You might have noticed that we’ve been on this jam/pickling/preserving kick lately. I’m not exactly sure what prompted it, but we’ve been canning stuff lately, and it’s been a lot of fun. I was going to make some sauerkraut, but saw that it took several weeks, so I thought I’d try the kimchi recipe on the next page. Kimchi is sort of like Korean sauerkraut, but a lot spicier.
Traditionally, or at least in my experience, it’s typically made with cabbage, but this recipe uses bok choy. I’m been informed by a reliable source (aka my Korean friend Heekwon) that bok choy is used a lot to make kimchi in the summer in Korea. He also told me that my kimchi was really good, and that his baby daughter especially liked it 
You can make your own large jar of kimchi for around 14 cents per ounce.
Homemade Kimchi, from Nick Sandler and Johnny Acton’s Preserved
2 1/4 pounds bok choy or Chinese cabbage
kosher salt
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger
3 hot red chiles, finely chopped
1 small bunch of green onions, chopped
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Separate the bok choy or Chinese cabbage leaves and wash them very well. Chop them up into small pieces and put them in a large bowl.
Dissolve 3 tablespoons of salt into 3 cups of water and pour it over the greens until they are covered. If you need to make more brine, just follow the ratio of 1 tablespoon of salt to 1 cup of water.
Make sure all of the greens are immersed in the brine by weighing them down with a plate and a large bottle of water on top.
Leave the greens in the brine for 8 hours. After they have sat for 8 hours, drain the greens and immerse them in fresh cold water for 10 minutes, then drain them again.
After this, the greens are ready to ferment. Place them in a tall, sterilized glass jar and make the liquor. Start with 2 3/4 cups of water and mix in 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt plus the ginger, garlic, chiles, green onions, sugar, and the fish and soy sauces.
Make sure the salt is completely dissolved in the mixture, then pour the liquor over the greens in the jar, taking care to cover them completely.
Leave the jar in a warm room (above 75 degrees F) for 24 hours. Then the kimchi is ready to eat and can be kept in the fridge for up to 1 month.
The book Nourishing Traditions has a lot of really good fermenting recipes. There is kimchi, regular sauerkraut, Japanese sauerkraut, and lots of other fermenting recipes. Love that book! Check it out.