Recipe by Joel Loughead, photo by Gayle Hurmuses
A Canadian fusion Kim Chi, very non-traditional, inspired by the availability of ingredients in Joel’s kitchen one night.
“My kimchi recipe was dead simple. i accidentally realized i had the ingredients on hand so i just threw it together.
i used smoked mackerel because i had part of one laying around! from what i understand, traditional korean kimchi often uses all sorts of seafood–dried shrimp, anchovies, i’ve even heard raw oysters! i thought smoked mackerel would work, and behold, it did. you can pick it up at any decent grocer. check the seafood section.”
Philly, who did one of our other Kim Chi recipes says of Joel’s version:
“Smokey and delicious; a deep complex flavour. Over rice, it would be a meal”.
Ingredients
- 1 Head Napa Lettuce Chopped into 1 1/2 pieces
- 8 Medium White Radishes or 1-2 large Daikon, if available. Slice into matchsticks
- 8 Fresh Chilies thinly sliced
- 1/4 Cup Paprika
- 1 Side Smoked Mackerel Diced
- 1/4 Cup Kosher salt
Instructions
- Dice the mackerel and incorporate the paprika
- Beginning with a layer of salt, put all the ingredients into a crock in thin layers, regularly putting salt between layers.
- Repeat until vegetables are used.
- Press a plate on top of the mix, weight the plate. cover with a clean cloth, leave in a cool place to ferment.
- make sure water is drawn from the veg and everything is submerged.
- Taste occasionally to ensure proper fermentation. when you’re at where you want to be, jar the kimchi with some of the liquid. refrigerate.
