Materials required: A kimchi jar (it has a rim on the top, which can be filled with water. The upper edge of the jar is filled with water, and water is indispensable in order to achieve a sealing effect), sorghum white wine, Sichuan peppercorns, chili peppers, aniseed (that is, star anise, also called anise), rock sugar, and salt.

The specific production method is as follows:

1. Cultivate kimchi fermentation bacteria

(1) First put some peppercorns and an appropriate amount of salt in cold water, and then put Bring water to a boil. The amount of water should be about 10-20% of the capacity of the jar, not too much.

Use a little more salt than usual when cooking, just stop it if it feels too salty.

Put about 20 to 30 peppercorns, try to add more, so that you can make a very fragrant dish.

(2) After the water is completely cooled, pour it into the jar, and then add one or two sorghum wine (you can add more for larger jars).

Other wines cannot. Kimchi fungus actually comes from sorghum koji, and wine is often added.

(3) Add more green peppers (the kind of strong dark green peppers that are very spicy and used for seasoning) and ginger to increase the taste of the dish. Moreover, these two kinds of vegetables should be kept in the jar at all times, as they enhance the flavor.

After 2-3 days, you can observe carefully to see if there are bubbles forming around the green peppers. At the beginning, there will be one or two very small bubbles, which are almost invisible if you don't pay attention. If there are bubbles, even just one bubble, it means that the fermentation is normal. After the green peppers completely turn yellow, leave them for another 2 to 3 days and they are ready!

(4) This is how the original juice of kimchi is prepared. (Kimchi bacteria are cultured).

Kimchi bacteria are anaerobic bacteria, so it is very important to pay attention to the sealing of the jar mouth. As kimchi ferments, it develops antibacterial effects. Lactic acid bacteria are produced during the fermentation process, and sourness is produced as the fermentation matures, which not only makes the kimchi more delicious, but also inhibits other bacteria in the jar and prevents abnormal fermentation.

Notes:

The inner wall of the jar must be washed clean, and then dried with raw water, or simply scalded with boiling water.

Absolutely no raw water. After washing the green peppers, they should also be dried, and no raw water should be allowed.

Why can’t there be raw water? The reason is simple. Tap water (raw water) contains miscellaneous bacteria, and the chlorine in it will kill the kimchi bacteria.

2. Brewing

First add an appropriate amount of aniseed and rock sugar.

(1) Commonly used kimchi raw materials: radish, cowpea, cabbage, ginger (purple young ginger), pepper, etc. Note: It is best to eat carrots and cucumbers immediately after soaking, and take them out overnight, otherwise they will cause flowers to bloom in the jar (foam will appear in the kimchi soup and gray skin will appear on the surface).

(2) After washing the vegetables, cut them into large pieces or strips (not too small) and dry them.

(3) Put the cultured kimchi juice into the jar. The vegetables must be completely submerged in the water, and then seal the mouth of the jar.

(4) Every time you add a new dish, add the appropriate amount of salt. You will get the hang of it after doing it a few times. If there is too much salt, it will be salty; if there is too little, the vegetables will be sour and the kimchi soup will go bad easily.

Every time a new dish is added, the brewing time will be different depending on the dish, with the longest time being one week.

3. Edible

(1) Wash the kimchi and eat it directly. Use kimchi when eating porridge, and you can eat several bowls of porridge in a while.

(2) You can also cut it into small pieces and stir-fry it to make the unique flavor of kimchi more prominent. Leave in the pan for up to 2 minutes. According to your own taste, you can use dried chili peppers to boil, add salt and sugar.

(3) It can be mixed and eaten. Because kimchi is salty, you can mix cucumber shreds and kimchi shreds, marinate for a while to squeeze out the water, and add sesame oil, monosodium glutamate, coriander, etc. to make a good cold dish.

4. Maintenance of original juice

It is best to add sorghum wine (about half a tael) and rock sugar after every 3 to 4 brewing times.

The used original juice can be used repeatedly. The older the better, be sure to add salt to it when not serving vegetables, and be careful not to let the water on the upper edge of the jar dry. Store it in a cool place. If you keep it well, the original kimchi juice will last for 5 years.

The fermentation ability of the raw juice after half a year of use is very strong, and ordinary vegetables only need to be soaked for about a day to be eaten.

Special reminder:

1. The jar must be sealed, and it is best to use the kind with a rim made of clay. The upper edge of the jar is filled with water, and water is indispensable at ordinary times to achieve a sealing effect. When taking the kimchi, be careful not to drip water into the jar.

2. Do not put oil in the jar. Oil will cause flowers to bloom, and in severe cases, the entire vegetable in the jar will rot.