This is the kimchee recipe and some recommended retailers for Korean ingredients that our teachers Inga Min and her friend Yunsil shared with us at the recent Sustainable Living Arts School learning party. If you didn’t make this one, we hope you get a chance to learn with Inga and Yunsil again. Nothing like learning from our local experts!

KIMCHEE RECIPE

Ingredients:
* 6 pounds/ 3 medium-sized napa cabbage
* 3 cups coarse salt
* 12 cups of water
* 1 tablespoon minced garlic
* 1 cup red pepper powder
* 3 tablespoons white sugar

Recommended:
* Rue: 2 cups of white flour and 4 cups of water
* 3 tablespoons green onion in ½ inch lengths
* 4 ounces scallions/ onions, cut in 1-inch lengths
* 1 teaspoon finely minced gingerroot
* ¾ cup anchovy sauce
* 1 cup fresh shrimp paste, finely chopped

Optional:
* mustard greens, sliced white radish, watercress
* 1 cup oysters (for short-term kimchee, not long winter ferment)

1. Cut cabbages lengthwise into two or four sections.
2. Mix 2 cups of salt into the water in a container. Use your hand and mix the rest of the salt
evenly between the leaves especially at the stem end.
3. Cover and let it pickle for 3 hours. Make sure all of the cabbage is submerged in the brine, but not soaking in a pool of water. The salt draws out the water from the cabbage. You don’t want to lose the flavor of the cabbage in the water. Toss, turn over and pickle it for 3 more hours. Or leave it overnight if you want the cabbage to ferment longer. The cabbage should taste salty and be less crunchy, but not entirely limp. Strain the cabbage and discard the salt water.
4. Rinse the cabbage thoroughly 3 or 4 times and drain most of the brine. You can slice the cabbage into 1 to 1 ½ inch squares or leave it whole.
5. In a mixing bowl, combine all of the seasonings and let it sit for 10 minutes. Add the green onions, vegetables and oysters last if you are using them. Taste test and add more salt as needed.

OPTIONAL RUE
This is optional. Mix 2 cups of flour with 4 cups of water in a sauce pan. Bring it to a boil and keep stirring until you get a rue-like consistency. Let the rue cool down to room temperature, at least 30 minutes. Mix all of the seasonings into the rue and let it sit for 10 minutes. This rue should not be used for summer kimchee or radish kimchee.
6. Blend the seasoning into the leaves using your hands. Massage the seasoning between the leaves into the cabbage, don’t just stuff it in there. You will want to wear gloves if you have sensitive hands.
7. Tightly pack the cabbage in a jar or plastic container. Press the cabbage down to get rid of air pockets. Stuff the seasoning and loose pieces of cabbage to fill the spaces in between the heads of cabbage. Layer the loose pieces on top to make a bit of a seal. Store at 70 degrees for at least 24 hours up to 72 hours ferment or keep it out longer if you prefer. The warmer the room, the faster it will ferment. This is up to you. Once you are happy with the flavor, keep it in the fridge or a cool place. If you keep it in a cool cellar and only bring up what you need for the fridge, it should last for a while.

GROCERY SHOPPING
Downtown: H-Mart, 590 Robson St (southwest corner of Seymour)
Phone 604-609-4567

Broadway & Fraser: There used to be a Hannarum in a stripmall by the Pojang Macha restaurant at Broadway & Fraser. I don’t know if it’s still there, and I can’t find any sign of it on the internet.

Coquitlam: Hannarum, 205-329 North Rd
(604) 939-0135

When I told my mom I was curating a learning party on how to make kimchee, she laughed and asked why we don’t just go to the store. I reminded her how many hours our family spent making kimchee together in the kitchen, and how I loved being fed kimchee paste wrapped in freshly fermented cabbage by my father’s hand. He would never let me touch it because it was too spicy for my hands, but not my stomach. I also told her I thought it was important to preserve and share our cooking traditions with others who wanted to learn. She didn’t buy any of it, but she understood when I told her it would cost half the price for me to make my own kimchee at home.

I singularly consume at least a gallon of kimchee a month. I can’t believe I’m admitting this publicly, but it’s the truth. As a condo living spinster (the first sentence in this paragraph could explain why), I never considered making kimchee for myself at home because I didn’t think I had space and I thought it would be too difficult. Now that I know how simple and economical it is to make a fresh batch in a small space, I want to make it a monthly cooking ritual.

As a Korean-Canadian gal who learned how to make kimchee with my parents, I was never allowed to participate in the mixing of the kimchee paste or the stuffing of the paste into the cabbage because my “skin was too delicate”. I never understood how hazardous the kimchee mix was until I watched Rob–the only person tall enough to reach into the cooler and mix our kimchee paste—mix the batch of chilis, garlic, ginger and other goodies up and get blinded by the intensity of the mix. He was told by Inga and Yunsil that he put a lot of “soul” into his mixing and that the mix would be good.

Click To Play

The kimchee is great, and I think there was a lot of “soul” put into the kimchee by all participants of the learning party. As Yunsil said to Inga who translated to me “Don’t stuff the cabbage with the mix, massage the mix into the cabbage.” She was right; you could see the reaction in the cabbage immediately. I think this was the best tip of the day, love the cabbage.

Without a doubt, there was a lot of cabbage loving going on at the kimchee learning party. There were 8 working participants, 7 ‘helpers’, husbands, dishwashers, pot grabbers, mixers, one girl and one toddler. Altogether, 15 people made 40 lbs of kimchee in 90 minutes! There was about 2 hours of prep work including cleaning, brining and washing the cabbage before the party.

This was my first experience curating a party for SLAS, and I really enjoyed the experience. I enjoyed the process of learning how to curate a party with Keira, and working wtih Inga and Yunsil. It was special for me because I got to share it with Elaine and Rob, the hosts, who I became friends with in Korea. I also thought it was great to see Heesoon and her daughter, Serenne, work side by side making kimchee. Inga, our instructor, and Yunsil, her assistant, also had a wonderful experience working with us and are eager to do it again. Inga’s husband also tried kimchee for the first time, and it was a genuinely touching moment.

Stay tuned for another kimchee learning party in May.

The Sustainable Living Arts School is gladly hosting another hands-on learning party…

Upcoming:

• Join the Great Farm Trek to Save the UBC Farm Tuesday, April 7
• Alastair Heseltine is teaching a Willow beginner weaver’s weekend intensive on Bowen Island March 21/21.
• Have you wondered about buying land either to homestead or run a small farm? Visit 4 farms and learn practical lessons from those who have done it at the Sustainable Living Arts School’s Bush Weekend April 25/26 on the Sunshine Coast.
• Grégoire Lamoureux of the Kootenay Permaculture Institute will be teaching a permaculture design course in the Kootenays May 31 to June 13, 2009.

Art & Culture of Kimchee

Saturday, March 28

2:00pm to 3:30pm

Vancouver, Near Thurlow & Robson

Fermenting food is a sustainable practice that is ideal for all of us that live in small spaces.  Join us for this hands-on learning party where we will be introduced to the art and culture of making kimchee, the traditional Korean fermented condiment made with cabbage, garlic, ginger and hot peppers. It’s spicy, delicious and very, very good for you!

You’re warmly invited to share your thoughts and questions  on fermentation and kimchee before we meet. You can add recipes, links, family stories and personal experiences in the comments to this post so we can share our knowledge.  Let’s get this learning party rolling online!

Our hosts for the day live in a small apartment on the second floor of a building with no elevator-stairs only. Please check in with us first if you want to bring the kids.

About our teacher: Inga Min is a kimchee devotee and the the founder of the Shin Myung Korean Drum Group. The group was created to build a community of drummers interested in learning the traditional form of Korean drumming. Watch Inga in action on Living Vancouver.

To register: There are limited spaces to allow for hands-on practice and conversation. Learning parties fill up quickly! Please register with Mona at monaATslas.ca

By Donation: You can’t put a price on a learning party. That said, we want to honour the time and experience that goes into learning valuable skills and sharing them with others. The suggested donation is $25. Donate what gives you joy! If you can afford more, we’ll put it towards making more learning parties happen. If you can afford less, come on down and share your learning with us anyway. All are welcome!

Please bring:

• $5 to cover the cost of vegetables we’ll be transforming into kimchee.
• A jar or other small container so you can tend your first batch of kimchee at home.
• A knife and cutting board for chopping vegetables

We will send out an email with final details (address etc.) to registered participants by Thursday, March 19th. Thanks and looking forward to seeing you there!

If we’ve hung out this year I may have foisted some sauerkraut on you. It’s hard to believe it’s only been a year since I took my first workshop with Andrea Potter (follow that and you’ll get a link to a CBC interview with Andrea) and became a fermentation fetishist. It’s super-easy, delicious and really, really good for you- maybe even critical for our health in these times where we wage war on micro-organisims on the one hand, and shell out the big bucks for probiotic supplements on the other.

…one of the fascinating things about fermentation is the end results are more than the sum of their parts. The combination of cabbage and salt becomes an entirely new food, vinegary and rich in B vitamins produced from thriving microbes.” Andrea quoted in a recent Globe and Mail article “Their Fetish is Fermentation”

Andrea started her workshop last year by pouring shots of kombucha tea and getting us chopping up fresh peaches from Robin’s tree for fruit salsa. It was glorious! Come to the Introduction to our Fermentation day with Andrea and David Rothzstain in Vancouver and learn how to make sauerkraut, fruit salsa brine pickles and simple cheeses at home.

Here’s the details:
$85 includes a delicious lunch featuring local and seasonal food.
For more info visit: http://slas.wikispaces.com/#fermentation or email me at keira@slas.ca or give me a ring at 604-707-0337
Teachers: Andrea Potter and David Rothzstain
Location: Unitarian Centre
Register with Langara College Continuing Studies
In person or by phone 604-323-5322

Traditionally every culture has incorporated fermented foods into their diet. From health benefits to social change, preserving foods at home is a sustainable practice. In this hands-on course, we will discuss the benefits of tapping into this ancient wisdom and prepare traditional sauerkraut, brine pickles and fruit salsa, as well as get introduced to fermenting dairy with kefir culture.

To Register: In person with Langara College Continuing Studies or by phone 604-323-5322.

Garden Now for Fresh Food Year Round: A Winter Garden Course
with Heather Johnstone Saturday, June 7, 2008 10am- 4pm
Register with Langara Course code: CDVL1091 Course Registration # 60645

Healing with Herbs: Growing and Foraging in the City
with Sharon Kravitz and Jill Stieler Saturday July 5, 2008 10am-4pm

Introduction to Food Preservation by Fermentation
with Andrea Potter and David Rothzstain Saturday, August 2, 2008 10am-4pm

Cost : $85 for each course includes a delicious lunch featuring local and seasonal food, and a maximum of 15 students to allow for lots of questions and discussion.

Garden Now for Fresh Food Year round: A winter garden course

with Heather Johnstone
Saturday, June 7, 2008 10am-4pm

Now is the time to start your first winter garden for fresh home-grown food all year round. With just a little gardening experience you can learn how to extend the growing season by using simple designs for home-made cloches and greenhouses and learn what, when and how to plant appropriate varieties. We’ll also share the joy of sprouting and wild food harvesting.

Schedule

10-11:30: Introduction. Designing and building inexpensive do-it-yourself cloches, cold frames and greenhouses.

11:30-12:30 Catered Lunch featuring local, seasonal food

12:30-2:00 Selecting varieties for your winter garden. This section will look at winter-hardy plant species, and we will have the opportunity to delve into the seed catalogues to select the very best varieties to get you through the winter. We will discuss the special care and demo the techniques required to maintain a garden through the winter on the west coast.

2-2:15 Break

2:15-3:45: In the dark of winter, when the potatoes and leeks are dwindling, and spring still seems a long way off, sprouting is a perfect way to bring green live food back into your diet. This course will include hands-on sprouting exercises. We will discuss different techniques for storing food through the winter (drying/canning/freezing/fermenting), and will look at what wild foods can be harvested in the region.

3:45- 4: Wrap-up

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:
• apply techniques for feeding themselves fresh food throughout the year
• select appropriate plant varieties for winter planting,
• identify plants for winter wildcrafting
• sprout various seeds and beans for fresh eating (students will leave with a sprouting jar and seeds)

Instructor

Heather Johnstone is the coordinator of the Edible Garden Project on Vancouver’s North Shore www.ediblegardenproject.ca . She has spent years planting and learning with organic farmers on the west coast and is a graduate of the Linnaea Farm Ecological Gardening Program. She now works with home-scale urban gardeners to help them grow fruits and vegetables.

Healing with Herbs: Growing and Foraging in the City

with Sharon Kravitz and Jill Stieler
Saturday, July 5, 2008 10am-4pm

Learn how wild and cultivated herbs can support our health. In this beginner course we will identify local plants and helpful weeds on foraging walks, practice respectful wildcrafting, prepare herbal medicines and explore the medicinal value of the food in our kitchens. We will illustrate and record our experiences in a journal (provided) and leave ready to safely continue exploring herbs.

10-11:30 -Introductions, overview of the day, assessing needs. Herb Walk, plant identification, ethical collection, drying and storing herbs, common applications.

11:30-12:30 -Lunch with herbal and wild plant delicacies

12:30-2:00. -Making medicines: uses, applications and dosage.

2-2:15 -Break with tea and sweet herbal treat

2:15-3:45 -Handy herbs to have in your garden- food as medicine- Aryurvedic taste exercises

3:45- 4 -Wrap-up/closure

Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
• Identify a group of local herbs that are particularly useful in the summer (bee stings!).
• Discuss the value of food as medicine.
• Gather herbs safely and respectfully.
• Prepare simple medicines for home use.

Instructor

Jill Stieler has been a practicing herbalist since 1993. Her studies began with Don Ollsin’s Herbal Healing Journey (who later coordinated Langara College herbal program). Over the years she has run a small business selling herbal medicines. Today she focuses on healing her friends, family and community with the medicines she makes.

Sharon Kravitz is a healer, artist and long-time activist in the downtown eastside. She is a graduate of Langara College’s Herbal Medicine Program. Healing with herbs is an intimate part of all the work she does in the world.

Introduction to Food Preservation by Fermentation

With Andrea Potter and David Rothzstain
Saturday, August 2 10am-4pm

Traditionally every culture has incorporated fermented foods into their diet. From health benefits to social change, preserving foods at home is a sustainable practice. In this hands-on course, we will discuss the benefits of tapping into this ancient wisdom and prepare traditional sauerkraut, brine pickles and fruit salsa, as well as get introduced to fermenting dairy with kefir culture.

Schedule

10:00-11:30 -Introductions
-Discussion about the benefits of preparing and eating fermented foods including health information and the importance of keeping food traditions alive in these changing times.

-Information on food safety and on the process that lactic-acid ferments undergo.

-Discussion of how social and environmental change can be brought about by preparing food at home.

-Hands-on preparation of traditional sauerkraut.

11:30-12:30 -lunch (including samples of some pickles and other fermented foods.)

12:30-2:00 -Hands on preparation of brined pickles and fermented fruit salsa.

2:00-2:15 -Break

2:15-3:45 -Introduction to cheesemaking with kefir culture. Care and feeding of kefir, showing milk at different stages of enculturation

3:45- 4 -wrap-up and closing.

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

• articulate how foods are transformed and preserved by fermentation.
• explain the health benefits of fermented foods.
• compare the benefits of fermentation to other methods of food preservation
• start fermenting sauerkraut, pickles, salsa and cheese at home.

Instructors

Andrea Potter is a Certified Chef and has been cooking professionally for 7 years. She is currently the restaurant chef at Radha Yoga and Eatery in Vancouver, where she creates seasonal menus based on whole foods, using local ingredients. She is also a student at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition. She is passionate about food culture.

David Rothzstain is our "well-cultured" expert and an urban farmer/philosopher. He’s been making cheeses on his own and at local organic farms for years. He is currently a student of Linnaea Farm Ecological Gardening Program