Third Time's a Charm...I think.

My third attempt at making homemade kimchi definitely was my best. At first, I thought that it still wasn't quite to the standard I would hope it would be, but since its been fermenting for a little more than a week, it is better than it was before. 

My first attempt was too spicy and my second attempt too salty. I used about half the amount of fish sauce and salt for my third time. It tasted a little bland after just a couple days of fermenting, but yesterday, I took the lid off and tried the kimchi and it taste's pretty good. The ginger and garlic have a large part in the kimchi's flavor, which I'm pretty happy about. I love ginger and garlic. 

If I make kimchi again in the future, which I probably will, I would like to add carrot and maybe some other vegetable to give it more character. 

One thing that I was really happy to see when I opened the lid to my fermenting kimchi, was seeing bubbles come from the bottom of the jar, a sure sign that fermentation is going as planned. I hope that everyone in class really enjoys what I bring to class. 

Worse the Second Time

It has been a little over a week since my second attempt at making delicious kimchi, and my second time attempt was much worse than the first. The finished project is extremely salty, so much so that it is almost impossible to eat. I'm going to throw this batch out and hope for the third time to be a charm. The second attempt kimchi looks good and smells good, but is far from good. I must have done at least one of these three things wrong: I let the cabbage soak in brine for more than 24 hours, I added too much fish sauce, and/or I added to much salt when mixing together the ingredients. 

When I attempt to make kimchi for the third time around, I will make sure to not let the cabbage soak in its brine for too long, and instead of adding the amount the recipe calls for, I will add how much fish sauce and salt I feel is appropriate and hope for the best. I would really like to be able to come to class with something that I am proud of.