Suburban Gardening

As I mentioned on an earlier post, my first job was at a Chinese Restaurant.  Well, really, my FIRST job was a summer camp counselor, but my first REAL job was in a Chinese Restaurant.

As this was a small family run establishment, I often ate real Cinese food.  Let me be clear, this was not the stuff on the Americanized Chinese menus, but the real stuff.  One of the most common items was actaully KimChi, while I know that techincally Korean, we often ate it.

I was playing on the blogs, and as always, one blog lead me to another, and to another, and then I stubbled upon The Subsistence Pattern.  An there it was....a kimchi recipe.  While I read it, it didn't sound exactly like to one I ate growing up, but it seemed like a good recipe, so I decided to try it.  The stuff you get in the jars at the grocery store just were not right....

Here is the link directly to his recipe...Kimchi Recipe on The Subsistence Pattern.

 I work for a hotel, so I asked the storeroom clerk, if they had any gallon size glass jar that I could have...they were happy to give me one.  If you read the comments on the recipe, you will see a little debate forming over plastic containers verses glass.  Once I made it up, I transferred it into two smaller quart size mason jars to store in the fridge, while I eat it up!

It turned out great....the good part about making it yourself, you control it....a little more spice, a little less salt, more ginger.....

NEXT TIME:  I will make it with Brocoli stems.  That is the other way we often made it at the restaurant.  While the American-Chinese cooking has a lot of brocoli, it rarely used the stems.  We would slice these up about a quarter inch thick and make it into kimchi.  

Oh the childhood memories......

Until next time

SG