Kimchi Making Class

Had a later breakfast today as Michael and I are off to Zurich to take Sherly's authentic kimchi making class. 

This is the description of the class.

“Switzerland's number 1 authentic Kimchi workshop run by Sherly who has been making Kimchi for 30+ yrs from her hometown in Seoul! This is a fermentation workshop where participants make their own Kimchi, the famous Korean superfood packed with vitamin C and probiotics. At the end of the workshop you will enjoy a Korean homemade meal prepared by Sherly and take home your own handmade Kimchi. This class was voted as one of the most interesting workshops of FoodZurich 2018.“

We all made the kimchi fried rice with ham, rice, carrots, green onion, sea weed, and a sunny side up egg. We packed two containers with our homemade kimchi. You should let it ferment at room temperature for 3 to 4 days before putting it in the refrigerator. Not all our kimchi fit in the containers so we had a little as a side dish with the meal.

In Bern, I immediately recognized a man, Alan Arnopole, getting onto the train even before I saw he was wearing a jacket with the Peju logo.  I said, "Hello, Alan." Michael and I met him years ago at the Peru Winery in Rutherford, California. Alan is famous for yodeling in the huge wine barrels. There are some people in the world you will always recognize. How can you forget someone that yodels in a wine barrel, smiles, laughs and makes you feel like you have known them for years.? He has that bubbly type of personality. Years ago, we purchased a futures barrel from him and have seen him on other occasions when we have visited Peju in the past. Peju is one of a few family owned and run wineries in the region. We had been wine club members for years and love their wine!!! We especially like the Peju estate reds. I bet we have over two hundred bottles of Peju red wine in our wine room. 

Yes, it is a small world!

When in Zürich, I always have to stop at Sprüngli‘s flagship store to get the truffle of the day and to look over the pastries and luxemburgerli. 

Wonder what the Baumkuchen and the Pâtisserie Luxemburgerli Himbeer taste like. 

So many things to choose from.

Marzapan figures

Which assortment of chocolates would you like?

Need a cake for dessert?

Luxemburgerli are basically a macaron filled with a light cream. They are exclusive delicacies from Sprüngli.

We bought 8 truffles of the day: 3 milk chocolate, 3 dark chocolate and 2 salted caramel.

Salted caramel

dark and milk

We sat on a bench and enjoyed people watching while we ate a couple chocolates.  Couldn't believe how much the price of chocolates has increased since last year. The truffles increased in price by 53% since last year. Definitely licked the fingers clean after eating the truffle.

"The rise in cocoa prices is largely due to a global cocoa shortage. Climate change-induced drought has ravaged crops in West Africa, which contributes around 80% of the world’s cocoa output. According to the International Cocoa Organization, global cocoa supply will decline by almost 11% over the 2023/2024 season."

"There are also deep-rooted structural issues at play, including chronic underinvestment in cocoa farms. Today, the crop is still largely cultivated by smallholder farmers, many of whom struggle to make a living income and lack the means to reinvest in their land — which translates to lower yields over time. “Cocoa is a market where the grower produces a very high-value good but receives a very low share of the actual value chain. As a result, replanting rates are very low and cocoa trees are ageing,” said Tracey Allen, an Agricultural Commodities Strategist at J.P. Morgan." 

"This is all further compounded by investor speculation, which is driving prices up. “What was a structurally led, supply-side issue has been exacerbated by dry weather and a strong Harmattan [a season in West Africa]. It has now manifested in an investor-driven parabolic move in prices, especially over the last six weeks,” Allen added. “For instance, non-commercial investors now hold over 60% of total open interest across cocoa futures and options in the New York market, which is an historical high. Consumers are now scrambling to hedge forward exposure in thin liquidity.”

"Chocolate brands are grappling with the impact of higher cocoa costs, and many are passing on the burden to consumers in the form of price hikes."

In all the years coming to Zürich, we have never taken the boat ride on the lake. This year we decided it was finally time to do so. The homes around the lake are quite large in size. The last time Michael took a boat ride on the lake was at least 45 years ago.

What's a boat ride on a Swiss lake without a hot chocolate and whipped cream? Caotina hot chocolate is a favorite of Michael's. The Kambly biscuit is the perfect addition.

This was also the first time I remember being able to see the mountains off in the distance in the Fall. We have seen the mountains at Christmas time. Chur is on the backside of those mountains. 

The park by the lake is a favorite spot of mine. People watch. Bird watch. Watch out for bikes!

Magnificent trees.

There were six of us taking the class.

Ingredients for 1 head of Napa Cabbage “Chinakohl” (apprx. 1L finished Kimchi) Measurements:Tbsp= Tablespoon = Esslöffel (15mL) / tsp= teaspoon = Teelöffel (5mL) / 1 cup = 250mL

Ingredients:

• Salt water for pickling the cabbage:- 1:6 ratio (4-5 hours): 0.5 cup (125ml) sea salt + 3 cups (750ml) water- 1:8 ratio (8-12 hrs, overnight): 0.5 cup sea (125ml) salt + 4 cups (1000ml) water -BETTER!

• Rice porridge: 1 full Tablespoon rice/wheat flour + 1 cup cold water —> Mix. Bring to boil while stirring. Turn off heat and cool it. Set aside. (Sherly at home uses a cup of rice and 1 cup water for the porridge because she always has rice left in her rice cooker. She blends the rice and the water)

• 1 Chinakohl (Napa Cabbage): usually weighs between 600g-800g in Switzerland

• ca. 100g daikon radish (Bierrettich)

• 1 medium size carrot

• half of small onion

• 1 thin stem of spring onion

• 1-2 Tbsp roasted sesame seeds for final touch (optional)

• Aromatic ingredients for the Kimchi paste:

  - 3 Tbsp Korean coarse chili flakes

  - 0.5 sweet apple, peeled and grated- 1 Tbsp sugar- 3-5 cloves of garlic, pressed- Fresh ginger (half size of your thumb), ground- 1 - 2 Tbsp fish sauce (can replace with soy sauce)

  Steps:

• Salting: Cut cabbage into bite-size, soak them well in the salt water for 4-5 hrs (1:6) or overnight

  (1:8). Turn the cabbage upside down every hour (if you can) so all the cabbage pieces are salted evenly. Do the bending test to check if the salting is complete. (If cabbage bends softly without snapping, it means the salting is complete.) Soak/rinse the salted cabbage in clean cold water like you would wash shampoo off your hair. Taste it. If too salty, soak for 30min in clean cold water or rinse more. Drain the water using a sieve/salad tosser. Set aside.

• Cut the radish, carrot and onion into long matchsticks. Slice the spring onion diagonally. Set aside.

• Put the cooled porridge in a large bowl, then add in all the Aromatic ingredients. Mix well.

• Add the cut vegetables to the bowl and mix well. The Kimchi paste is ready.

• Put in the drained cabbage. Wear a plastic glove and mix the kimchi paste well with the cabbage,

  make sure all bits of cabbage are covered with the paste. Sprinkle toasted sesame seed.

• Fill Kimchi in an airtight Tupperware and press down. Only fill 85-90% of the container, because

  fermentation will create gas and the content will expand. Close lid. Keep it in room temperature in a dark place for 2-4 days to get the fermentation going. Taste and if it is sour as you like it, then store it in the refrigerator. Serve it cold.

Important information to remember:

Use Sea Salt for salting your cabbage

How to know the salting is complete? Do the bending test! If your hard part of the cabbage bends and does not snap, it is ready.

Use Korean chili flakes (coarse/grob size) for making kimchi

Kimchi Tupperware: "Lock-n-Lock" is the best Tupperware brand for Kimchi. 1L is big enough for 1 head of Napa cabbage

Match stick size carrot

Cut radish matchstick size.

Mince the garlic

Only use Korean chili flakes.

Do not use the ground chili flakes.

Gather all your ingredients

Grate the ginger

Napa cabbage

Porridge

Grate the apple

Always keep mixing well.

Adding the green onion

Don't forget to do the snap test on the cabbage.

I took a video of us making the kimchi but it is too large to download. I need high speed Internet to do it.

We packed up two containers of kimchi. It was so tasty just done. Michael and I can't wait for the 3 to 4 days for the initial fermentation to complete. Keep it at room temperature and in a dark place. Fermentation is what causes probiotics which are good for your dige tive health.

Every day until you put it in the refrigerator, you must burp the container as gasses build up.

Enjoy!