Korean vegan kimchi

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 1 ½ kg Chinese cabbage
• 240 ml water
• 90 g salt
• 30 g rice flour
• 240 ml vegetable broth, preferably home-cooked
• 15 g sugar
• 1 m.-sized onion(s)
• 9 cloves garlic
• 5 g ginger
• 45 g salt
• 5 g sugar
• 100 g chili flakes (Gochugaru chili)
• 170 g radish(s)
• 60 g carrot(s)
• 6 spring onions
• 85 g herbs (buchu) or garlic chives

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest period approx. 14 days 3 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 10 minutes; Total time approx. 14 days 3 hours 40 minutes

Quarter the Chinese cabbage, remove the bottom stalk, and then cut into bite-sized pieces. Pour the water over the cabbage and add 6 tablespoons of salt. Mix well and set aside for 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. To make the kimchi paste, boil 2 tablespoons of rice flour with 240 ml of vegetable stock until it thickens and bubbles. Only then add 1 tablespoon of sugar and continue stirring until it becomes more liquid again. Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool. Cut the radish and carrot into strips, slice the spring onions diagonally, and slice the buchu or garlic chives into rings. Place the cooled kimchi paste in a food processor or a tall mixing bowl and puree until finely chopped along with the medium onion, garlic, ginger, vegetable stock, salt, and sugar. Transfer the kimchi paste to a large bowl and add the chili flakes. Mix well. The chili flakes should be frozen immediately after removal, as they spoil easily if left open. Wash the now softened Chinese cabbage thoroughly three times and drain well. Mix the cabbage with the chopped vegetables and the kimchi paste and transfer to an airtight container. The kimchi now needs to ferment: either for 2 weeks in the refrigerator or (if you want it to ferment more quickly) for 1-2 days at room temperature. After that, however, the kimchi must be stored in the refrigerator. There it continues to ferment more slowly and becomes more acidic with each day. The dish is traditionally eaten with rice and a little sesame seeds. It can also be used as a side dish to soups, e.g., using miso broth as a base. Tip: If possible, make the vegetable broth for the kimchi paste yourself using radish, an onion, a few cabbage leaves, spring onions, carrots, and mushrooms.