Cajun Kimchi

Karlos Knott sent this one in, and it is exactly the kind of thing that happens when somebody who understands fermentation starts looking around a Louisiana kitchen. The bones are a traditional Napa cabbage kimchi. The trinity shows up in the paste, Steen's cane syrup stands in for the sugar, and a little cayenne rides along with the gochugaru. Everything is weighed in grams, which tells you Karlos has made this more than once. Give it three to five days on the counter and keep the cabbage under its liquid.

Ingredients

• Cabbage
• 1,370 g Napa cabbage, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 34 g kosher salt, for salting
• Kimchi paste
• 27 g garlic, peeled
• 27 g fresh ginger, peeled
• 55 g shallots, peeled
• 55 g fish sauce
• 41 g Steen's cane syrup
• 55 g cooked white rice
• 55–80 g water, as needed for blending
• Vegetables and seasonings
• 55 g gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)
• 3 g cayenne pepper
• 70 g green bell pepper, finely diced
• 55 g celery, finely diced
• 55 g green onions, thinly sliced
• 14 g dried shrimp, finely chopped (optional)

Instructions

1. Salt the cabbage. Cut the Napa cabbage into bite-sized pieces and toss thoroughly with the 34 g kosher salt in a large mixing bowl. Let it rest 2 to 3 hours, turning occasionally, until softened and noticeably reduced in volume. Rinse briefly under cold water to remove the excess surface salt, then drain thoroughly.
2. Make the paste. In a blender or food processor, combine the garlic, ginger, shallots, fish sauce, Steen's cane syrup and cooked white rice. Add about 55 g water and purée until smooth, adding more water only as needed for a thick, spreadable paste.
3. Add the seasonings. Transfer the paste to a large mixing bowl. Stir in the gochugaru, cayenne, bell pepper, celery and green onions, along with the dried shrimp if using. Mix until everything is evenly distributed.
4. Combine and pack. Add the drained cabbage to the seasoning mixture. Wearing food-safe gloves, massage the paste into the cabbage until every piece is coated. Pack tightly into clean fermentation jars, pressing down to work out air pockets and draw out liquid, and leave at least 2 inches of headspace.
5. Ferment. Fit each jar with a fermentation lid that lets carbon dioxide escape. Set the jars somewhere cool and dark, ideally 65°F to 72°F, and ferment 3 to 5 days, checking daily. Look for a pleasantly sour aroma, gentle bubbling, and a balance of acid, heat and savory depth. Keep the cabbage submerged beneath its liquid; if it does not release enough, top it off with a little 2% salt brine.
6. Refrigerate. When the kimchi tastes right, swap the fermentation lid for a standard jar lid and move it to the refrigerator. It keeps developing slowly from there.

Notes

• Weigh the ingredients if you can. The salt-to-cabbage ratio is what keeps the ferment safe and the texture right.
• The dried shrimp is optional, but it deepens the savory side considerably.
• Cane syrup brings more than sweetness. It feeds the ferment and leaves a little molasses character behind.