Napa Cabbage

[chrysanthemum]

This was my first year attempting to grow Napa Cabbage.  I only had four plants because I was not at all sure how it would do as a spring crop in our area.  Sometimes the heat comes fast, and we did have some hot days in April, but May has been cool and wet, and the cabbage has done well.  I harvested one head today, along with the one daikon radish I had in the garden, a couple of onions, and a jalapeño from which I wanted to get seeds.  The crops weren’t large, but I supplemented with some store bought garlic, ginger, and carrots and put a quart or so of kimchi in a jar to ferment.

[Tucson Grower]

That sounds lovely. I too am about to start growing my own napa cabbage aka Chinese cabbage. I'm getting a green variety from Baker Creek and a red one via Amazon.

 

[chrysanthemum]

I’ve never encountered a red Napa Cabbage before. That looks really yummy. Wow. I hope it does well for you.

[amyinowasso]

I got seeds for Purple Express Napa at Renee's. Also a baby Napa called Little Jade. Want to share your kimchi recipe?

[chrysanthemum]

I’m not sure that I have a particular kimchi recipe as I tend to use what’s available. I have enjoyed using this one from the web, though, in times past.

perfecthealthdiet.com/2013/03/shou-chings-moms-kimchi/

A couple of notes on the one linked above. Maybe I didn’t read it carefully enough, but I’m not sure that it specified how much salt. I tend to weigh my produce in grams, and I try to use about 2 percent of the weight when I salt. I do find it easier to mix everything in a large bowl and let it sit overnight to produce its own brine, then I transfer it to a more airtight container such as the jar I pictured above.

Also, “chili powder” that is mentioned is not the spice blend that I think of when I think of good old American chili (hot pepper, garlic powder, oregano, and cumin) but a more mild ground Korean pepper powder. I have big jar that I got at a Korean grocery when we lived in Virginia, but I’m afraid that I can’t read what it says to give you a name. It is a mild hot pepper powder.

I’m sorry that I don’t just have a recipe for you, but the good news is is that kimchi is very flexible and not too hard. We enjoy the Napa and Daikon combination that’s used in the one linked above, but kimchi can be made with all sorts of ingredients. I’ve never done it, but I hear that cucumber kimchi is excellent.

[amyinowasso]

Thanks! My husband goes to the Asian market for his kimchi. I don't do anything hot anymore, not even mildly spicy, it doesn't agree with me. Commercial kimchi has, of course, been packed in vinegar. I have made him sauerkraut before and fermented pickles. If we get the nappa to grow, maybe I'll try kimchi.

[chrysanthemum]

I pulled my “Korean fine red pepper powder” (I think it does say that in English on it somewhere) out of the cabinet yesterday and looked at the packaging more closely to see if I could get any more information off of it. It did have a heat guide that placed the powder in the 5,000 to 10,000 Scoville range.

I’m sure you know from your purchased kimchi, but it does not smell appealing. Even though we enjoy eating it, the smell is not our favorite. Unfortunately all my daikon radishes that I planted last year were wiped out in the pre-Christmas freeze along with my Napa seedlings, so I won’t be making any any time soon from garden produce. There wasn’t a freeze in the forecast when I planted them, and even if there had been, I wasn’t expecting the anything below the teens. Crazy weather.!