Kimchi- discovering love and dumplings

Food television is a bad influence. Seriously. I'm wracking my brain trying to find a place to purchase sea beans in the middle of an Iowa winter. Hunting down mushrooms that just don't ever show their faces in rural grocery stores. Starting a batch of sauerkraut in my back bedroom when I don't really care for the stuff in the first place, followed up with a batch of kimchi that, quite honestly, I am not sure I'll like either! Making homemade kimchi and watching shows on Food Network have inspired me to find delicious ways to try these new foods and watching a show the other night one of the hosts was visiting a restaurant in L.A. and having "Vegetarian Mandoo" which featured kimchi so I got to thinking.....why not? The rest of the ingredients they used were all easy to locate, even for me here in the country so naturally.......

It's not hard to make a vegetarian dish very substantial when you add hearty vegetables like mushrooms and yams. Mushrooms especially take on a very meaty texture on their own and I just don't miss the actual meat in the food at all. So these "mandoo" (their creative spelling) swapped the meat for mushrooms and I needed to research some recipes and find something comparable. That didn't exactly pan out. The dumplings are actually "mandu" and finding a no-meat recipe left me with a ton of tofu versions. On the show they had no tofu in there- they didn't list the ingredients but we did get to see the chef cooking it- no tofu was used- rather she used diced yams with enoki mushrooms, a sliced green of some kind (slivered green onion maybe), and piled on the round wrapper along with some chopped kimchi; brushed with egg wash; pan fried and served over yam puree drizzled with a sesame vinaigrette dressing.

So let's get going with my Mandu Science Project. You will need-

• 1 package mushrooms (any kind is fine)
• small bunch scallions
• 2 fresh yams 
• 1 cup kimchi, chopped
• 1 package round wonton wrappers
• 1 egg
• oil for frying

Make the dipping sauce/dressing and set aside.

Peel the yams. Cut into small dice; steam or cook in a small amount of water until tender. Set aside 3/4 cup diced yams. Puree remaining yams, season with salt and pepper and set aside for now.

Chop enough mushrooms to make 1 cup. Cut the scallions into 2-3 inch lengths and julienne finely. Reserve a couple tablespoons for garnish. Beat the egg and set aside.

Heat a couple tablespoons of oil in a skillet. Saute the mushrooms until softened. Add the scallions and cook for a minute or two. Remove from heat and toss with reserved yam and kimchi.

Spoon some of the filling on the wrappers; brush the edges with egg and seal.

Heat a little more oil in the skillet and fry the dumplings on each side until golden brown and heated through. Remove and allow to drain on paper towel while making the rest.

To serve, spread a smear of the yam puree on appetizer plates. Top each plate with four dumplings; drizzle with dressing; sprinkle with reserved scallion and serve.

Plum Sesame Dipping Sauce

• 1/4 cup plum sauce
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seed
• 1-2 drops sesame oil (optional)

Combine in small jar; shake to combine. Chill.

I used my own recipe for the plum sauce, which you can get HERE, but any commercial plum sauce will also work.

These were soooooo good!!! It was easy to fry them in my cute IKEA wok-like pan without using a ton of oil,and keep them warm in the oven while I finished. The sweet potato puree on the bottom was nice but next time I'd play with adding some ginger to it. The dipping sauce was good, and quick to throw together. These would be a great appetizer at a party too. 

Now about that kimchi- I am just so angry at myself for not trying it sooner! It was delicious and totally made this dish. I love love love love the stuff! Since it has been holding in the fridge for a couple weeks it has really developed nicely and the heat is fairly intense. It gave the mandu the perfect level of heat that balanced so well with the sweet sauce, creamy puree and crunchy wonton wrapper. I think from now on there will be a nice spoonful of kimchi added to many dishes around here, Asian or otherwise!

Experimenting with fermentation and Asian flavors- Kimchi

It's time to make some kimchi. It really is. With all the culinary exploration we've been doing at The Little Lake House I have regrettably forgotten this Korean flavor powerhouse. Many times I've said "I need to grab some kimchi" or "I have all these jars, I should make some kimchi." Well now that time has come- I AM going to make some kimchi. 

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I have never tried Korean food. No reason why, just never have. One of my very best friends, Andi, is Korean and makes kimchi, so she is going to be my kimchi mentor. Andi and I have awesome food conversations. Her recipe for tomato jam changed my life. We can spend an entire day going back and forth with recipes, things we saw at the grocery store, food blogs we've read, and what we're having for lunch. So Andi will be offering her expertise as I start this project, and her thoughts on the finished product.

Cutting the scallions into little bitty matchsticks was a bit
time consuming but worth it for a beautiful batch of kimchi.

Asian foods rely heavily on vegetables- for flavor, for texture- and freshness is critical. As a fermented food, kimchi needs to be made from the absolute freshest ingredients you can get your hands on. Napa cabbage is one of my very favorite vegetables. I've made many delicious stir fried dishes and even egg rolls with it. I love spicy foods so this will be right up my alley with the Korean red pepper. Fresh ginger, garlic, scallions and carrots will also be in this party. Fairly simple ingredients and a short fermentation period will bring everything together, and I'll be enjoying fresh homemade kimchi before long!

You will need-

• 1 head Napa cabbage       
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 4 tablespoons red pepper
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bunch scallions, sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and shredded

Remove the ugly outer leaved of the cabbages. Cut them in half lengthwise, slice into 2 inch slices. Using a large bowl or stockpot, layer the cabbage with the sea salt. Cover with a towel and let rest for about an hour, mixing up the cabbage every once in a while, using your hands to squeeze the cabbage a bit, to release the liquid.

Combine all the ingredients and mix well. Pack the kimchi into a large jar or crock (those half gallon canning jars are great for this, but one large crock or bucket will do in a pinch). There should be enough liquid to completely cover the vegetables.

Place the lids loosely on the jars (or cover crock with a towel if you don't have a lid) and set the jars on a baking sheet in case of overflows. Allow the kimchi to ferment for 5 days, mixing and packing the cabbage down several times, then store in refrigerator. If you used a crock, pack the kimchi in quart jars.

This smells soooo amazing right now.

*NOTE- If you find that the cabbage hasn't quite given off enough liquid to adequately cover the vegetables, and you MUST keep them submerged in brine during the entire fermentation process, you can make some additional brine to top it off. Combine 2 cups water with 2 tablespoons sea salt and stir to dissolve the salt completely. 

Three pints of spicy, crunchy kimchi

Now that I've got some kimchi going, I can plan some recipes and dishes to use it in. For sure I will be making mandu, a Korean dumpling, and lots of other delicious things. I'll be looking to Andi and anyone else who loves Korean food, for some great ideas.