too much kimchi!

[mrbigjas]

a coworker of mine told me her mom makes the best kimchi. i said, that sounds great! can you bring me some?

she did. boy, did she ever. i now have about eight pounds of kimchi in two large gladware containers. i've never seen so much of it, and there are only two of us here so it's not going away anytime soon.

my question: i know this will last a long long time in the refrigerator. but how can i store it so that everything in my fridge doesn't smell like kimchi? i love it, but it's not the only thing that i eat, and it definitely doesn't go well with french or mexican food, for instance.

would sealing it up in glass canning jars preserve it, or shouldn't i, for some reason?

thanks for any help anyone can provide.

[jschyun]

Uh, I hate to tell you this, but kimchi does go bad, and quicker than you think. The first week, you can eat it just plain, then it gets sourer and sourer, and in I'd say about 1.5 to 2 weeks, you gotta make stuff like kimchi chigae out of it. after bout oh 3 to 4 weeks in a regular fridge, it's bad.

As for storing it and limiting smell, uh, well if you go to Korean homes, you may notice a separate kimchi refrigerator... Actually, the kimchi refrigerator also allows the kimchi to be stored much longer, months. Back in the day, kimchi was stored all winter in the ground, but nowadays, modern Koreans use the kimchi fridge. You can get this fridge in Koreatown.

Actually, you can tinker with kimchi recipes to limit fermentation so that it works with modern fridges and you can store it in there for a while. I'm still working on this myself with a dongchimi recipe I got from a friend. But this is outside the scope of your question.

My advice for you is to share and fast. Good luck.

[mrbigjas]

OK good to know. this week fresh, and shared with family and friends. next week stir-fried with vegetables and/or pork belly. the week after that kimchi jjigae. then when it goes bad i'll toss whatever's left over. i feel bad, but she shouldn't have given me so much... i don't have a large korean family to feed...

thanks jschyun!

[jschyun]

i feel bad, but she shouldn't have given me so much...  i don't have a large korean family to feed...

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Don't feel bad, this is just Korean generosity. No sane/normal person can possibly be expected to keep up with it.

[Gastro888]

Acutally, I'd be surprised if she DIDN'T give you that much. We Asians like to feed (stuff?) our friends and family.

Why not make kimchi pancakes? I don't know the name of them but I've seen the bags for batter at the Korean markets.

[mrbigjas]

oh, excellent idea, gastro888. i've been into the concept of making everything into pancakes lately. just last week i tried making my first okonomiyaki. the week before i made that bindaedok recipe from the november gourmet magazine.

hm, i think i need a good korean cookbook. off to search eg for a recommendation.

many many years ago i dated a korean girl, and dinner at her family's house still remains one of the great eating feats of my life. after about six bowls of rice and probably two entire chickens i finally convinced her mother that i couldn't possibly eat another bite.

[Gastro888]

OH! The best Korean cookbook (IMHO) is Dok Suni by Jenny Kwon. (um...I gotta double check that for you, but I'm pretty sure) Check it out - it has great receipes and stories. Very good for the beginner.

Kimchi pancakes with dipping sauce...yum.

Hey man, you scored points with that family b/c you chowed down. I was born and raised in the States but I still take note how my date reacts to food and enjoys it. Note to anyone dating Asian men/women - when you go over to the parents' house don't kick up a fuss by being picky! It WILL be noted in the family record book. *grin*

[torakris]

kimchi does go bad pretty fast. I made some last week and I may only have a couple more days of freshness with it.

As to the smell, the only I have figured out to keep the refrigerator from smelling is to never open the kimchi, ever!

I made kimchi pancakes last night! these are callen jon/jeon right? (in Japan they call them chijimi). I made a very simple batter with eggs, cold water and regular flour and large pieces of kimchi, served it with a sauce made from equal amounts of soy sauce and rice vinegar.

[chefzadi]

You can also make kimchi mandu

Ground beef or pork or a combination of both

Rinse really old kimchi, drain, chop and squeeze out excess moisture

My mother-in-law has a more traditional method for making the filling, but her less tradtional daughter (my wife) adds all kinds of things like:

chopped scallions

Korean vermicelli

garlic

sesame oil

toasted sesame seeds

tofu (it makes the filling lighter)

grated carrots (just to get the kids to eat more vegetables)

grated zucchini (same reason as above)

It freezes pretty well. If you want to make the mandu for freezing put them in the freeezer in a single layer on a tray untill they are solid and then pop them in a bag. But I don't know how big your freezer is. In Europe and Asia the refrigerators are tiny compared to the ones in the States.

[mrbigjas]

thanks chefzadi!

[Pan]

[...]

I made kimchi pancakes last night! these are callen jon/jeon right? (in Japan they call them chijimi).[...]

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I've seen them in menus as Pa-jun. These would be Kimchi Pa-jun.

[melonpan]

kimchi jeon would also be legal i think.... esp if you dont add any pa (scallions)

ive been known to make kimchi jeon.

[Marco_Polo]

I've seen them in menus as Pa-jun. These would be Kimchi Pa-jun.

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Not exactly. 'Jon' is simply batter fried food, whether vegetables, meat or fish. Just about anything can be made into jon. The most famous is pa'jon (pa = green onion) - you can of course add some kimchi to your pa'jon if you like. We make a family style pa'jon that includes strips of marinaded bulgogi meat as well as green onions, wilted strips of celery, and kimchi if we have any. It's sensational.

The classic dipping sauce for such fried foods is cho jang - Korean vinegar dipping sauce. Mix rice vinegar and light soy sauce to taste (about 50/50), add a little sugar (not too much), some toasted sesame oil, and some toasted and crushed sesame seeds. Depending on the jon, we also add sometimes add some crushed chili pepper (I like coarsely ground piri piri I bring back from Portugal), shredded green onion or some roughly chopped coriander.

MP

PS As for the 'aroma' of kimchi in the fridge, try as you might, there is absolutely nothing you can do about it, so why try? Halmoni used to wrap jars of kimchi in plastic bags tightly sealed with rubber bands, but frankly there is no disguising it. The smell of kimchi assaulting you as you enter the door; or even before the door is opened: the smell of my grandmother's house. On second thought, if you live where it is cold enough, you could just leave the jars outside the back door, an effective method no doubt to keep away unwanted wild animals, robbers or other pests.

Edited January 12, 2005 by Marco_Polo (log)

[Pan]

Thanks for the clarification, Marco_Polo. I know only a handful of non-food-related Korean words (e.g., anyong haseyo).

[Gastro888]

The classic dipping sauce for such fried foods is cho jang - Korean vinegar dipping sauce. Mix rice vinegar and light soy sauce to taste (about 50/50), add a little sugar (not too much), some toasted sesame oil, and some toasted and crushed sesame seeds. Depending on the jon, we also add sometimes add some crushed chili pepper (I like coarsely ground piri piri I bring back from Portugal), shredded green onion or some roughly chopped coriander.

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Sugar? Really? Why sugar - to balance out the flavors? And coriander? That's starting to sound more SE Asian. Neat.

Here in the States, the Korean restaurants don't have coriander in the dipping sauces. Then again, I'm Chinese, and not Korean so how would I know?

[Shalmanese]

The correct answer is that the Kim Chi went bad about a week before she gave it to you.

::ducks and runs::

[Marco_Polo]

Sugar?  Really?  Why sugar - to balance out the flavors?  And coriander?  That's starting to sound more SE Asian.  Neat.

Here in the States, the Korean restaurants don't have coriander in the dipping sauces.  Then again, I'm Chinese, and not Korean so how would I know? 

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Yes, sugar. Much of Korean food served in restaurants is way too sweet for my taste - sugar is a big ingredient that is often over-used in dishes like bulgogi. But a little definitely gives just the right taste.

As for the coriander, you're right, it's not really a usual Korean flavour but my mixed background - Korean, French, born in Mexico, American living in England - results at times in a fusion of flavours that seem, well, just so naturally right. In fact, sometimes cho jang with coriander is so right (especially as a dipping sauce for meat fritters) that nothing else will quite do. Try it: it's really outrageously good I assure you!

[melonpan]

not all koreans add sugar to their chojang. at our house we dont use any sugar or other sweeteners.

i imagine it must vary from household to household.

[Gastro888]

Sugar?  Really?  Why sugar - to balance out the flavors?  And coriander?  That's starting to sound more SE Asian.  Neat.

Here in the States, the Korean restaurants don't have coriander in the dipping sauces.  Then again, I'm Chinese, and not Korean so how would I know?  

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Yes, sugar. Much of Korean food served in restaurants is way too sweet for my taste - sugar is a big ingredient that is often over-used in dishes like bulgogi. But a little definitely gives just the right taste.

As for the coriander, you're right, it's not really a usual Korean flavour but my mixed background - Korean, French, born in Mexico, American living in England - results at times in a fusion of flavours that seem, well, just so naturally right. In fact, sometimes cho jang with coriander is so right (especially as a dipping sauce for meat fritters) that nothing else will quite do. Try it: it's really outrageously good I assure you!

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Rock on, I'll give it a shot! Sidebar - your background sounds hecka awesome!

I don' t know what authentic Korean food should taste like as I'm not Korean but I heard that the food around here (DC/MD/VA) area is kinda oversweetened.

[chefzadi]

Korean restaurants in the States seem to use quite a bit of sugar and MSG. My mother i law frowns upon this deeply. Really good Korean cooking contains some sugar too offset sourness, spiciness and saltiness. But sugar shouldn't be the top note you taste when you eat bulgogi or hwe neng myun.

[Marco_Polo]

Korean restaurants in the States seem to use quite a bit of sugar and MSG.

I must admit that my Korean grandmother, who was the most brilliant cook, was of the generation that saw nothing wrong in using MSG, though always judiciously and in small doses. When we were writing a book about her we naturally spent a lot of time in the kitchen as she taught us how to cook. MSG for us is quite simply something we can't, we wouldn't ever use. But Halmoni would always try and slip a little in and giggle like a little girl when we caught her doing so. I can still hear her say to me, "No Aji-no-moto, no tastee good." It's true, her food always was sensational, tasted that little better than anyone else's, even my mother's. But somehow I don't think it was just the Aji-no-moto...

And ChefZadi, I agree, sugar most definitely should never be the top note. Or even the top knot.

[chefzadi]

Hey Marco Polo-

Just noticed the stuff about your background. So get this. I was born in France to Algerian parents (Arab and Beber), my wife was born in Korea (moved to LA when she was 5), we have two kids (Arab/Berber and Mongol mix), they are both models with Ford kids division (but we never send them on auditions).

Where are you in England. I worked over there and in Scotland too.

[Gastro888]

Korean restaurants in the States seem to use quite a bit of sugar and MSG.

.... But Halmoni would always try and slip a little in and giggle like a little girl when we caught her doing so. I can still hear her say to me, "No Aji-no-moto, no tastee good." It's true, her food always was sensational, tasted that little better than anyone else's, even my mother's. But somehow I don't think it was just the Aji-no-moto...

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OMG. My parents (esp. dad) does the same thing. Without the giggling.

[Marco_Polo]

So get this. I was born in France to Algerian parents (Arab and Beber), my wife was born in Korea (moved to LA when she was 5), we have two kids (Arab/Berber and Mongol mix), they are both models with Ford kids division (but we never send them on auditions).

Hey chef, you're almost as mixed up as me! But as my Mexican friends always say, una ensalada mixta is infinitely more interesting than just plain lettuce or tomatoes...

I live in SW England, about as far away from Scotland as you can be. But (today at least) just as rainy...

Gastro888, though these days for us all MSG may be an absolute no-no, I'm sure if used judiciously it could probably intensify flavour without the hangover effects. But it's still something we'd probably all prefer to avoid, right? Or maybe not. Does anyone admit to using it?

[chefzadi]

So get this. I was born in France to Algerian parents (Arab and Beber), my wife was born in Korea (moved to LA when she was 5), we have two kids (Arab/Berber and Mongol mix), they are both models with Ford kids division (but we never send them on auditions).

Hey chef, you're almost as mixed up as me! But as my Mexican friends always say, una ensalada mixta is infinitely more interesting than just plain lettuce or tomatoes...

I live in SW England, about as far away from Scotland as you can be. But (today at least) just as rainy...

Gastro888, though these days for us all MSG may be an absolute no-no, I'm sure if used judiciously it could probably intensify flavour without the hangover effects. But it's still something we'd probably all prefer to avoid, right? Or maybe not. Does anyone admit to using it?

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It's used in a lot of restaurants for sure. Also if you go to a Korean or Japanese supermarket and see the prepared sauces, alot of them contain MSG. The powdered soup bases also contain MSG. Most of the prepared foods at Korean markets in LA list MSG as an ingredient.

My mother-in-law's mantra has always been "absolutely no MSG," almost like it's poison. Although she's a fantastic cook, she's also a bit of a Yangban food snob.

Anyway, to answer your question. We don't use it to cook at home and my wife is a maniac about reading labels on prepared foods, but we've enjoyed many foods that contain MSG. You really can't avoid it in East Asian cooking unless you NEVER eat out and make EVERYTHING from scratch. A little MSG can perk up flavors and there's nothing wrong with that. Too much MSG and you can "taste" it and it makes foods taste artificial.