When I went to visit my sister in Seoul recently, I had NO plans to cook or make anything. It was my vacation time to not do the things I normally do…But.. funny thing.. I guess it’s just my destiny…haha..
My sister #3 had bought this new Kimchi making bowl and pestle called Hakdok (학독) inspired from a Kimchi making master Sunni Kang (강순의). She said she had waited for me to come so that we could make it together. And of course, how could I pass that up?? A chance to make Kimchi in a totally new way and a way that has been used for generations (over 200 years) in this family where Ms Kang married into. When Sunni Kang makes Kimchi she does not use a chopper or blender but uses this traditional method which is similar to a stone grinding method except the bowl is from clay. She says that the fast speed of the modern day chopper/blender heats up the Kimchi seasoning and affects the taste and nutrition.
So here is what it looks like – basically a stone grinder on steroids!!
And then my sister was into trying out new Kimchi recipes and this time, she wanted to make Gochussi Cabbage Kimchi (Chili Pepper Seeds Cabbage Kimchi). Using chili pepper seeds in kimchi was something I first learned while taking the 15 week Kimchi course in 2013 while I was in Korea. Chili pepper seeds (gochussi 고추씨) are usually just thrown away during the Korean red chili powder (gochugaru 고추가루) making process. Conventionally, dried red chilis are split open in half and the seeds are taken out before grinding it into powder to make good quality gochugaru. But some areas of Korea make Kimchi by adding the seeds in addition to gochugaru. According to Ms. Kang, in her family the Gochussi Kimchi came about because it was the cheapest way to make Kimchi for the servants in the old old days. Because the seeds were usually a throw away food, they could get it almost for free and use it to make kimchi.
This version only uses pepper seeds, garlic, ginger and anchovy sauce. No radish, no green onions,.. very simple yet good. Hmm.. I am going to have to try making this sometime soon..
So we started out preparing to make kimchi by pickling the cabbages in brine.See my tips on brining cabbage (left pic). We left the cabbage in brine in the morning and went out to have lunch with my mom to Pro Kanjang Gyejang. (my post about this lunch is here). We then went to do some shopping and then came home dinner time to make the Kimchi.
NOTE: If you can’t get chili seeds in large quantities, just use more chili powder instead. Add about 1/2 C additional chili powder to substitute for chili seeds.
NOTE2: I know you don’t have this beautiful bowl, I certainly DON’T!!! So – just use a blender or chopper, whatever you have. It’s OK. If you have a stone grinder or a mortar/pestle then at least try hand grinding the soaked pepper and seasonings it should be similar.
NOTE3: Finding pepper seeds outside of Korea will be hard so substitute red pepper flakes (the ones you put on pizzas) instead of pepper seeds. They have quite a lot of pepper seeds in them. I’d say put a whole bottle (1.2 oz) in there instead of 1/2 C chili seeds. My sister #1 tried it and says it comes out really good too!
- Brine cabbage (5-6hrs) and rinse about 2 times and let it drain. 2 cabbage + 10 C water + 2 C sea salt
- Split dried chili peppers and soaked them in warm water for 30 min or so until they became soft.
- Prepare other ingredients:
- 1 Cup korean radish, julienned
- 1 bunch green onions, cut 1.5 in long
- 3/4 Cup minari, water dropwort – optional
- 15 large dried chili pepper (use Korean if you can)
- 1 Cup sweet rice paste (3 T sweet rice flour to 1 Cup water)
- 10 dried anchovies (멸치 myeolchi)
- 3 T chopped garlic
- 1/4 tsp chopped ginger
- 4 T fermented anchovy sauce (substitute fish sauce)
- 3 T saewoojeot – fermented shrimp sauce
- 1 Cup red chili powder (gochugaru)
- 1/2 C ~ 1 C chili seeds (gochussi)
- First grind the soaked chili peppers in the Hakdok (Kimchi making bowl) – isn’t it just beautiful??
Hand grinding chili pepper for kimchi in Kimchi making bowl - Then add dried anchovies and grind again.
- Add sweet rice paste. Mix with the pestle.
Mixing sweet rice paste with red chili pepper for Kimchi - Add saewoojeot, garlic, ginger and grind again.
Seasoning for Kimchi with saewoojeot - Add chili seeds (gochussi) and chili powder (gochugaru) and mix. Do not grind.
- Add radish, green onions and water dropwort (minari) and mix well.
Radish and minari (water dropwort) for kimchi yangnyeom kimchi yangnyeom stuffing for baechoo kimchi - Time to stuff the cabbage!!
Stuffing cabbage Kimchi with kimchi yangnyeom (seasoning) Start coating and inserting a little bit of the Kimchi yangnyeom (seasoning) in between each layer of the cabbage.
- Just get the cabbages together and load it into a container. Pack the cabbages in tightly and rinse off the remaining yangnyeom left in the bowl with 1~2 cups of water + about 1 T of salt. Use less or more salt depending on how you like your Kimchi.
- Leave it out in room temperature for 1~2 days and put in fridge to ferment it fully. See my No Crazy Kimchi post for details on how to ripen Kimchi.
Gochussi Kimchi (Cabbage Kimchi with chili seeds) Cabbage Kimchi with pepper seeds
Rare cabbage kimchi using chili pepper seeds. More flavorful, less spicy and slightly sweet. Unusual but you will love it.Prep: 6 minutesCook: 40 minutesTotal Time: 6 hours 40 minutesserves: 2 cabbagesIngredients
- 2 cabbages
- 2 cup Sea Salt (Trader Joe's) (bittern removed)
- 10 cup water
- 1 cup korean radish (julienned)
- 8 green onions (cut 1.5 in long)
- 3/4 cup minari (water dropwort – optional)
- 15 large dried chili pepper (use Korean if you can)
- 1 cup sweet rice paste (3 Tbsp sweet rice flour to 1 Cup / 240 ml water)
- 10 dried anchovies (멸치 myeolchi)
- 3 Tbsp chopped garlic
- 1/4 tsp chopped ginger
- 4 Tbsp fermented anchovy sauce (substitute: fish sauce)
- 3 Tbsp saewoojeot – fermented shrimp sauce
- 1 cup red chili powder (gochugaru)
- 1/2 cup chili pepper seeds (gochussi)
Instructions
- Brine cabbage (5-6hrs) and rinse about 2 times and let it drain. 2 cabbage + 10 C water + 2 C sea salt
- Split dried chili peppers and soaked them in warm water for 30 min or so until they became soft.
- Prepare other ingredients - as above
- First grind the soaked chili peppers in stone grinder if possible. otherwise, just use blender
- Add dried anchovies and blend or grind.
- Add sweet rice paste and mix.
- Add saewoojeot, garlic, ginger and blend or grind in bowl.
- If using blender, transfer seasoning to a large bowl.
- Add chili seeds and chili powder and mix.
- Add radish, green onions and water dropwort. Mix one final time.
- Stuff cabbage between layers with the seasoning/stuffing mix.
Tips & Notes:
Ripen Kimchi by leaving out at room temperature for 1 ~2 days. Shorter if warmer and longer if colder temps. Once ripe, store in fridge.
Check out my No Crazy Kimchi post for more details on how to ripen kimchi.
Also instructions on brining Kimchi is on my blog - Kimjang Day 2. Adapted from Sunni Kang's Seasonal KimchiNutrition Information:
Calories: 378kcal (19%)| Carbohydrates: 83g (28%)| Protein: 19g (38%)| Fat: 1g (2%)| Sodium: 3008mg (131%)| Potassium: 2093mg (60%)| Fiber: 27g (113%)| Sugar: 33g (37%)| Vitamin A: 1370IU (27%)| Vitamin C: 357.9mg (434%)| Calcium: 473mg (47%)| Iron: 5.5mg (31%)
Luckily, I got to taste the Gochussi Kimchi before I left. It was quite different tasting than regular Kimchi. It was lighter, a bit sweeter and was very flavorful. There was the extra flavor of the seeds that is hard to describe but quite good. I think using the seeds instead of all chili powder is a great way to make the Kimchi less spicy but yet very flavorful.
Hope you enjoyed the pics as much as I did!! Too bad I could not bring the Hakdok with me… :((
Someday.. someday..
Enjoy!
JinJoo
this looks gorgeous! perhaps someday the 학독 will be available in the U.S., but until then… I might be able to do this using a 절구. I make my own chili powder (I mean for Texas chili, not gochugaru), so I always have chili seeds around. will definitely try it out; thanks for working hard on new recipes!
LOL re: my comment above — I thought this was a new recipe because I hadn’t seen it before — whoops! how did I miss it? still plan to try to make it. 🙂
LOL. I hope you do try making it! and let me know. 😉
I know.. I would LOVE to import 학독 some day..yes, you can do it in 절구 probably. Making your own chili powder is impressive!! Yes, the chili seeds do add something extra and it’s great! Thank you Diane~
Hi, my name is Jully and I love your recipes! I remember watching the episode of 강순의 kimchi making and thought I would love to own a 학독. I have never tried to make 김장김치. Honestly, I am afraid I will mess up and end up throwing it all away. I have successfully made bok choy 겉절이 but I can’t quite master the brining of the cabbage.
Hi Jully!! Thank you so much! Yes, you and I both!! You can order 학독 on the internet in Korea but not in the US..don’t worry too much about brining the cabbage. If you follow my tips on brining cabbage, you should be OK. Try making some small batch of Kimchi first before making kimjang. These days, many just make kimchi with 1-2 cabbages. Thank you for visiting and leaving me a note. So always good to hear that there are people who actually read and try my recipes…Good luck!
I am not a fan o pepper, but this looks great and people are bragging it. I guess i’ll give it try one day.
Great!! I really do hope that you get to try it one day~ 🙂 Happy Holidays!
This looks interesting. Is more of a challenge than a curiosity. I will definitely try it 😉
Glad you want to try it! Love to hear how you like it if you do.
You definitely need to import a lot of Hakdoks. Here’s one sale right away! All right, where do I get the pepper seeds? I’m ready to make this now!
Hahaha I wish!!! We will have to look into that. So.. I just updated my post thanks to your question. I meant to talk about it but forgot. So.. the easiest way would be to use red pepper flakes that goes on pizzas. It’s not really easy to get the seeds unless you buy whole peppers and save some yourself. I actually have some and would be more than happy to give you some. We can try to meet sometime in Dec and try to make some Gochujang too…Let me know.
Wonderful! We order 5 ir 6 Costco pizzas every month for our volunteer events and we are often overwhelmed by those little packets of red pepper – now I know what to save them for!
Yup!! Perfect!! If you go to Pizza My Heart – they actually give you little plastic containers of red pepper flakes. I actually save them and use in cooking. :))