Meanwhile, make the kimchi paste by blending the garlic, ginger, fish sauce (if using), chilli sauce, sugar and rice vinegar together in a small bowl. From the fiery funk of kimchi to the velvet tang of kefir, James describes the microbial process, then shares his recipes for recreating these wonders in your own kitchen - no specialist equipment required. Combine the ginger, garlic, reserved spring onion whites, miso, sugar and gochugaru in a food processor, and pulse until you have a paste a little looser than peanut butter.

Traditionally Napa cabbage is used for kimchi, but if you can’t get your hands on Napa cabbage, you can use green cabbage, savoy, or red cabbage. Otherwise, your hands will be tingling afterwards and the odour, while delicious, will linger on your skin. Once in the fridge, it will keep for well over a month, but loosen the lid every few days to prevent gas build-up.For more Korean cooking inspirations, follow along on YouTube , Pinterest , Twitter , Facebook , and Instagram . For me, the kitchen is my happy place and I hope to help other people with the knowledge I've gained along the way. Three to seven days after fermentation has begun, your kimchi should be ready – it’ll be quicker if you’ve put it somewhere warmer. Don’t be afraid to experiment with kimchi; any vegetable that is safe to eat raw can be made into kimchi. We still have much to learn about making different kimchi varieties, and we love to taste and explore other options.

Pack the seasoned Chinese leaf quarters into a a 2 litre sterilised preserving jar and press down to release trapped air. Watch out, if it’s particularly fizzy it might try to escape the jar – wrapping a piece of kitchen roll over the lid as you open it will save your clothes and worktop from kimchi spatter. Judy Joo shares her fantastic kimchi recipe, the pickled cabbage thought of as the national dish of Korea. From the fiery funk of kimchito the velvet tang of kefir, James describes the microbial process, then shares his recipes for recreating these wonders in your own kitchen. Featuring over fifty recipes - including Mushroom and Sauerkraut Pierogi, Chilled Radish Noodle Soup and Green Chilli Fermented Salsa - and packed to the brim with Marija Tiurina's gastro-surrealist watercolour illustrations, Of Cabbages and Kimchi will help you create, understand and appreciate fermentation's bubbling magic.Featuring over fifty recipes – including Mushroom and Sauerkraut Pierogi, Chilled Radish Noodle Soup and Green Chilli Fermented Salsa – and packed to the brim with Marija Tiurina’s gastro-surrealist watercolour illustrations, Of Cabbages and Kimchiwill help you create, understand and appreciate fermentation’s bubbling magic.

Alongside his recipes, James investigates the extraordinary cultural and historic backgrounds of fermented foods, exploring how the microbes that bring them to life have developed alongside our culinary evolution. You’ll just need to have one or two very large bowls for the brining of the cabbage and a large container to ferment it in. After experimenting with cauliflower kimchi to make the perfect ‘zombie brains’ for a Halloween pop-up restaurant, James grew curious about the world of fermentation and living foods.For kimchi, I’d usually opt for the dense, heavyweight, paler variety – but you’ll find these much more easily between the months of October and March.