I’ve been thinking about this for a long time and just never got around to it. I totally kicked myself in the bum when a friend (Hi Kelly!) mentioned she saw something on television I had to make… It got me fired up about the idea again and I happened to have some kimchi in the fridge.
The initial results (dehydrated kimchi) looked a lot like something out of a Halloween horror show:
If you haven’t had kimchi before, it is a Korean fermented condiment. Cabbage is a main ingredient and it can be spicy or mild. Kimchi often has many different variations (just as ‘soup’ does) and can be specific to a region or to whatever one has lying in their pantry.
Kimchi is fermented with salt. It is stored in a cold space (in my case the fridge) and contains brine and fermented vegetables. There’s a massive water content so dehydration creates a significant shift in volume. Two cups of Kimchi became two tablespoons of kimchi powder (almost a 20-to-1 reduction)!
The powder is created by dehydrating drained kimchi (it takes about 24 hours) and then blitzing the brittle results into powder. The final product is less intimidating that the initial results:
The powder is intense! The lost weight is water – the remaining taste is an intense hit of salt, fermentation, umami and kimchi goodness. A single teaspoon of this powder represents more than a quarter cup of the original contents. A little bit goes a long way.
Here’s a few potential uses:
- A condiment for soups
- An addition to a stir fry
- Use as a dry rub (especially with fatty items like short ribs)
- Hot dog/ veggie dog topping
- An ingredient for homemade sausage
- Sprinkled on french fries (much like ‘cajun spice’ is often done)
- Mixed into other fermentations as a spice/ starter
- A potential cocktail rimmer (thinking something with tomato juice)