The ease and importance of fermented foods.

Foods like Kim chi and sour kraut are amazing addition to your daily life. They are very easy to make and can take as much time as you want to put into it. Here are my basic recipes…

Kim chi
Buy a food grade 5gallon bucket with a good top.
Buy the best quality salt you can find.
Napa cabbage 12lbs or 6 or 8 kilos
Green onions
A head of garlic
A piece of ginger
A few carrots
Fish sauce
Korean red pepper flakes
Purified water or let your tap water sit in the bucket for a day with the lid cracked to off gas.

You can get as fancy with the chopping as you want. Make sure you wash everything in a salt water separate the cabbage leaf and was every leaf by hand if your very not wanting dirt and what not.
Cut the core out of the cabbages

I cut mine in all kinds of shapes and sizes same with the rest. Peel the ginger and decide if you like chunks of a mince. Same with the garlic and green onions. You can add anything you want that can be pickled to you Kim chi. And add the fish sauce and pepper flakes to taste… throw all your chopped and washed veggies and the desired pepper flakes amount and fish sauce amount in the bucket, then smash it all down with your knuckles ( add the pepper flakes after this step if you don't like the pepper on your hands or don't want to wear gloves.) fill the bucket with water make sure it covers the cabbage mix add a cup of salt if you filled the bucket high try to leave 2inches of space between the top of the bucket and the watery cabbage mix. Mix the salt into the water (you can add less salt if want but at least ½-¾ cup.) Mix and put the lid on and place it in the sun with a towel on top make sure the bucket is not showing only the cloth is visible. Let it sit in the sunny area for a week with the cloth over it and mix it every day. Then keep it in the house in a cool dark place.
(Thai chi is easy and cheaper, just buy the Mae poy red curry paste the big one and use that for the fish sauce and pepper.)

Sour kraut

Buy green and purple cabbage 12lbs or 6-8kilos
Quality salt
Pure water
5gallon bucket with lid


Wash the cabbage cut the cores out, chop the cabbage how you like it. Throw it in the bucket, smash it all down to the bottom with your fists. Cover the cabbage with water add a cup of salt mix it good fill that bucket up with the cabbage I don't know exactly how much in weight that will be but the first batch is a trial so you know. Do the same as the Kim chi with the cloth and let it sit in the sun and mix every day.

Always use clean tongs to get your fermented foods out of the bucket, you can have a smaller tub you keep in your fridge or on the counter.

You want a high acid content, you can. Add a little sugar to the bucket to up the acid content. And rinse your mouth after you eat the ferment because of the acid.



It doesn't have to sit in the sun if your in the city / apt just a good warm place... No sun light hitting the plastic unless it goes through the right kind of glass. If its colder it will take longer. That's why I do the sun thing to speed it up.