How is Kimchi made?
To understand how Kimchi is made, first let us introduce to you what is Kimchi?
What is Kimchi?
Kimchi is a type of spicy fermented vegetable made by lacto-fermentation. This fermented side dish originates from Korea and comes in a variety of different vegetables, the most popular one being the Cabbage Kimchi.
So, how is Kimchi actually made?
Here are some of the steps we take here to prepare and make our Kimchi at JIN Kimchi!
Step 1: Sterilization
As part of our food hygiene practice, we clean all our equipments with hot water.
The our vegetables are rinsed 2-3 times to remove any residual dirt.
Step 2: Brine the vegetables
Brining is the process of using the osmotic action of salt to release moisture and season the vegetables. We use natural Korean sun dried sea salt for this!
The vegetables are placed in a large basin, mixed with salt and left to sit for 2 hours - This is known as dry brining. The vegetables are massaged and mixed every 30 minutes, this will help the vegetable become tender and absorb the seasonings more evenly. After which, the the vegetables are rinsed a couple more times to remove the excess salt.
The vegetable is then left in another basin to drain off excess water.
Step 3: Season!
Bigger ingredients such garlic, onion and apples are minced into a paste in a food processor and are added into another basin with the other dried finer ingredients such as Korean chilli pepper flakes and sugar.
Once dried, the vegetables are mixed with the paste. The paste will help elevate the flavour of the Kimchi and every family has their own recipe!
Step 4: Ferment
The freshly mixed Kimchi is then sealed into clean jars. At JIN Kimchi we take hygiene strictly, our jars undergo high heat and ultrasound cleaning treatment before we fill them up.
The lactobacteria in the Kimchi will naturally ferment the vegetables.
ENJOY!
You can consume the Kimchi at any point in time. The longer you let the Kimchi ferment, the more sour and soft it'll get. The fermentation process will be sped up if the Kimchi is left in a warm environment.
Love fresh, savoury, crunchy Kimchi?
Try JIN Kimchi! Our Kimchi are made only days old so they reach you fresh and crunchy (unlike the regular sour soggy you get off the shelf). If sour Kimchi is your thing, you can still enjoy JIN Kimchi! Our fresh Kimchi is made to ferment beautifully with time. The best part, you can enjoy the Kimchi at the sourness of your liking!
