K = Kaiser and Kimchi

Many people are familiar with the title Kaiser which was used in Germany and Prussia to denote their Emperors. Kaiser Wilhelm II was the last German Emperor. He was the grandson of England’s Queen Victoria and reading about him sounds like a real idiot. I could use a stronger word. He abdicated at the beginning of World War I which was prosecuted by his generals but basically caused by his aggressive foreign policy. He, himself, ran to the Netherlands to live. However, many people do not realise that Caesar, the title of the Emperors of Rome was also pronounced the same way, not with a soft C but a hard one like a K. In fact the way we say a lot of Latin words is not how the Romans themselves pronounced them.


When I lived in North Carolina I used to buy Kimchi a lot. It is a  Korean pickle which was readily available there because we were surrounded by Marine bases. Many of the Marines had acquired a taste for it when in Korea, also a number of them had married Korean wives who, of course, made Kimchi. It is pretty hot and spicy. I have never tried making my own, but maybe now I have this basic recipe, I will have a go. I have never found it for sale here. I found this recipe by Kevin at Closet Cooking. Thanks Kevin. This is a very simple version, there are many different versions however, if you want to be adventurous.


Kimchi

Ingredients:
1 medium napa cabbage (about 2-3 pounds)
1/2 cup salt
1 bunch green onions (sliced into 1 inch pieces)
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 inch ginger (grated)
1 cup gochugaru (Korean red chili flakes)
2 tablespoons fish sauce (or soy sauce for a vegetarian version)

Directions:
1. Cut the napa cabbage in half, remove the core and slice the cabbage into 1 inch wide strips.
2. Place a layer of cabbage into a large bowl and sprinkle some salt onto the cabbage. Repeat until all of the cabbage is in the bowl and salted.
3. Let the cabbage sit in the salt for a few hours.
4. Rinse the salt from the cabbage.
5. Mix the cabbage, green onions, garlic, ginger, gochugaru and fish sauce in the large bowl.
6. Place the cabbage mixture into a sealable container leaves a couple of inches at the top.
7. Seal the container and let ferment at room temperature for 2-3 days.
8. Place the container in the fridge and let ferment for a couple more days.

Have a great day