Demystifying BRINE + kimchi 3 ways
Demystifying BRINE + kimchi 3 ways
My go-to kimchi recipe, an apple/celery variation, and a cucumber/mushroom number - and why engaging with your ferments is far more important than drowning your ferments in brine.
So, what’s the deal with brining when it comes to vegetable fermentation?
In Classic pickles (aka gherkins) we discussed how lactic acid fermentation (the primary method of fermenting produce) requires an anaerobic environment; we created that absence of oxygen by submerging our gherkins in a water + salt solution we made separately. In Golden Kraut, we saw how we could make a brine from our produce by cutting them into very small pieces, salting, and massaging them to extract the liquid. Other methods call for pre-brining your main vegetable to get it wilted and soggy and salty; such as with kimchi.
The idea across all these methods is that you have enough liquid to keep your produce as submerged as possible under brine, to mitigate the risk of oxygen-loving molds or unwanted yeasty growths (Kahm yeast, I’m looking at you!) ruining your ferments.
A lot of you have been on one of my lactic fermentation classes, and you’ll probably recall how much I’ve stressed that point. When we make our kimchi during class, we create that anaerobic environment by reserving some of the brine the cabbage has soaked in, and using it to top up our ferments with a layer of liquid once they’re all tightly packed in.
But…I’ll be totally frank with you. This is not how I ferment at home.
I do not add loads of liquid to my kimchi. And if I don’t have very much brine extracted from my sauerkraut, I’ll leave it as is. Bits of veg floating over the surface in my jar of gherkins? No stress!
The brine, more than anything, is a safety feature. It’s especially useful for new fermenters who aren’t yet familiar with the process.
More important than keeping your ferments under a deep layer of liquid is engaging with your ferments on a regular basis: and by actively watching them, smelling them, and pushing them down under the small amount of liquid that inevitably gets released as the veggies soften up in that developing acidic medium, you’ll be hindering the growth of those unwanted microbes. AND, you’ll be developing that all-important fermenters intuition; the very best tool in your arsenal that’ll transform you into a fermenting pro in no time.
Pascal Baudar - awesome forager-fermenter - claims in his book Wildcrafted Fermentation that he’s never had any molds on his ferments in the last ten years of fermenting (!)…all because he works and engages with his ferments, sometimes up to 3 times daily, by stirring, shaking, or pushing them down under whatever liquid is present, to make sure that no pieces or layers are exposed to oxygen for an extended period of time.
The biggest danger is when you follow a recipe to the T and think you can then leave it alone to do its thing. That’s basically setting the stage for a moldy layer! You need to supervise the progress. The liquid will inevitably evaporate, bits of produce will probably float to the surface, and bugs or debris could find their way in…but if you’re engaging with your ferments regularly, you can catch these threats before they contaminate all your hard work.
Okay - then what’s the best way to proceed?
You don’t need to check on your ferments obsessively every single hour. But you should be dedicating a few minutes each day that they’re at room temperature to check in on them and push down or stir as required.
If you’ve packed your vegetables in your jar tightly, the majority of the mix won’t be exposed to air anyway; the only potentially concerning bit is the top layer that’s in direct contact with oxygen. And once the lactic acid bacteria have properly colonised your veg, there’ll be much less risk of other microbes taking over. That’ll decrease even more once you fridge your ferment.
Eventually, the brine will dry out anyway - those of you who’ve had my ferments will have noticed that krauts are usually pretty dry! A far cry from the sopping wet mix you get just after extracting the liquid.
So give the following recipes a go, and stress less about the amount of liquid you’ve got in there.
THE RECIPES
My go-to kimchi
For 1 lt jar
Ingredients
800g Chinese leaf, or one small head
1lt water
60g fine sea salt (6% of the water)
3 large garlic cloves, peeled
1.5-inch piece of ginger, organic
3 tablespoons of gochugaru chilli flakes
1 tablespoon over-cooked rice (optional)
4 dashes fish sauce or 1 tsp miso paste (optional)
3 spring onions, trimmed and cleaned
1 medium carrot
6 English radishes
1 whole apple
Instructions:
Soak the quartered cabbage in the brine made from the water and salt overnight, or for a minimum of 4 hours.
The next day, make your kimchi paste in a large bowl by grating the garlic and ginger and adding the gochugaru chilli flakes. Add the rice paste for improved texture and as extra food for the bacteria, and the fish sauce or miso paste for extra umami (all optional).
Drain the cabbage, slice into 1-inch pieces, and add to the bowl with the paste.
Slice the spring onions and radishes, grate or julienne the carrot, and grate the apple straight into the bowl.
Mix well, taste, and add more garlic/ginger/chilli as you see fit.
Grab a handful of the mix and place in the jar; using your fist or a blunt-tipped object (like a rolling pin), compress the layer down to get rid of air pockets and to make the liquid rise to the surface.
Continue packing all the veg in, bit by bit, until it’s well-compressed (leaving two inches from the mouth of the jar).
Wipe down the sides of the jar, both inside and outside, to remove any bits (which can get contaminated if exposed to oxygen for too long). Add any leftover liquid from your bowl.
Cover with a tea towel secured with a rubberband, or place your lid on top without fully sealing it, and let ferment at room temperature for 4-7 days. Push the veg down every day to re-submerge it (or use a fermentation weight, but keep checking on it daily to make sure no pieces have floated to the surface!).
Taste every day, and when it’s to your liking, seal the lid and refrigerate. Label your jar with the date and contents.
Note: you can use leftover kimchi brine to season salads, rice dishes, as a marinade, or in cocktails like Bloody Mary’s.
Cucumber and mushroom miso kimchi
For 500ml jar
Ingredients
3 Persian cucumbers (or other small varieties)
1 large handful of oyster mushrooms
1/2 apple, grated
1 tsp miso paste
1 spring onion, trimmed and cleaned
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2-inch piece of ginger, organic
3 tablespoons of gochugaru chilli flakes
2 dashes fish sauce (optional)
1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)
Instructions:
Slice your cucumbers and tear the mushrooms into pieces. Mix with the grated apple.
Massage the miso into your veg mix.
Grate the garlic and ginger into a smaller bowl. Add the gochugaru flakes and miso, if you choose to use. Mix it all together to form a paste.
Slice your spring onion into rings and add to the bowl of vegetables. Add sesame seeds if you’re using.
The salt should have drawn a fair bit of water out of the cucumbers after a half hour. Add the paste to the vegetables and mix it through to coat. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Pack your veg into your jar; using your fist or a blunt-tipped object (like a rolling pin), compress it all down to get rid of air pockets and to make the liquid rise to the surface (leaving 1.5 inches from the mouth of the jar).
Wipe down the sides of the jar, both inside and outside, to remove any bits (which can get contaminated if exposed to oxygen for too long). Add any leftover liquid from your bowl.
Cover with a tea towel secured with a rubberband, or place your lid on top without fully sealing it, and let ferment at room temperature for 4-7 days. Push the veg down every day to re-submerge it (or use a fermentation weight, but keep checking on it daily to make sure no pieces have floated to the surface!).
Taste every day, and when it’s to your liking, seal the lid and refrigerate. Label your jar with the date and contents.
Apple and celery kimchi
For 500ml jar
Ingredients
2 small apples
2 sticks of celery
Fine sea salt
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2-inch piece of ginger, organic
3 tablespoons of gochugaru chilli flakes
2 dashes fish sauce (optional)
1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)
Instructions:
Slice your apples and the celery, weigh, and calculate 2% of salt to add to the mix. Let sit for a half hour to draw out the water.
Grate the garlic and ginger into a smaller bowl. Add the gochugaru flakes and mix together to form a paste.
Slice your spring onion into rings and add to the bowl of vegetables.
Add the paste to the vegetables and mix it through to coat. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Pack the mix into your jar; using your fist or a blunt-tipped object (like a rolling pin), compress it all down to get rid of air pockets and to make the liquid rise to the surface (leaving 1.5 inches from the mouth of the jar).
Wipe down the sides of the jar, both inside and outside, to remove any bits (which can get contaminated if exposed to oxygen for too long). Add any leftover liquid from your bowl.
Cover with a tea towel secured with a rubberband, or place your lid on top without fully sealing it, and let ferment at room temperature for 4-7 days. Push the veg down every day to re-submerge it (or use a fermentation weight, but keep checking on it daily to make sure no pieces have floated to the surface!).
Taste every day, and when it’s to your liking, seal the lid and refrigerate. Label your jar with the date and contents.
Learn to ferment with me! Upcoming Courses:
Lactic Fermentation (online)
April 17th - 4-7pm
Lactic Fermentation (in-person)
May 12th - 11-2pm Hornbeam Cafe, Walthamstow
Lactic Fermentation (in-person)
May 19th - 11-2pm Hornbeam Cafe, Walthamstow