#salads and slaws

WHITE KIMCHI 

If you like kimchi like me, you must try this. If you like kimchi like me but can’t always stand the heat, this must be your next meal. This kimchi dish is neither spicy nor pungent, but instead is much lighter, can be paired with anything, and won’t clear a room with its intense smell (well, it still does, but not as much as traditional kimchi). This is the perfect introduction to kimchi if you’ve never tried it before or you’re serving it to folks who haven’t. This would be so delicious with some pulled pork, or slow cooked chicken, or just about anything. I just wish I made more, because I could eat this all in one sitting.

Note: Remember that the cabbage is going to shrink significantly, so if you’re making this for a group, you may want to increase the recipe size. 

Ingredients: 

7 tablespoons coarse kosher salt, divided 
1 large head of napa cabbage, outer leaves discarded, cabbage quartered lengthwise with root ends left intact 
1 tablespoon sugar 
1 teaspoon fish sauce  
1 asian pear (about 12 ounces), peeled, cored, cut into matchstick-size strips 
½ pound daikon (Japanese white radish), peeled, cut into matchstick-size strips 
6 green onions (white and pale green parts only), cut into matchstick-size strips 
3 garlic cloves, minced 

Directions: 

1. Mix 6 cups water and 6 tablespoons coarse salt in very large bowl, stirring to dissolve salt. 
2. Place cabbage, cut side up, in water so that water almost covers cabbage. Put heavy plate atop cabbage, then top with iron skillet to weigh down to submerge cabbage in water. Set aside at room temperature 10 to 12 hours.
3. Drain cabbage; discard water. Rinse cabbage under cold water (in the second picture, you can see how the cabbage has shrank over the day).
4. Mix 4 cups water, 1 tablespoon coarse salt, sugar, and fish sauce in same large bowl. Let brine stand until salt dissolves, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. 
4. Mix pear, daikon, green onions, and garlic in medium bowl. Lift each cabbage leaf and distribute some radish mixture between each leaf (about 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons). I stacked about six or so leaves on top of each other until I had the entire cabbage head divided into stacks. This made the next step easier.
5. Nestle layered cabbage in bowl of brine as tightly as possible. Put heavy plate atop cabbage, then top with iron skillet to weigh down to submerge cabbage in brine. Set aside at room temperature for 24 hours. 
6. Refrigerate kimchi submerged in brine for 24 hours. 
7. Lift cabbage from brine and drain. Cut into smaller pieces if desired.

Recipe taken from Bon Appétit