Tanggun Kimchi made from carrots

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 800 g carrot(s), cleaned fresh
• 4 tbsp, heaped sea salt, coarse
• 1 tbsp, heaped chili flakes, Korean, medium hot, from the Asian shop
• 50 g spring onions, medium-sized, cut into fine rolls
• 1 tsp, heaped garlic, freshly squeezed
• 1 tsp, heaped ginger, freshly grated
• 100 g radishes, fresh, finely diced
• 3 tbsp fish sauce, Korean, from the Asian shop
• 1 tbsp horseradish, freshly grated
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• ¼ bunch parsley, flat, including stems, finely chopped

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 8 hours; Total time approx. 9 hours

With a slight North German adaptation from Fiefhusen.

In Korea, kimchi is made from many vegetables and cabbages, not just Chinese cabbage. The term kimchi means pickled and fermented vegetables, and this was developed for preservation purposes. Tanggun refers to pickled carrots. About 1 kg of fresh carrots yields about 800 g of cleaned raw material. The carrots are then cut into fine strips using a julienne cutter or the julienne insert of a kitchen slicer. If you don’t have either, unfortunately, your only option is to use a sharp kitchen knife. Then place the carrot strips in a bowl and add the coarse sea salt. Using your hands, thoroughly massage the salt into the carrots, press everything into the bottom of the bowl, and let stand at room temperature overnight. If you have a vacuum sealer, simply seal it. This way, the salt can work even better. To make the kimchi paste the next day, thoroughly mix all the other ingredients according to the list and let it marinate for an hour. Tip: Don’t buy the hottest chili powder. It’s better to work your way up to the spiciness slowly. There are some truly nasty varieties in Asian stores that ruin the enjoyment of food for us Central Europeans! Then rinse the carrot strips thoroughly in a sieve under cold running water until the saltiness is still there, but no longer so pungent. Everyone has to find their own personal tolerance. Then spin the carrot strips dry in a salad spinner or rub them dry on a tea towel. The consistency will already have softened considerably. Now mix the kimchi paste and the carrots thoroughly, ideally by hand (but wear disposable gloves just in case). Pour the mixture into containers with tight-fitting lids (jam jars, Tupperware containers). Rinse jars and containers with boiling water beforehand. I vacuum-seal the carrots; that’s the easiest way. Now the kimchi goes into the refrigerator and is allowed to mature for 10 days. It will then keep in the refrigerator for at least another four weeks. If you’re impatient, you can snack after one or two days. The pickled carrots taste really delicious even without fermentation.