Radish kimchi - with or without scallions

We became more familiar with Korean food through our several Korean friends, and that of course includes developing the taste for kimchi. One of our favorite stories from our fantastic vacation in Korea is from a simple eatery in Seoraksan national park where the owners could not believe we were not only able to eat their spicy kimchi, we asked for an extra serving, which is quite customary in Korea. That made a shockingly positive impression on the unbelievably kind people running that eatery. And yes, the food was simple yet so good that we went back to the same place.

It is very easy to buy kimchi almost anywhere, and kimchi we can buy is very good, but... One day we were having a dinner with a friend in one of the local Korean restaurants. Their kimchi was out of this world, I think it was by far the best part of a very good meal. So we asked what their source was, and, with a smile, we heard they made it themselves. I resolved instantly to challenge myself and see what I can do.

Radish kimchi is slightly simpler to make than napa cabbage kimchi, so that is what I have been working on first. I need to give credit to My Korean Kitchen web site that I used as the baseline for what I do - my adjustments are minor. 

Note that green onion is a part of every kimchi recipe that I have seen. Once I did not happen to have any green onions, so I made kimchi with radish only, and it was very good. Since then I have been treating scallions as optional.

Ingredients - radish:

• 2.5 pounds (1 kg) radish - any korean, daikon, any variety of white radish will do.
• 2 TBS coarse salt, or rock salt
• 2 TBS sugar
• 2 TBS Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
• Optional: 3-4 green onions

Ingredients - Kimchi base:

• 1/2 to 1 onion roughly diced
• 1/2 to 1 apple, cored and diced
• 3 TBS fish sauce (Korean, Thai, anchovy sauce all work well), or you can use brined shrimp if your Korean friends bring them for your from Korea
• 1 TBS garlic, minced
• 1/2 TBS ginger, minced
• 2 TBS Korean chili flakes, or more or less, depending on your taste
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 Tbsp rice flour (grind some rice in a coffee grinder if you don' have rice flour)

Method:

1. Peel the radish and cut it into 1/2 inch (1cm) cubes. I prefer smaller pieces many of my Korean friends make the pieces a bit larger. 
2. Mix the radish, salt, and sugar in a bowl and let stand at the room temperature for an hour. A few hours is just fine.
3. Make the rice porridge: Boil the water and the rice flour in a microwave, about a minute tends to work well, I whisk the mixture mid way. The result should be a somewhat runny porridge.
4. Blend all the kimchi base ingredients and the porridge in a blender or a food processor
5. If using, chop roughly the green onions
6. After an hour or so, drain the radish and rinse it a few times, then let is sit in a colander for a few minutes to drain
7. Transfer the radish into a large mixing bowl, and mix it with Korean chili flakes.
8. Add the kimchi base, and if using, the green onion, and mix it well so that the base sticks to the radish cubes
9. Transfer kimchi into an air-tight container - I prefer glass, but use whatever you have.
10. Leave the kimchi at the room temperature for 6 hours to 2 days to ferment. My preference is 2 days.
11. Transfer the kimchi to the fridge where the fermentation will slow down. Wait at least a day before eating it.
12. Share with friends. That what makes kimchi particularly tasty.

Gluten-free Danish Apple and Prune Cake with a less memorable amount of butter

I have not really watched Food Network since I was a grad student, apart from a show here and there when I remembered to turn on a TV in a hotel room, which I often do not do. From what I can see, the programs on the Food Network have tilted towards competitions and explorations. In the early days, most of the shows focused on how to make things, with lots of instruction, and revealing many cooking principles. I learned tons from the daily "Cooking live" - not the recipes, but what was behind them.

The show that I remember with the biggest smile was called Two Fat Ladies. I wonder whether these days such a name would even be possible for a TV program. The hosts were indeed two ladies, and I was sure they had never seen a recipe with too much butter or too much bacon.

That show was where I first came across the Danish Apple and Prune cake. I baked one following the recipe they shared, and the amount of fat was so high that it was hard to eat. But it was memorably tasty, enough that I decided to make some adjustments, and that turned into a resounding success. The dish is still far from light, but reducing the amounts of butter and sugar, and increasing the amount of prunes, I believe led to an improvement. I also started to use millet four to make the cake gluten-free, and we find that to be an improvement as well.

Ingredients for the batter:

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 oz (90g) unsalted butter at room temperature - the butter has to be soft
• 4 oz (110g) sugar
• 4 oz (110g) almond flour or ground almonds
• 3 oz millet flour (or any neutral-tasting flour including all-purpose flour)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 to 1 cup of milk - your call, with more milk the cake will rise more, but I kind of like it denser.
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients for the topping:

• 12 or so roughly chopped prunes. Scissors make chopping prunes very easy.
• 4 oz (110g) chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1-2 TBS sugar
• 1-2 apples, cored and cliced

Ingredients for the final phase of baking:

• 1-2 TBS sugar
• ground cinnamon
• optional small cubes of unsalted butter, about 1 TBS

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Butter a 10 inch round pan. I use a 10-inch cast-iron skillet
3. Cream all ingredients for the batter. I use a whisk, a few pulses in a food processor are OK too.
4. Pour the batter into the baking pan and spread it evenly.
5. Scatter the prunes evenly across the batter.
6. Mix the sugar and the walnuts (or pecans) and spread the mixture evenly on top of the batter.
7. Arrange apple slices on top of the nut-sugar mixture.
8. Bake for 40 minutes
9. Take the cake from the oven, sprinkle it with sugar and cinnamon, and if you really want to, dot with some butter.
10. Bake for additional 20 minutes, or until the skewer comes out clean.
11. Cool, slice, and eat.

A variation I want to explore

Sometimes apples sink into the batter, especially when one uses 1 cup of milk. I wonder what would happen if I used more apples and cut apples into small chunks. That still needs exploring.