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Additional funding provided by: Hi, I'm Christina Pirello, and this is Christina Cooks, where each week we take fresh, seasonal ingredients and whip them into amazing dishes.

Will they all be plant based?

Yeah.

Will they all be delicious?

Absolutely.

One of the things that we're hearing about now, thank goodness, in all the news about healthy cooking is fermentation.

Everything from kombucha to pickles and something that seems to have risen to the top is kimchi.

Because it's fermented, it's hot and spicy, it's high in fiber and loaded with vitamin C, so you're getting circulation stimulation, you're getting fiber for digestion and the the bravo-ness, if you will, of fermentation.

But I need some help making this kimchi.

So I've asked a friend to join me today.

Soohee, hi Soohee!

- Hi!

So this is Soohee Russo, who married a Sicilian friend of mine.

So just like me, she has a Sicilian husband.

So here we go.

So what I█m going to do, you told me, you split the root.

-Yes.

And then you pull it open so that the leaves actually come more open.

Do I do that right?

Yeah.

Beautiful.

And then you do it again?

Yes.

When we made kimchi before I knew Soohee, we used to chop it and put it into the jars.

And I was told that that's how they do it in restaurants.

So now we try to do it a more authentic way.

And by pulling it open like this, you actually make the leaves easier to work with and you'll see why that matters.

On the side.

Yes.

And so after you cut the lettuce, you definitely want to let it brine for a while.

So we're going to add about a half cup of course salt - To the water?

- Yeah, to the water, there█s water inside.

And then you just want to let it brine and ferment a little bit before we start seasoning.

-Okay.

So what Soohee's going to do is dissolve a half cup of coarse salt into about five cups of water.

This is all roughly measured.

As you do it, you'll have a little more freedom as you make it, but kind of follow those guidelines at first.

And then you just kind of go in here, we're wearing gloves because we're going to be using very hot, spicy Korean spice.

So you kind of use your fingers to dissolve a little bit.

And then once the brine is done and dissolve, what what's your next step?

Because I'm going to make the paste.

Yes.

so what we have while it brines, we prepared an already brined portion so we can go ahead and use the seasoning that you prepare, and then put it in between the leaves so that it could season and ferment together.

- Okay.

So what we did when we sometimes when we make it is we actually besides the brine put salt between the leaves.

Is that too much salt?

Um, well you kind of it should be fine generally because you can also rinse it after, you can taste it before you start seasoning it.

Plus it's pretty salty when you do it that way.

Like it really just depends.

sometimes the salt, it also depends on what type of salt you use.

So of course your salt, it can wash out a little bit more.

But if you use like a finer salt then it's.

It█s gonna get into the leaves.

- Right.

So you try to, you really want to use a coarse salt.

Okay so in here I'm going to place some Say it for me again?

Gochugaru?

Did I say it right?

██Gochugaru, yeah.

So I have some here and I'm adding about another quarter cup.

Tell me if I'm doing this right.

and we're going to add to that some dashi.

Dashi is simply in this case it's kombu in water.

And the reason we're doing this is because kimchi often has some sort of fish element.

And so we want that flavor.

But I really don't want the fish.

So we made a dashi which is just kombu and water.

And then we're going to mix this.

And into this goes a little coconut sugar.

Yes you can add a little bit of sugar.

That's to your taste.

Not everyone does.

- Just a little bit?

- Just a little bit.

because you really don't want to take the heat off, right?

The whole point is the spiciness.

If you add a lot of sugar, coconut sugar, whatever, you take the heat down.

If you've ever been to a restaurant where they ask you how spicy you want something, that depends on how much sugar they're going to add.

Okay, so next would I put the garlic or grated ginger?

Doesn█t really matter!

Doesn't matter okay.

In goes a ton of garlic, a couple tablespoons okay.

If you want to stir that while I grate ginger.

Yeah, Korean food has a lot of garlic in it.

Garlic and ginger.

And gochugaru which is just red pepper, specifically Korean red pepper.

So you wouldn't - you wouldn't do this with Italian red pepper.

- It wouldn't be the same.

- No, the heat is different.

And the underlying flavor is a little bit different than other peppers.

so even, like, if you see gochugaru anywhere, it's going to be the Korean red pepper.

I find the Korean red pepper is, earthier.

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

I wasn't sure if that was the right word, but earthy.

It doesn't have as much of, a lot of spice.

It tends to peak, but Korean... Gochugaru just kind of stays...

It stays with you and has a long finish.

but a really pleasant long finish.

A lot of people don't like a long finish on hot food.

And then we have, one inch piece scallion and julienned daikon radish and julienned carrot.

Perfect.

And that completes sort of the paste that becomes the filling, as they call it, for, kimchi.

And now we get our hands dirty.

Please wear gloves when you do this at home, which you will do because you can buy kimchi in the store.

But why?

Do you want more chili or no?

No, I feel good, too.

This is starting to look good.

We just need to kind of make it even.

So.

So you just keep mixing this until the vegetables are really well incorporated and well coated.

And from the spice, they sort of start to wilt.

Exactly.

This looks great.

Yeah, it looks nice.

- Smells really good!

- It does smell really good.

It does smell really good.

- I mean, it's, you know... - I have to tell you, I have to tell you, I'm like Italian and Irish to the core.

But since we have started eating and making kimchi, I literally can't go a day without it.

Like, I miss it when we.

Don't eat it.

Yeah, it adds a nice fermented heat punch.

So I think people start to crave after.

Yeah, you do.

You really start to crave it.

- It's so funny that you do.

- Yeah.

Okay I think this looks pretty good.

Okay.

So now we're going to start to fill the kimchi, the kimchi into the ██make the kimchi with the cabbage.

So we can probably do it.

Do you mind if we do it right here?

- No!

- Okay, great.

So what we are going to do is just take a little bit and then start putting it on each.

You want me to do one?

- If you were like, great.

- Let█s do it together.

So you kind of take a little bit of, I'm going to call it the stuffing and like somebody said, it█s... sort of like making Korean lasagna Because you█re going... That's pretty much it.

Going layer by layer.

And you're filling these leaves and you really want to make sure you wear gloves because you can smell how hot the pepper is.

And yeah, you can smell all the peppers.

And so imagine how it would burn and probably stain your hands.

Absolutely.

So now once it's sort of stuffed like this, is this good?

do you want me to rub it more?

Yeah, maybe just more on, like, the outer petals, because they're thicker, so it tends to have a harder time kind of adhering.

Yeah.

-It█s also such a beautiful dish - Yes.

Like this is such a beautiful food to make.

Okay.

How does that look to you?

That looks that looks great.

Okay.

So now.

Now what?

Now I hold this.

How?

I hold this for five days until we're able to eat it.

Well, now you want to just roll it up and then put it into a jar.

And then once that's airtight, that's when it'll start to kind of ferment over time.

Okay.

So now we both have messy hands.

Can you grab me a jar?

I'll try to grab from the inside.

Oh.

Nicely done.

There you go.

Okay, so now you just sort of drop this in.

Push it down.

Okay.

There█s one jar.

We can each do another one, and then we can put these in.

- Yeah, that looks great.

- Yes So you can see how it's really well coated.

And the stuffing, if you will, is between all the leaves.

And that's how this is going to ferment.

And it ferments.

It's really actually eatable in about five days.

Although the longer you can let it ferment kind of the better it is.

-Is that true?

-Yes, yes, exactly.

Like all the good bacteria and the fermentation.

Really comes out.

how did you do it?

So I - ha-ha - the hard way.

So I just sort of squeezed it in.

Oh, okay!

- And then pushed it down.

- And then rolled it down.

Okay.

Pro.

So we can try these last two.

We only have, yeah, we can.

And then we only have one more jar.

So we'll kind of split this up.

So we're going to stuff this last █ these last two.

You're going to do one head about a 4 pound head I guess I would say of Chinese cabbage at a time.

And then you're going to again take it and sort of rub some of the stuffing around the leaves.

And then since two whole quarters of a Chinese cabbage won't fit in the jars, We have to divide it between the jars.

Since this looks so good.

You really get to play with your food on this dish.

I'm telling you.

You do another jar?

Okay, let's put it here since we're going to split it up.

Yeah.

Alright, so this is going to get stuffed in.

And then what you do is to make sure the jars are full... Soohee has a trick that I love that she does.

Yes!

It's so silly.

But I actually love this trick.

It's not really a trick.

- It's a hack I guess.

- Yeah.

So for the last one, we could just chop it up and then we'll just put it at the top.

So this way you kind of know and taste if it's fermented as well.

- Right.

- And just get a little sample.

- Right.

- And just get a little sample Without pulling the whole thing out!

- Great!

- Exactly.

Okay.

This is the one?

- Yeah, that█s the one!

- Okay.

I'm going to let you do the chopping, I think.

Do you want me to do it with scissors or a knife?

Either way... -This part we should do a knife.

-Yeah.

Either way, whatever you think.

And does it matter that one's going to have, like, a big core?

-It doesn't matter at all, yeah.

-Doesn█t matter.

The thing you want to do is try not to have a lot of space at the top of the jar.

I'll do this one.

A smaller batch, right.

-Like that's perfect right there -Okay, yeah.

This one.

And then whatever you have left over, you just want to place it right on top.

So just start to ferment down.

So any sort of paste that you have left, any sort of carrots that are left, you just put on top.

And then these get a lid put on and they left at room temperature for for a day or two, and then into the fridge for five days.

And then you can use it.

So when you make kimchi you have to wait a week.

You want really want to once you get used to homemade, but this is how you do it.

And when we come back, we'll be making a kimchi jjigae and a kimchi slaw.

So East is going to meet West.

(gentle music plays) So I'm here today with Todd Napolitano, whose job is basically the safety of whatever goes in, on or near your body.

I want to talk to you about the explosion of pre and probiotics in supplement form.

Is it miso and kimchi and pickles versus - or is it both?

There's benefits to both sides.

So for example bioavailability is really what it comes down to.

In other words if I'm putting something in my body, how available is it for my body to use?

To use.

That's where the bottom line is.

There are many, many great probiotics available in supplement form, including synthesized from - through targeted fermentation that are DNA specific.

But you still have to take them with food to be bioavailable.

So if you just take it, let's say with water, no good, it doesn't do you any good.

It does not.

The availability of those, of that flora...

Requires food.

- Absolutely.

- The bacteria of food.

That's exactly right.

Now if you if you take if you find.

So if you ingest a fermented food, for example, and you█re getting your probiotic strains from the food source itself, it is more bioavailable, more readily bioavailable.

Because it's natural fermentation, natural forming of bacteria.

- That's exactly right.

- That is more... compatible?

Would that be a correct way to say, with your microbiome?

Well, this is interesting because our microbiome has evolved over time, as we know, and it does represent and reflect what our conventional diets are today.

And when you ingest it naturally from, say, fermented foods like kimchi, you're just able to uptake it much better.

It's a slower, incorporation into your body, and it is really the way we've been doing it for millions of years up until recently.

And now, you know.

Okay, so now we have our kimchi here ready to age.

We have some that we've aged for six days roughly, and... - the older the better, I know.

- Yep.

So now you're going to make something called kimchi... - Jjigae.

- Jjigae!

Okay.

How do you want me to cut the zucchini?

In chunks would be good.

- The kimchi jjigae means stew.

- Okay.

And so the stews, everyone, every family has their different like, way of doing it, but.

Yeah, exactly.

With the foundations.

About the same.

you take cooked kimchi and then you kind of cook it a little bit so it's sweeter.

And then you add some dashi to it and then you just cook it like a stew.

Okay.

- Show me.

Do it.

- Okay.

Cool.

Okay.

So for me I'm going to go ahead and put some oil in the pan.

And then after it heats up a little bit I'm going to take the kimchi and then start cutting it.

With scissors, which I love.

This is the greatest hack.

If you make kimchi this is the greatest hack.

A little messy.

- Sorry.

- It's alright.

Go go go go go.

Great.

- And you want the juice, right?

- Yes.

Go ahead and put the juice And then you just want to go ahead and just cut it into little, little chunks.

It takes a while if you use smaller scissors like this one.

But now will you use that whole quarter of a head?

- In the stew?

Wow.

- Yes.

Yes.

You're going to you're going to do that because once you start putting into the soup it's gonna get a little smaller too.

- Right.

And the flavor will also be a little bit, blended like, you know, like not compromised, but, sort of watered down because it's in a stew.

It won't be as acidic as it would be if you eat it normally.

so how to get rid of that acidic flavor is by cooking it down like this.

And then after the soup we're going to add some sesame oil and other stuff like that.

That's going to really help with that.

We could also just stop here because.

You want to put it out of the jar.

It's pretty good.

Yeah, this looks pretty good.

I'm going to go and put this end piece back in the jar.

- Because you don't waste it.

Never, not a drop of kimchi.

Okay.

Okay.

So now you're going to cook this for a little while, you know, a few minutes.

Yeah.

Okay.

You just want to see it a little bit more wilted.

And then afterwards we'll put the dashi right on top.

Okay!

Cool.

While that cooks down, I - in the summertime, since we have to have kimchi all the time in our house - I make a slaw.

So it's really simple.

And all I do is take red and green cabbage because it's beautiful.

And we're going to take the rest of this kimchi.

It's not a ton of kimchi in it.

And so then I just cut this into shreds in pieces, or I can use my knife either way, because the scissors are small.

You're right.

(laughter) We actually sell kimchi scissors at Korean markets.

Yeah, they're, they're specifically sized so that it is really good fit for, cabbage when you go it.

So this is a really cute way to do it.

But I'm going to get my knife.

I'm way better with a knife than I am with a scissor.

So I'm just going to cut this as I do at home into ribbons even down to the core.

And then these go on top of the cabbage, and then I'm going to steal a touch of your soy sauce, just a little bit.

And then I add some brown rice vinegar.

And to kind of take the edge off the heat I use a little bit of brown rice syrup, just enough to sort of smooth out the spiciness.

Some vegan mayo.

And I, just with my hands mix this together to create, sort of a coleslaw.

- That's so fun.

- Yeah, it is.

And it's a really simple put-it-together dish.

And we have, you know, this lovely side dish to put out for people who might want to try kimchi, like, dip their toe in the kimchi water.

But not eat too much of it.

Do you want the kimchi water?

You know, kimchi pond, if you will.

- I love it.

- And it's really pretty.

And then I just serve it.

I do, I do it like by hand, like At home I wear a glove because of the spice.

But.

And you have this really pretty sort of side salad that people try, and they're often amazed that they eat kimchi, you know, eat something spicy and didn't pass out.

Yeah, it sounds like it'd be really, really mild because.

It's really mild.

Yeah.

That's great.

Like if people who eat kimchi would probably eat this and say, “Well, that was cute.” But they wouldn't really be like, oh, all right, whatever.

Oh, you can put more kimchi in it.

You can put more kimchi in if you want it more kimchi-ish.

Okay.

And then I always clean the side of the bowl.

- That█s great.

- And there's our slaw.

- Really nice.

- I love it.

All right.

So where are we at?

So now's a good time to start adding everything in.

we're going to start by doing the dashi.

Okay.

Let's see if I can do this without spilling.

So.

So you put your dashi to cover.

To cover.

But you know you're going to be adding other stuff on top of it into it.

So you don't want it to be too much.

- You don█t want it to flood.

- Right.

Exactly.

So that's about a good amount.

And should I start adding veg?

Or would you do this part first?

I'm going to - I'll do that while you add the veg.

You could just put the vegetables however you like.

Okay.

So let's switch places.

So the way I do it is I usually section the veg a little bit so that, I don't know, I just think it looks prettier and maybe it's my own, sort of crazy way of cooking.

That's pretty.

That's totally whatever you want to do.

At the end of the day, you're going to end up mixing it all, but while it█s cooking.. - Yeah, that█s true.

But while it█s cooking... And when you serve it, when you bring it to the table, you kind of want it to look, I don't know.

Presentable?

Yeah, really presentable.

And then I do do one thing that's traditional, which is you sort of lay your tofu in and you sort of overlap it a little bit.

And this is strictly aesthetic, you know, it's just beautiful to do it this way.

And when you're cooking, whether it's, kimchi stew, whether it's, pasta, whether it's a salad, you have to remember that people eat with their eyes.

So when you set up a dish like this, a pan like this that you're going to serve, this will go right to the table.

What you want to do is make sure that it's really beautiful, so that when people see it, they want to try it.

You don't want to put it down and have people go, no, no, I'm good.

- Okay.

Go ahead.

- Do you want to put some in?

Oh, yeah.

The zucchini.

Of course, I forgot that part.

So that's going to go over here between the mushrooms and the tofu.

And that's enough I think.

- Yeah I think so, too.

- And then over there.

So for the paste, this is just the gouchgaru which is just the pepper flakes and then a little bit of dashi mixed in.

- Okay.

And then we're just going to drop it - kind of near the center.

- Oh really!

And then as it starts cooking then you mix it in.

But I think for now this is totally fine to let it kind of warm up a little bit.

- And do you want soy sauce now?

- We can add it now!

I usually put it, sort of over the tofu.

Okay yeah, that makes a ton of sense.

Because tofu tastes, you know, when people tell me they don't like tofu, I always think you haven't had it well cooked.

Tofu takes on whatever flavor you apply to the dish.

So this is going to take on soy sauce, the dashi, the spice and become its own sort of thing.

And then this is going to cook until I would say the onions are wilted and the zucchini is soft.

- Exactly.

- Okay.

You don't need it to be mushy.

You just want it to have a little bite to it.

- Just cooked.

- Okay.

So this is ready.

And so how do we finish this?

I take it to the table.

I'm going to turn off the heat.

Yes.

What you want to do is just add.

Just drizzle the sesame oil on top.

You don't want to have it cook in ‘cause it loses a lot of the flavoring.

- That█s right.

- And it becomes like bitter.

- Yeah.

So you just kind of want to drizzle a bit.

Like even that much is probably way more than enough.

Because you're going to stir this as you serve it.

And then you want to garnish?

Oh I do - some scallion on top I know this is this is such a beautiful dish.

Soohee - thanks so much!

It was so fun having you and making kimchi and jjigae and slaw and all those things.

- Thank you for having me!

- Thank you so much!

So what are you waiting for?

Let█s get back to the cutting board and I█ll see you next time on Christina Cooks: The Macroterranean Way.

Funding for Christina Cooks is provided by: GreenOnyx, producers of Wanna Greens Organic and sustainable, Wanna Greens are grown in a completely closed, indoor environment.

At Wanna Greens, we believe in the benefits of fresh greens for people and the planet.

Additional funding provided by Finamill.

The flavor of freshly ground spices and dried herbs with refillable, swappable pods.

Finamill.

And by Mauviel, creators of copper, stainless and steel carbon cookware for professional and home cooks.

A story of passion since 1830.

And by Suzanne█s Specialties Offering a full line of alternative, vegan and organic sweeteners and toppings.

Suzanne█s Specialties.

Sweetness the way Mother Nature intended.

And by Jonathan█s Spoons.

Individually handcrafted from cherry wood, each designed with your hand and purpose in mind.

Additional funding provided by: You can find today's recipes and learn more by visiting our website at christinacooks.com and by following Christina on social media.

Learn how to add delicious plant based dishes to your daily diet with the companion cookbook VegEdibles.

Featuring more than 80 easy-to-make recipes To order your copy for $32.95 plus handling, call 800-266-5815 or visit christinacooks.com.

Add “Back to the Cutting Board” and get both books for $55.95 plus handling.