Buchu-kimchi (Garlic Chive Kimchi)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large stainless yangpun or wide mixing bowl
• •Colander and clean kitchen towel or salad spinner
• •Sharp knife and cutting board
• •Clean 1-quart glass jar or small onggi

Instructions

1. 1

   Wash the chives

   Trim away the tough root ends and any yellow tips from the buchu (garlic chives). Rinse them in a wide basin of cold water, lift them out instead of pouring the grit back over them, and repeat twice more if the water is sandy. Drain well, then spread them on a clean towel for 15 minutes. Wet chives dilute the fish sauce and make the seasoning slide off, so this draining is part of the recipe, not waiting around.

2. 2

   Cut gently

   Cut the dry chives into 3-inch lengths with a sharp knife. Do not chop them small and do not crush them under the blade. Buchu bruises easily, and bruised leaves darken and lose their clean bite before the kimchi has time to ferment.

3. 3

   Mix the seasoning

   In a large stainless bowl, stir together the fish sauce, gochugaru, maesil-cheong or sugar, minced garlic, and grated ginger. Let it stand 5 minutes so the gochugaru drinks in the liquid and turns glossy. This is why the seasoning coats the chives instead of falling to the bottom of the jar.

   If you are using a very salty non-Korean fish sauce, use 3 tablespoons fish sauce plus 1 tablespoon water. The measure changes, but the final salt level should not.
4. 4

   Turn by hand

   Add the chives, onion, and carrot, if using, to the seasoning. Lift and turn with your fingers from the bottom of the bowl, folding the greens over themselves until everything is lightly stained red. Do not squeeze. The chives should bend and shine, not collapse into a wet knot. Taste one piece after 10 minutes. It should be a little saltier than you want at the table, because fermentation and the chives' own moisture will soften it.

   If it tastes flat after the 10-minute rest, add exactly 1 teaspoon more fish sauce, turn again, and stop. More than that buries the chive under salt.
5. 5

   Pack the jar

   Pack the seasoned chives into a clean 1-quart glass jar or small onggi, folding long pieces in rather than forcing them. Press just enough to remove large air pockets, then scrape every bit of red seasoning from the bowl over the top. Leave 1 inch of headspace. This kimchi ferments quickly, and it needs that room.

6. 6

   Ferment briefly

   Set the loosely covered jar at room temperature for 12 to 18 hours in a cool kitchen, around 20 to 22 C. In a hot kitchen, give it 6 to 8 hours. When the chives smell lightly sour and the jar shows small bubbles at the edges, tighten the lid and refrigerate. It is edible right away as geotjeori (fresh quick kimchi), but the better bowl comes after 2 days in the cold.

7. 7

   Serve cold

   Serve a small tangle cold from the jar, with rice, pork soup, grilled meat, or a plain bowl of noodles. Use clean chopsticks every time you take from the jar so it keeps well. After 10 to 14 days it will be sharper and softer, still good beside rich food, but past its clean first character.

Chef Tips

• •Buy buchu with flat, dark green leaves and firm white bases. If the leaves are thick, hollow-looking, or dry at the tips, make buchu-jeon (garlic chive pancake) instead. Kimchi asks for tenderness.
• •Do not add gochujang. Buchu-kimchi should taste like garlic chives, fish sauce, chili, and time. Gochujang makes it sweet and heavy, and then every leaf tastes the same.
• •A glass container is fine. 시대가 바뀌면 음식도 바뀌어야 해요. When times change, food must change too. Use the vessel you have, but keep the drying, the gentle turning, and the measured seasoning.
• •This is refrigerated kimchi, not shelf-stable pickling. Keep it cold after the brief room-temperature ferment, use clean utensils, and finish it within 2 weeks.

Advance Preparation

• •The chives can be washed and dried up to 6 hours ahead. Wrap them loosely in a dry towel and refrigerate so they stay crisp.
• •The seasoning can be mixed up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated, but do not combine it with the chives until you are ready to ferment.
• •For the best table, make buchu-kimchi 2 days before serving. That gives the fish sauce time to settle into the chives without taking away their bite.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 85g)