Kimchi making!

Kimchi is an important part of Korean culture and I've always told myself that I would learn how to make it, but seeing as my mom would always make mass quantities anyway -- I just never got around to it. Most Koreans are pretty serious about kimchi and my mom even has a special fridge for it at home... and this is no ordinary fridge. It's a top loading fridge, sort of like a deep freezer... but it is equipped with eight large specially-sealing plastic containers. I guess it is supposed to simulate the old days, when people would bury jars of kimchi in the ground. I hate it when she keeps apples in the same fridge with the kimchi because I can taste the flavor on the apples. That's how potent it is. My church even got kicked out of a building that we were renting for services once because of the lingering smell. (I know, I know...)

Anyways... I always find myself craving a little kimchi when I've been away from home too long, but being so far away has amplified my need for it and seeing as I have lots of free time, I felt it was finally time to make kimchi on my own. My first kimchi making endeavor was here in Sweden. And, I took pictures so I could document this historic event and share it with you!!

Here's the cabbage cut in large leaves.














Here, I've slices the cabbage into bite size pieces.














Now, what you see here, is the cabbage in a few layers with salt on and in between.














After letting the cabbage soak in salt for a few hours, it was time to finally mix in the chili pepper flakes, fish sauce, garlic, and green onion. Yes, I knew I bought pepparkakor in a big tub for a reason.














Here is my kimchi all bottled up and ready for fermentation in applesauce jars that Elin graciously gave to me! :)














Here's a close up of my kimchi.














When I first started in to mix the pepper flakes and other veggies in, I was using my bare hand, but I soon learned that my skin did not like spicy pepper flakes. My hand got splotchy and burned a little bit. I will never do that again.

Now I have the two jars sitting at room temperature and I plan to let them sit out for about 3-4 days so they can ferment before I put them in the fridge. It's kind of fun... like having two little jars of spicy vegetables for pets. This might be comparable to having a cactus. It's a slightly dangerous pet that ages slowly.