Kimchi and Salted Mustard Greens

Before I write about kimchi and salted mustard greens, I need to do a quick weight loss update. As of yesterday, I'm down 10.5 pounds in just over a month.

I've been craving kimchi. I usually buy a small container at the Korean market but I decided to make my own. I bought the Korean red chili flakes for Korean cucumber kimchi a while back. This recipe is slightly different than most traditional kimchi recipes. It does not call for any glutinous rice flour or sugar. It relies on the natural sugars from the onions and Asian pear.

Kimchi is a great diet food. Not only is it on the list of world superfoods but it's very low calorie and high in fiber. There's a long list other nutrients. Sometimes when I feel a need to munch, I just grab the container and a fork. When I'm feeling a little more civilized, I dish some out into a bowl.

Kimchi

1 head napa cabbage
pickling salt, as needed
water
1/2 cup Korean chili flakes
2 carrot, shredded
1/2 cup daikon, shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, minced
4 green onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1/2 yellow onion
1 Asian or Korean pear

1. Slice napa cabbage into 1 1/2 inch pieces.
2. Dissolve about 1/2 cup salt in lukewarm water. Soak cabbage slices in salt water for 4 hours.
3. Rinse cabbage to remove excess salt then transfer to large bowl.
4. Combine chili flakes with water to make a thick paste. Mix paste into the cabbage, gently rubbing it into the cabbage leaves.
5. Add carrot, daikon, garlic, ginger, green onions, and fish sauce.
6. Blend onion and Asian pear with 1 cup of water and then add to cabbage mixture. Taste the mixture and add more salt if needed.
7. Transfer to a glass jar, packing the leaves down and compacting them together. Pour liquid on top. Make sure to leave about 2 inches of room. Leave on counter for 24 to 48 hours then refrigerate. Kimchi should be ready to eat. I actually like it a little more ripe and leave it in the fridge for a week before eating.

The two canning jars contain the kimchi I made and the plastic tub is from the Korean market. I used slightly less of the chili.

While I was making kimchi, I started craving salted mustard greens. I tried making it with turnip greens because that's all I could find at the grocery store. It didn't taste so good so I went our to the Korean market and picked up some Chinese mustard greens. Grandma usually makes this with a variety of flowering mustard greens that she grows herself. It has a slightly more bitter taste. I prefer the Chinese mustard greens because of the crunchy thick stems.

I know there are several recipes out there. The Vietnamese version is more of a pickled mustard green because it uses vinegar and some sugar. The version I'm making only uses salt, water, and some glutinous rice.

Salted Mustard Greens

1 head of mustard greens (approximately 3 pounds)
pickling salt
water
2 tablespoons glutinous rice, boiled with 1/2 cup of water and cooled

1. Cut mustard greens into bite-sized pieces.
2. Lay the mustard green outside for several hours until wilted. (I put it on a baking sheet lined with a cookie rack.)
3. Once the mustard greens are wilted, transfer to a large bowl. Add about 1/2 cup of pickling salt and mix to distribute. Let sit a few minutes and then gently massage the salt into the mustard greens.
4. Add boiled rice and mix together. (Some people prefer to push the rice grains through a mesh strainer and create a paste. Others simply add the rice grains whole. Grandma always added the rice whole.)
5. Pack mustard greens into glass jar. Pour any liquid into jar and then top off with water. Taste and adjust salt if necessary. The mustard greens should be fairly salty or it will rot.
6. Let jar sit out on the counter for several days. The number of days depends on the the temperature in your house. I made this on a Sunday and it didn't sour until Thursday. When I watched mom and grandma make this back in July, it was ready in about two days. Refrigerate once the greens are sour.

On the second and third day, I thought I had ruined it and the greens would rot and liquify in the jar. Then on the four/fifth day, it magically turned into the nice crunchy greens that grandma used to make.

Once the greens are sour, you can use them in scrambled eggs, stir-fries, or as a side condiment to grilled meats. To make the condiment, scoop out some mustard greens into a bowl and mix in sliced Thai chilis, ginger chiffonade, chopped cilantro, and MSG.

Before wilting in the sun:

After wilting in the sun. It probably could have used a few more hours in the sun but unfortunately my balcony started getting too shaded.

Salt the greens. I use canning and pickling salt because it doesn't contain iodine or anti-caking additives. The additives can cause cloudiness or darkening of the food or liquid. I think maybe the reason why grandma's salted greens are darker than mine is because she likes to use Morton iodized salt.

After salting and gently rubbing, the greens should be pliable.

Pack into a jar and add more water and salt if necessary. I didn't completely cover with water but by the next morning, water continued to leach out of the greens and the greens wilted even more.