ripening root vegetable kimchi

Last week we finally made our way to the Alemany farmers’ market. We love it and will return. Maybe we got carried away on our first visit. We bought so many vegetables there that I had enough for not one but two kinds of kimchi! So I made the Baechu kimchi with Napa cabbage again and tried a new recipe for a root vegetable kimchi.

The kimichi paste is basically the same for both kinds, though in the root vegetable version, I added grated horseradish. Last time I made the baechu, I avoided using the seeds and ribs of most of the peppers for fear that it would be too spicy. Unfortunately, that made it too mild. This time around I added more chili pepper and used them whole!

Both kimichis need about six days to mature due to the unusual weather this time of year. The temperature in San Francisco has been in the mid 70’s lately. Yoohoo! Well the baechu recipe you already know so here is my root vegetable kimichi:

Vegetables

fresh root vegetables for kimchi

2 medium daikon radishes, peeled and cut into thin 6-7 inch long match sticks
2 medium burdock roots, peeled and cut into thin diagonal slices
5 Jerusalem artichokes, rinsed and quartered
1 lb mixed colored radishes
4 medium carrots, sliced using a potato peeler
6 scallions, cut into 5 inch lengths

Kimichi Paste

3 tbsp grated fresh horseradish
3 tbsp grated fresh ginger
5 cloves of garlic
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
6 fresh red chili peppers (jalapeño, cayenne) no substitutes
½ red bell pepper
Sea salt

How to: Fill a deep bowl with ½ gallon cold water. Add 6 to 8 tbsp. salt and mix till dissolved to make the brine. Add daikon, burdock, Jerusalem artichokes, radishes, carrots and scallions. Cover with a plate to keep vegetables submerged in brine. Soak for 4-6 hours making sure veggies are submerged at all times. Drain vegetables (do not discard the brine). Taste. The veggies should already be slightly tender at this point. They should be salty but not too salty. If too salty rinse some with cold water. If they need more salt, add it here.

kimchi paste

Add peppers, garlic, grated ginger and horse radish to food processor and pulse to form a smooth paste. Add onion and pulse till smooth. Transfer pepper paste to vegetables and mix well.

Stuff veggies into a clean 2 liter glass jar. Press them down to remove air pockets and add as much as possible. Veggies must be completely submerged at all times. If needed, add a bit of brine just to top off. Using a small zip lock bag, fill it with some brine and place it on top of the veggies as a weight to keep them submerged. Seal jar tightly. Open jar daily to release built up gas and to avoid explosions.

Let jar stand at room temperature till ready for use. If you live somewhere warm, taste it every day for doneness as it’s likely to be ready sooner. When it’s sufficiently ripened, move jar to the fridge for longer term storage. Ours turned out to be spicier than I thought it would; it must be the horseradish. After a week the vegetables are still crunchy and ripening isn’t finished.

Eat this as a salad, with Asian foods or as a condiment to veggie burgers.