Some hot korean action!

Siu To - owner of Noodlemaker here in Edmonton, held a Korean culinary workshop on Tuesday in which we learned to make medicinal chinese chicken soup, korean bbq sauce, bulgogi and kimchi.

I ended up taking home a half full ice cream bucket of kim chi, enough to last me until next year!

I figure I should start documenting this before this fades and I forget.

Kimchi - Noodlemaker Style

1 part red pepper flakes

1 part garlic

1 part ginger

1 part Vegeta flakes (from the Italian centre, only 800 mg of MSG in a 2 kg bag)

1 super soggy congee (i.e. cooked rice with a lot of water)

Mix them all, and blend with a hand blender. Add to prepared cabbage (below).

Siu Choy (Chinese Cabbage) or Napa Cabbage, thinly sliced and salted overnight, then washed with warm water. (Or you can use your local cabbage as well, such as the flat dutch cabbage sold at Riverbend Gardens).

Fermentation: Let sit for 48 hours, with a small opening in the lid, until bubbles start to form, then cover and refridgerate. Apparently if you ferment too long, it'll just bubble over. Sounds fun!

Korean BBQ Sauce

1 part chopped ginger (Too much for my taste, so I'll add less next time)

1 part chopped garlic

Cover the above with just enough soy sauce

add 2 parts sugar (I will be using less, as I found the sauce rather sweet, or I will probably substitute with honey)

Blend with hand mixer.

Roast 1 part sesame seeds until browned.

Crush seeds. (I may substitute with Tahini)

Add to mixture and blend.

Lesson of the day: These are just basic recipes. You can add anchovies to your kim chi or whatever you would like to your Korean BBQ sauce. Like all "recipes", you alter the ingredients according your personal tastes. I don't use recipes, I just tend to use guidelines and alter as needed.

Oh, and I'm getting a used hand mixer from a friend for only $5! WOOT WOOT!