Perilla Leaf Kimchi ｜紫蘇葉泡菜

If you have ever visited a Korean supermarket, you probably have seen perilla leaves.  They are usually sold in bundles or in packages.  Perilla leaf is a common vegetable that belongs to the mint family, with a mild herby flavour somewhat similar to anise and basil; it is widely used in Korean cuisine as vegetable, kimchi, flavouring, or wrap.

Perilla leaf isn't usually found in Hong Kong cuisine, so I learnt this wonderful leaf late after I moved to downtown Toronto, where Korean cuisine is broadly embraced. 

Funny is that my first experience of perilla leaf wasn't a nice one.  I always noticed the herby note of these vivid green leaves, but I'd never realized how strong it could taste when putting the whole piece of leaf in the mouth, along with the hot rice or spicy marinade.  I remember I swallowed it down hard, followed by a full glass of water and a few bites of other side dishes.

After that, I tried to stay away from perilla leaves, but I still bought them whenever I go to the Korean supermarket, just because I was attracted to their beautiful look.  Once I have them, I have to cook them, right?  Through time, I learned to enjoy its distinct flavour and perilla leaf kimchi has become the Korean recipe I make most often and enjoy most by far.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you enjoy this recipe.

You can buy perilla leaves at Korean supermarkets.

Perilla leaves are available all year around, but their have much better leaves in summer.

Perilla Leaf Kimchi 

紫蘇葉泡菜

Kimchi

Ingredients:

15-20 pcs Perilla Leaves

2 tablespoons Glutinous Flour

1/2 cup Water

4 tablespoons Fish Sauce

2 tablespoons Red Chile Flakes

1 tablespoon Garlic, peeled and minced

1 tablespoon Ginger, peeled and minced

How to make it:

1. Rinse the perilla leaves under cold running water.  Drain and set them aside.

2. In a glass bowl, combine the glutinous rice with 1/2 cup of water.  Mix it well.  Microwave the mixture for about 30 seconds; stir well.  Then return it back to the microwave to heat it for another 25-30 seconds, or until the mixture become gluey.

Don't over heat it, otherwise the mixture will turn lumpy or harden and it will have to start over again.

3. Combine the rest of the ingredients except the perilla leaves into the glutinous mixture.  Stir it until it becomes chilli paste.

4. Spread 1-2 teaspoons of the chilli paste on a perilla leaf.  Then, place another perilla leaf on top, and spread the chilli paste on it again.  Repeat this process until you finish all the perilla leaves.

5. Store the perilla leaves in an air-tight container.  Leave it at room temperature for two days before serving it.  Transfer the rest to the fridge and it can keep up to 4 days.

6. To serve, wrap a small bite of rice with a perilla leaf, and then put the whole thing in the mouth.

Young Napa Kimchi ｜ 自醃簡易泡菜

Perhaps the weather is so hot, I crave the flavour of kimchi a lot.  I'm always amazed by the fact that spicy food helps our body sweat to regulate our body temperature.  So back during the summer days in Hong Kong, I often joined the crowds to eat sour and spicy vermicelli.  The excellent vermicelli shops were always humble and were located in alleys of our small streets; however, patrons always found their way in and long queues would always form out into the streets.

My teenage years were filled with memories of squeezing together at a tiny table with my friends or sometimes among strangers, slurping the boiling hot and spicy vermicelli.

Eating kimchi gives me a somewhat similar comfort.  When I miss that sour and spicy flavour, I make kimchi and serve it with some very hot rice.

Young napa kimchi is one of my favourite kimchi.  It is easy to make at home and it doesn't require a lengthy list of ingredients or a long fermentation period.  After I finish the batch, I can eat it as it is or use it to make soup.  I just love it.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you will enjoy this recipe.

Young Napa Kimchi

Ingredients:

5 heads Young Napa Cabbage

2 tablespoons Salt

Marinade:

3 tablespoons Korean Red Chili Flakes

4 tablespoon Fish Sauce

2 teaspoons Garlic, minced

2 teaspoons Ginger, minced

1 teaspoon Sugar

1 tablespoon Glutinous Rice Flour

How to make it:

1. Peel off the napa leaves.  Keep the big leaves and save the smaller leaves for some other recipes.  Rinse them a few times to clean off the dirt.  Drain.

2. Rub both sides of each napa leaf with some salt.  Let them stand for 30 minutes.  This process helps to draw out the juice from the napa.

3. Drain the juice.  Rinse off the excess salt with cold water.  Gently squeeze out the excess water.  Set aside.

4. In a small bowl, stir together the glutinous flour with about 1/4 cup of water.  Microwave the mixture for 30 seconds and stir it again.  Return the bowl to the microwave and heat it for another 20-30 seconds.  Stir it again.  The mixture should be gluey.

Pay close attention when microwaving it and try not to overheat it.  Once the mixture turns hard, you need to start over again.  Yet you can always add more time for the mixture to make it more gluey.

5. Combine the marinade with the glutinous rice paste; mix well.  Pour the mixture onto the napa cabbage.  With a hand, gently mix everything together until the napa is evenly coated with the marinade.

6. Place the napa to a glass container and cover it.  Keep it at room temperature for two days for fermentation.  Transfer it to refrigerator and finish it within a week.

Cubed Daikon Radish Kimchi ｜ 香辣蘿蔔泡菜粒

People say kimchi is a rice stealer, I agree.  The crunchy vegetables that combine spicy, sour, and a hint of sweet flavour make you always crave more.

Whenever I go to a Korean restaurant, the thing that excites me most are those colourful side dishes.  Some of them are pickled, some are a quick mix of salad, and some are fresh or fermented kimchi.  And fresh and slightly fermented kimchi catches my heart the most.  They aren't as strong as the long-feremted kimchi, but they have the probiotic tangy flavour and the juice from the fresh vegetables, which refreshes your palate.

I personally prefer the fresh and crunchy style of kimchi so I usually skip the rice flour in my kimchi making.  Rice flour works as a thickening agent so that the product will be more presentable and also holds the sauce better.  But I find it is too gooey for my taste no matter how little I use.  Therefore, you will find the kimchi recipe below has a rather thin sauce.

I like to add the kimchi juice in noodles, or use it to pickle perilla leaves.  That way I can use up this delicious juice while eliminating the waste.

Cubed Daikon Radish Kimchi

香辣蘿蔔泡菜粒

After three days of fermentation.

Ingredients:

2 cups Daikon cubes, peeled

6 stalks Scallion

4 cloves Garlic, peeled and grated

15 gram Ginger, peeled and grated

3 tablespoons Salt

1 tablespoon Sugar

Marinate Ingredients:

2 tablespoons Brown Sugar

2 tablespoons Fish Sauce

1 tablespoon Red Chilli Flakes

How to make:

1. Peel the daikon, cut it into half of the ice cube size.

      2. Rub the daikon with salt until the daikon skins start to

slightly give in;  let it rest for about 30 minutes for the juice to come out.

3. Discard the juice except 3 tablespoons of it.

4. Cut the scallion diagonally; set it aside.  Grate the ginger and garlic.

5. In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients.  With hands, mix everything thoroughly.

6. Place the mixture in a jar.  Cover with a lid.  Keep it at room temperature to ferment until the juice starts to bubble, after about 3 days.  Serve it with hot rice.

The kimchi just filled in the jar.

If you are not using the kimchi right away, transfer the kimchi to the fridge to slow down the fermentation.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoy the recipe.