BLOEM - JULY 2024

FOCUS ON CHECKERS WINTER FOOD
Kimchi
Vegan
240 8 13
MINUTES SERVINGS INGREDIENTS
A harmonious blend with a delightful twist!
Crafted with care, the Vegan Kimchi recipe
is a symphony of flavours and a celebration
of plant-based goodness. Begin with a fresh
head of cabbage, and through a process of
salting and resting, watch it transform into
the star of this tangy delight.
The vegan sauce, a harmonious
blend of soy sauce, coconut sugar,
and pineapple juice, adds a delightful
twist. But it’s the chilli paste, created
from ginger, garlic, onion, and chilli
flakes, that infuses this dish with
its signature kick. As the cabbage
undergoes its fermentation journey,
your patience is rewarded with a
tangy, crisp, and flavourful Kimchi
that pairs perfectly with a variety
of dishes. Embrace the world of
plant-based flavours with our Vegan
Kimchi and savour the wholesome
taste of tradition reinvented.
Ingredients:
1 head of cabbage; outermost leaves removed, well rinsed
Sea salt or Himalayan salt; a generous amount
3 whole carrots; julienned
8 spring onions; roughly chopped
8 – 10 radishes; finely sliced
For the Vegan Sauce:
2 tbsp. (30ml) soy sauce
2 tbsp. (30ml) Simple Truth Coconut Sugar (plus more to
taste, if needed)
¼ cup (60ml) pineapple juice
¼ cup (60ml) warm water
For the Chilli Paste:
3 tbsp. (45ml) fresh ginger; peeled
1/3 cup (80ml) garlic cloves; peeled
1 small onion
1/3 cup (80ml) chilli flakes; crushed (adjust and increase if
needed)
Directions:
Chop cabbage into sixths, remove the bottom core (hard
white section) with a sharp knife and discard.
Place cabbage in a large, sterilised mixing bowl. Pack a
generous amount of sea salt in between each layer of the
leaves. Do so by lifting each leaf and sprinkling it with sea
salt. Repeat until all leaves have been salted.
Press down and leave to rest for 45 – 60 minutes to soften
and break down the cabbage and draw out moisture.
For the vegan fish sauce: Add all ingredients to a small
mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
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For the chilli paste: Blend ginger, garlic, onion and chilli
flakes into a paste. Stir through the vegan fish sauce.
Turn the cabbage over, pat down to compress and set aside.
Repeat this process 3 more times, with a 60-minute resting
time between each turn.
Mix carrots, spring onions, radishes and sauce.
Stir to combine, then cover and set aside.
Sterilise glass storage jars.
Once the cabbage has been flipped four times and has
shrunk significantly, rinse and separate each section of
cabbage well to remove salt.
Pat with clean kitchen paper to remove excess water and
set aside to dry.
Carefully, with disposable gloves, rub sauce generously all
over cabbage and vegetables ensuring they are well coated.
Pack vegetables in alternate layers in the jars, patting down
to ensure air has been removed.
Top with a clean, sterilised lid, and set in a cool dark place to
ferment.
Set aside to ferment for 4 – 6 days (the longer you ferment,
the more tang and the more tender the leaves will be).
Each day open and press the vegetables down with a clean
utensil, to remove excess air bubbles and to ensure Kimchi
is always immersed in liquid.
A good sign of proper fermentation is seeing little bubbles
in the sauce when you press down (will keep for 2 – 3
weeks).
NOTE: Ensure all surfaces, utensils and jars are
sterilised well and hands are washed throughout
the process to prevent introducing bad bacteria and
disrupting the fermentation process.
July 2024 Get It Bloemfontein 37
Recipe: www.checkers.co.za