Baek (white) Kimchi: Vegan, mild, and all the probiotics of its spicy cousin.

A while back I made a batch of Traditional Korean Kimchi.   It came out beautiful and SUPER spicy.  Like, definitely too spicy for the kids an me.  My husband and one of our friends decided that it was best enjoyed on hotdogs and they devoured quite a bit of it that way.  HAH!  I think that it would also be really well suited to flavoring different things... Hot and Sour soup comes to mind.

I decided to do an  Americanized version of White Kimchi in response to the SUPER-HEAT of the other variety.  I wanted something more slightly spicey and mostly sour and I'm pretty sure this is going to hit it right on the head.    Again, I switched up some of the traditional ingredients to include things that are easily accessed in most Grocery stores in the U.S.A.

Baek Kimchi

• 1 large nappa cabbage
• ⅓ cup, plus 2 tbsp  kosher salt
• ½ bunch radishes, sliced
• 2 medium carrots cut into matchsticks
• 1 bunch chives, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 5 fresh chestnuts, peeled and cut into thin strips
• ½ of red bell pepper cut into thin strips
• 1 medium pear, peeled, cored and cut into matchsticks
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

Core and chop cabbage into small pieces.  Put in a large bowl and sprinkle 1/3 cup of salt evenly between the leaves. Fill the bowl with enough water to submerge the leaves, and then weigh them down with a plate.  Let sit on the counter for 24 hours.

Drain and rinse the cabbage lightly, retain about 1 cup of the brine.

Assemble some mason jars and lids (I had various sizes this time, my daughter  helped and she was the one who picked them out of the cupboard).  Wash the jars and caps thoroughly and set aside.

Prepare the remainder of your ingredients and toss them together in a large bowl.

Ani peeling a chestnut

Sprinkle 2 tbsp of salt on the veggie bowl  and toss.  Then add the veggies to the cabbage and toss again.   Pack your veggie mixture hard into  the mason jars ( I used a rolling pin) so that water starts to be extracted from the veggies.  Top off the jars with enough brine to cover the veggies.  Cover and seal with caps and rings.

Fermentation station!

Wait about 7 days before trying.  And then transfer to the refridgerator.  Eat it all right away, or wait until the sour  "pickle" flavors develop further.

Enjoy!