“Kimchi is a Korean side dish made from fermented, salted cabbage and radishes. It has a spicy, sour kick. The spiciness comes from Korean red pepper flakes, known as gochugaru, and the tang comes from the fermentation. This is my all-time favourite pickle and it’s so good for your gut bacteria... The mix gets better over time and is wonderful in stews, stir-fries and noodle broths. Enjoy!”
PHOTOGRAPHS SEAN CALITZ FOOD STYLING JESS MEYER STYLING SARAH BIRKS
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CHING HE HUANG’S STORY Born in Taiwan and raised in South Africa and the UK, Ching has become a world ambassador for Chinese cooking and received an MBE in 2020 for services to the culinary arts. Her food ethos is all about using fresh, ethically sourced ingredients to create modern dishes with respect for heritage. Her latest book, Asian Green, was published last year by Kyle Books. Follow Ching @chinghehuang
Vegan kimchi
Makes 1.5 litres (including the cabbage and juices) Hands-on time 15 min, plus 6-8 hours soaking and at least 3 days fermenting
KNOW-HOW Daikon/mooli is a large white radish. You can buy it from greengrocers, Ocado or redrickshaw.com.
Gochugaru is a staple spice in Korean cooking. Deseeded chillies are dried, then coarsely ground into a powder that has smoky, fruity notes, plus a kick of heat. It’s worth getting hold of the proper stuff for kimchi. Buy it from Southeast Asian food shops or online from sous-chef.co.uk and theasiancookshop.co.uk.
Glutinous rice powder/flour is milled from sticky shortgrain rice. Here it acts as a sort of binder, adding body to the kimchi. Buy it from the suppliers above.
CHING’S TIP Traditional kimchi uses fish sauce, but my vegan version uses red miso paste to achieve that umami taste. You could use yellow miso paste instead, but I find red miso gives a deeper flavour (check it’s gluten free if you need it to be). • 2 chinese cabbages
• 65g sea salt flakes
• 1 daikon/mooli, peeled and sliced into julienne strips (matchsticks) – see Know-how
• 3 spring onions, trimmed and cut into 5cm slices
• 2.5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 shallots, peeled
• 6 tbsp gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes), or more if you like it spicier – see Know-how
• 2 tbsp red miso paste (from Waitrose and online suppliers – see Ching’s tip)
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tbsp glutinous rice powder (optional; also known as glutinous rice flour – see Know-how)
• Sesame seeds, toasted in a dry pan, to serve (optional)
1 Reserve 1-2 outer leaves of the cabbages. Wrap them in damp kitchen paper and put in the fridge until needed. Shred the remaining cabbage and
