Name: Kale and cucumber kimchi
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: serving
Cuisine: Accompaniment
Ingredients: 250 ml cabbage white, thinly sliced; 250 ml kale chopped; 250 ml cucumber diced; 30 ml sea salt; 15 ml dried chilli flakes; 15 ml paprika smoked; 15 ml garlic cloves, finely chopped; 5 ml fresh ginger finely grated; 500 ml water

Recipe Disclaimer

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Ingredients (9)

250 ml	cabbage — white, thinly sliced
250 ml	kale — chopped
250 ml	cucumber — diced
30 ml	sea salt
15 ml	dried chilli flakes
15 ml	paprika — smoked
15 ml	garlic — cloves, finely chopped
5 ml	fresh ginger — finely grated
500 ml	water

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Method:

Combine the cabbage, kale, cucumber and salt together. Use your hands to squeeze the vegetables for 5 minutes. This will help to release the vegetable’s natural water. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and transfer it to a sterilized jar (see note below) with a lid.

Leave it on your kitchen counter, away from direct sunlight, for at least 3 days. You can leave it to ferment for up to two weeks or more if you prefer. Taste it after three days and thereafter if you prefer it to ferment for longer. Transfer it to the fridge once you are ready with the taste. Store it in the fridge for up to a month or two.

As a serving suggestion, serve it as a side dish or on top of steak or fried chicken breasts with some micro herbs.

Tip:
To easily sterilize any glass jars wash them and their lids in some warm soapy water. Rinse them and place them in a preheated oven at 130°C for 15-20 minutes until warm and dry. If you are adding a hot mixture then the jar needs to be hot. If you are adding a cold mixture to the jar then the jar needs to be cooled as well. Close the jar with the lid while it cools to make sure you don’t add any more germs.

Tip:
If preferred you could place the paprika, salt and red chili flakes in a pestle and mortar and grind until fine. This way there will be no whole pieces of chilies in the kimchi.

Notes:
Can be fermented for up to two weeks… if you can wait that long! It is fermented naturally by only using salt and water as a preserving agent. It is normal for the mixture to have a bit of an odour – almost like sauerkraut.

Recipe reprinted with permission of Illanique van Aswegen.

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