Easy-To-Make Kimchi (7grizzly version)

This Sat, I made my 27th batch of kimchi.

I became a fan of Maangchi's videos in late 2014. They were great to get one
started on Korean cooking. Since then, I always played her "Easy-to-Make Kimchi" 
on a laptop for guidance when making a batch myself.

With practice, however, I needed the video less and searching through it for a few
forgotten details, e.g., the amount of one ingredient, became a pain, especially
when ads got in the way.

Over time, I have adapted Maangchi's original recipe to make a one-cabbage batch.
Here's it for quick reference. Hopefully I won't need the video crutch anymore.

1. Prepare the cabbage.
   - Cut the cabbage (~5lbs) into mostly square pieces.
     (first lengthwise and then cross)
   - Dump the pieces in a big container, a plastic basin, e.g.
   - Soak them in water and drain.
   - Mix them with 0.5 cup of coarse sea salt.
   - Every 30min, turn them once. Do this three times.

   After three turns or 1.5 hours, the cabbage is ready. Drain. Wash the wilted
   cabbage three times.

2. Cut the vegetables.
   - 1 leek, 12 green onions, cut at an angle, and
   - 1 carrot(~10oz), Asian chives(~5oz), and 1 daikon radish(1.5-2.0lbs) in matchsticks

3. Prepare the kimchi paste.

   - Mix 3 cups of water, 0.5 cup of mochiko powder (rice flour), and 0.25 cup of
     sugar. Heat over medium high and churn until the porridge turns translucent. Cool it down.
   - Blend
         - 2tbsp of ginger,
         - 1 cup of onion,
         - 1 cup of fish sauce, and
         - 1 cup of garlic,
     and add the mixture into the porridge bowl.
   - Add 1.5 cups (depending on taste) of coarse hot pepper flakes.
   - Finely cut 1 tbsp of salted shrimp, and add to the mix.

4. Finally, mix everything.

Step 2 and 3 can be done while the cabbage is sweating. So the whole process
takes less than two hours. I even find time to write in the middle.

The final crop fills a 5.5L/185oz air-tight containter and I usually leave it on the
counter for the night for faster fermentation. If not in a hurry, I would put the
container directly in the fridge. One batch would last a couple of months.

[7grizzly]

1 gallon = 128 oz and therefore 185 oz = 1.45 gallon.
As of today, 0.5 gallon kimchi costs about $22.00 in Ranch99 in Mountain View,
which makes my 2hr effort creating $22.00 * 2 * 1.45, or about $64.00.

[7grizzly]

The 35th batch was made on 12/11/2022.

[7grizzly]

The 32nd batch (and the 4th following this recipe) was made on 04/22/2022.