Say WHAT?!?
Scallions?
Kimchi?!!!!!?
Yes, as it happens, one can, indeed, make kimchi out of stuff other than cabbage; in much the same way one can make pickles out of stuff other than cucumbers. Kimchi just takes a while – like, say, in this case, a good 2-1/2 to 3 weeks.
A very nice blogger at food in jars, adapted a recipe for RAMP kimchi from the also no-doubt very nice tigress in a pickle (who knew there were specialty pickling blogs?) that I came across while searching for a way to make giardiniera at home that I could preserve so I wouldn’t have to use it all up within 2 weeks.
No luck on a true home-preserved giardiniera – tho’ the sorta spicy chop pickle recipe I did find was a big hit at the holidays. But then this recipe came across my browser window and just looked too tasty to pass up. I also figured there would be enough adventuresome souls at our New Year’s Day Open House that I could use them as guinea pigs – ermmm – I mean, of course, valued tasters.
It was mid December, and high-time to start fermenting scallions…
INGREDIENTS
•2 cups scallions, cut into 1 inch slices
•1/2 tsp diced garlic – I used 1 small-ish clove and 1 really small clove
•1-1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
•1-1/2 tsp sea salt
•1/2 tsp sugar
•1-1/2 tsp Cayenne
•1-1/2 tsp paprika
•1 tsp soy sauce –
I used Trader Joe’s reduced sodium
•1 tsp sesame oil
Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the cut scallions and toss well to combine.
Whisk together the soy sauce and the sesame oil and drizzle over the spiced scallions.
Stir to evenly coat the scallions with the dry seasonings and the liquid, then turn into a covered glass dish (I used a Rubbermaid 1 qt storage bowl) and let rest on the counter overnight.
Give the mix a good stir, then stash in the fridge and give it a good shake, or stir, every other day or so. Think of it as turning your compost pile – you want to get your top layer down to the bottom and the bottom to the top so you can spread the whole fermentation bit around.
I readily confess to being more than a bit lax about this shaking or stirring or rotating bit; it was the Holidays and I had stuff to do – but, my Scallion Kimchi turned out to be just about everything my pickling peeps had said it would be: saucy and spicy and Oh! so tasty spread on a sammich or a bit of bread – you need to make this.
Also, according to the pickle blog peeps, this will keep well in the fridge for several months, so once you’ve done the advance work and the waiting around, you are all good to go for kimchi.