. Add the Korean Hot Pepper Powder into the blended juice and mix with spoon.
5. After 4 hours, wash the salted Chinese Cabbage and carrot about 3 times in the pot. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible during the last wash.
6. Pour the Hot Pepper Powder mixture, cut spring onion and chives onto the wilted vegetables and mix thoroughly with hands(If u worry about stingy feeling after touching chili, please use gloves).

7. Store the mixture in glass bottle and close with a lid in room temperature. After 24 hours, transfer them to refrigerator.