Yummy!

Thanks, Glenda!

I've tried twice now to post the rest of the pics and both times the post has disappeared. Going to give it a rest and try again later.

Mix the paste into the veggie mix - I gloved my hands to protect my skin from the powdered pepper.

My gloves are toast!

The mixture then goes into this here crock:

And is weighed down with these here weights:

48 hours later, we have delicious Kimchi!

Next time, besides less salt in the soaking water, we will probably ferment the mixture longer. We usually do some tweaks and changes to food experiments until we get them just right. :-)

What? I had no idea it would be ready so quickly! That's a handsome fermenting crock you've got. We usually use 1/2 to 1 gallon glass jars. Just tonight we opened a gallon of Kosher dills started back on July 31.

We didn't either, matthias. It seems like there is a lot of room for experimenting with it. Thanks about the crock, I think hubby ordered it from Amazon. After we get the kimchi nailed down, we are going to play around with sauerkraut. Pickles are planned as well. :-)

I like the Korean food that kimchi evolved as an accompaniment to. Go to a Korean restaurant for bibimbap (my favorite dish) or something else and kimchi with other little dishes is served with it. Much less work.

Or, to go to any of the many "Japanese" restaurants around that seem to have Korean proprietors (which is perfectly fine with me) and you can come upon delicious fusion dishes as Kimchi ramen.

I make kimchi with canning jars, but have never used a crock.

Almost same method as I use to make sauerkraut. Tastes so much better than anything you can buy. But the fermentation period for sauerkraut takes at least 5 days to a week, depending on your individual taste.

Well-done, Dawn! I've seen some creative ways to weigh down this process, but I like yours. So, those weights came with the crock or are they a separate addition?

Thank you, Feathers!

My mom used to talk about how my grandmother made sauerkraut and used rocks as weights. Yes, the weights came with the crock - they are quite nifty. Not sure how heavy they are; I should weigh them.

Yep, definitely will try a longer fermenting period next time.

Terry, do you put the lids of your jars on loosely during fermentation?

You are using the water seal, aren't you? That is the really cool thing about your crock.

Yes, Matthias. I didn't know there was such a thing until hubby showed it to me and explained how it works. Pretty neat.

Dawn, yes, just to cover and check daily for about 4 days. For sauerkraut, I use a wide mouth canning jar with a glass lid on top of the cabbage and weigh it down with a sturdy plastic bag filled with water. I like the fact that once the items are ready, the tops are put on tightly and they go directly into the fridge without that extra step needed when using a crock.

My mom used to use bowls, put a plate over the kimchi with a big rock on top of the plate so the rock wasn't touching the food.

Do you refrigerate while it's fermenting? I've never had it, but I think we'd like it. DH like hot stuff, and I love sauerkraut.

I never knew with kimchi was until recently. I kept seeing people were getting this disgusting looking food off the buffet at the Chinese restaurant. I decided to try it since everyone was getting some. I really like it but unfortunately all that hot stuff doesn't like me. I can only eat a couple bites of it. It is delicious though, if you like a pickled and spicy taste.

Fun, isn’t it! My crock is similar to yours. I usually let my “projects” ferment for two weeks. My last one was red cabbage sauerkraut. Tasty, and very pretty!

Started a new ferment last night using cauliflower, carrots, jalapeños, garlic, onion, Shishito peppers, a little fresh ginger and a couple of bay leaves.

That looks delicious! Although we love to try new food experiments, I've never thought about making kimchi. I like the idea of making our own--I'm guessing we could control the amount of heat by reducing the amount of pepper powder.

Earlier this year we made sauerkraut--it was sooooo good. We probably won't make it again though, as 2 fairly large heads of cabbage yielded only 1 quart of sauerkraut. We had no idea it would "shrink" that much, and we had a good laugh about our very expen$ive sauerkraut!

Thanks everyone, for the comments. I enjoy reading about everyone's experiences past and present.

aok, no it doesn't get refrigerated until it's finished and in the jars. While fermenting the crock was placed in a cool room. In our case, a spare bedroom that rarely gets used.

hounds, it is fun! Your new ferment sounds delish - going to mention that combo to hubby.

I see no reason why one couldn't reduce the heat by reducing the amount of red pepper used. Same as how we are going to reduce the amount of salt used because we found it a bit too salty. Being able to control these things is one of the reasons we decided to try making our own.

I also use canning jars with vapor lock lids. If yours came out too salty, perhaps you did not rinse the cabbage enough.

First, I'm going to buy some to try at the Asian market. Then I'm going to research it. This sounds like a cool thing to do on the boat.

That could be, Lars. I'll be sure to rinse it really good next time.

aok, that does sound like a great boat project since little in the way of equipment or room is needed. Hope you decide you like kimchi!

Koreans have been making kimchi for centuries, and until recent years only a very small percentage had frigs.

I found it difficult to express appropriate appreciation when invited for a meal, for kimchi is ubiquitous in Korean cuisine and my mouth doesn't like heavily peppered food.

I lived in Pusan and Seoul and a couple of rural locations during ten years residence, to 55 years ago, just after the Korean War.

ole joyful

I use Mother in Law’s brand gochugaru Korean red pepper flakes. I do not think this brand yields a “high heat index” product. This Texas native grew up eating hot and spicy everything, and I don’t think my kimchi is particularly pepper-hot.

joyful, that was a good test of your character and I'm sure you did a good job of expressing your gratitude to your hosts even though your tongue was on fire. ;-)

hounds, there is such a wide range of tolerance for hot and spicy foods that it's often difficult to make everyone happy. We like our food really spicy. One of my happiest moments was discovering prik the first time we were in Thailand. Prik is dried finely ground red hot Thai chili peppers and I sprinkle it on just about everything including fruit. We have friends who cannot tolerate the slightest hint of heat. In order to be good hosts, we tone it waaaaaaaay down for the guests with the most sensitive of taste buds and make options such as prik or hot sauce available on the table. When it is just the two of us, we pretty much set our tongues on fire.

As it is seasoned right now, our kimchi is too spicy for most of our friends, but we aren't planning on serving to our friends with the exception of my best friend's hubby. He's like us and likes to set his hair on fire. :-)

Dawn, my DH is like you. I'm convinced that he has cauterized his taste buds. We have a small tub of ground ghost peppers in the spice drawer. I like some heat, but I like to be able to taste the flavors, too!

I know a few couple of people who can't tolerate the slightest heat. My boss and her Dh are German, and grew up eating very bland food. He cannot tolerate black pepper. I've said that he cant eat anything spicier than applesauce.

I am well aware that my definition of “not hot” may be misleading to many. One DIL is not a fan of hot and spicy, but she loves my kimchi, so I do think it is not too spicy. Off to the Asian market in search of prik!

aok, I wonder if heat tolerance or lack of is related to the foods people grew up eating or if heat tolerance is something people develop over time and exposure. Maybe some of both.

hounds, if you like hot, you'll love prik! Good luck with your search.