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Kimjang (Kimchi Making Event) |
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 Kimjang
is a traditional Korean event in which kimchi is prepared for
the coldest 3 or 4 months of winter. Kimjang usually started in
late October or early November and lasted for 2 or 3 days with
help from many people. The number of cabbages prepared depended
on the number of household members, usually between 100 and 200
cabbages. Considering the number of cabbages and amount of
preparation for Kimjang, it was not a job for just 1 or 2
persons. People considered it as a major annual event, so close
relatives, several neighbor housewives, and a few strong men all
pitched in and worked together. People who participated in
Kimjang helped wash cabbages, prepared materials, and
stuffed ingredients inside each cabbage leaf.
The task usually lasted all day for 2-3 days, so the hostess
treated each person to a big lunch every day. After the
kimchi-making was done, she also gave some of the kimchi
to the participants. When one of the other participants was
ready to do their own Kimjang, all of members get
together again to help her out. In this way, everyone finished
their kimchi-making with help from everyone else.
Although the event has grown less important in recent years due
to changes in life styles and family size, it was great fun to
enjoy the warm heart of neighbors and relatives in times past. |
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Recipe |
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 -Ingredient
5 cabbages, 2 radishes, 5 cloves of
garlics, 5 cups of thick salt, 4 green onions, 1 bundle of
dropwort. 3 ginger roots, 300g of mustard leaves, 1/2 cup of
fish paste, 2 cups of red chili pepper, 1 cup of sticky rice
paste, 2 cups of sugar, 2 cups of oysters. |
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1. After cleaning the cabbages, cut them into 2 or 4 pieces. |
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2. Prepare salted water with a ratio of 2.5 cups of salt to 10
cups of water, then soak the cabbages in it for 6-8 hours. |
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3. Rinse the soaked cabbages in running water 3 times and then
wait for them to dry a bit. |
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4. Cut dropwort, green onions, and radishes into lengths of 5
cm, then chop the garlic and ginger. |
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5. Prepare fish paste and add red chili pepper to it with sticky
rice paste. |
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6. Wash oysters in salt water. |
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7. Mix the ingredients from steps 4, 5, and 6. |
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8. Put the mixture inside of each leaf then store in a jar. On
the top, cover cabbage with a leaf and sprinkle some salt. |
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Types of Pickled Fish Paste |
Three different kinds of different fish pastes are used in
making kimchi: pickled sea food paste, fermented rice punch (sikhae),
and pickled fish paste. Adding pickled fish paste into kimchi
promotes the fermentation process and activates the level of
amino acids, enhancing the taste and nutritional value of the
kimchi. |
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-Pickled Seafood Paste
Pickled sea food paste has 2 types:
· fermented with only salt (pickled shrimp paste, pickled clam
paste, pickled hair tail paste, pickled anchovy paste)
· salt and other seasonings (pickled pollack roe paste, pickled
squid paste, pickled gill paste, pickled spicy oyster paste) |
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-fermented rice punch (sikhae)
Sikhae differs from pickled sea food in that its
materials are grains. Grains are matured with rice, malt,
millet, and hot pepper powder or reddish shreds. |
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-Pickled Fish Paste
Unlike other paste, this pickled fish paste needs to be
fermented longer (about 6-24 months). The longer the maturation
period, the more active hydrolysis is on fish, achieving a
pickled fish paste. |
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Maturing of Kimchi |
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In Korea,
they put the kimchi in large earthenware jars that they bury in
the
ground. About a foot below the surface, the ground maintains a
constant temperature of 32 to 45 degrees. In other words, it is an
ancient and honorable practice to refrigerate the kimchi while
it ferments.
For the best result, keep the jars in a refrigerator and
let it sit for about two weeks. But it's not necessary to do
that, especially if you make a lot of it. It is still a great,
healthy salad when eaten immediately, and it will ferment over
time. |
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