Hasty and Tasty Dandelion Kimchi

Hey all, so- as promised, here's the steps to making really really yummy kimchi out of your dandelions.

In this picture, my mom is cutting the bigger dandelions in half.  We washed it a few times, and cleaned them (yes, even though we did that already at my house).  It took me a week to amass four large bags of dandelions and during that time, some of the baby leaves have turned brown.

Here we moved location into the sun, and I told my mom "I need to have my foot present in a photo so my readers don't think I'm just making my poor mother do all this work".  Her reaction :)

Okay there it is! all cleaned and slightly damp from a rinsing.

To this, you want to add salt.  That bag says "Coarse sea salt", but I want to say "pickling salt" is okay, too. At this point, we are trying to draw moisture out of the dandelions.  Let them sit for an hour or two with a good scattering of the salt through it... like a steak.

Now they are all wilted, and the moisture is pooled at the bottom.  Some of the moisture came from the rinse we did and some of it came from the dandelions.

Here we are washing the salt off of it.  At this point, we gave it a taste and my mother exclaimed "AIGOOOO!! Too salty!".  You may also have this problem, as my mothers instructions just eyeballed the sea salt with no measurements.  That is ok.  This recipe is forgiving.   We are going to have our kimchi sit in some water while we make the rest of the stuff. That way, we will draw out the excess of salt.

Upper left: Upside down bag of Chili pepper powder, Vietnamese fish sauce, Bear brand Flour,and Tone's sea salt. (you could use the same sea salt/pickling salt from earlier).

A good amount of chili pepper powder into a large bowl.  And add fish sauce and mix with your hand.

In a saucepan put in a quart to 1.5 qts water

In a bowl, mix Bear Brand flour, some salt, and water.  If your dandelion greens are very salty, don't add salt here. If they're just at the point where it's nicely salted, just add a little salt to the flour mixture.

 This is applying the same principle as corn starch. If you don't mix it with water and just add it to the hot water, you will end up with chunks.

When the water in saucepan has come to a furious boil, whisk the saucepan,

and pour the flour water mixture. Keep whisking as it turns thick

(kind of like when you've added milk to a roux... )

After all flour is dissolved, and it is as smooth as vanilla pudding, put it aside and let it cool.

We put it outside to speed the process, as it was a breezy day.

In this chopping board, you see cut scallions, and the bowl of chili powder and fish sauce.  We are about to blend Whole garlic cloves, and ginger in just enough water to cover.

Add puree'd ginger and garlic to the fish sauce bowl.

Add scallions to fish sauce bowl.

Here we are taking the wilted dandelions that sat in fresh water because we accidentally made it too salty earlier.  We tasted it to make sure it was salty like when making salty pickles...  I will tell you there is a bitter finish to the dandelions, but it truly goes away or significantly reduces once the fermentation is over.

Here's the "glue" as my mom calls it on the left. That is the Bear brand flour that was whisked into the water.

The right has the bowl of everything else.

The dandelion greens are placed into a tub where I will ferment it for a couple of days.

This is just a large plastic tub with a lid.  For those of you in the know, this is a tub from a Kimchi refrigerator.  HARDCORE!

Pour in everything from the fish sauce bowl.

Now, pour in a good amount of the glue. I want to say we actually didn't use all of it. It's basically  a binder or as she called it "glue" to make all the seasonings stick to the dandelions.

Mix it all up by hand.  As the old Jewish grandmas have told me, it's not Latkes unless it's got a little grandma knuckle in it...  This isn't kimchi unless it's got "Mommy hand taste" in it. I am serious! Go ask your Korean friends! This no shens!

  Then we put the lid on it, and put it somewhere in the house for a few days.  I left mine on the kitchen counter for 3 days.  I advise not putting it in the bedroom, because people will wonder who died or the bathroom, because of that episode of mythbusters about toothbrushes in the bathroom.

When you taste it after three days, it may or may not be at the "Peak" of kimchiness, but at that point I put it in the mason jars and put it in my fridge, because it will always continue to ferment in your refrigerator.
Eat with rice, and enjoy! stores for about a month, and you will taste the transition in the taste as it gets older.  It may have lost the bitter finish, but it is replaced by one that is truly flowery tasting.


Wait, what's that you say?  I never put any amounts, or measurements?  Hey... You're right.
Welp, That's how many of these grandma recipes go.

We'll just have to try it until we get the measurement right.  It all depends if you want it spicier, and your quantity of dandelions....   But at least you get the gist of the process and the ingredients involved.

Picking Dandelions

Hey Y'all,

Now that daylily time is over (it only lasts about a week or two), I have noticed all the dandelions popping up everywhere.  That's awesome!  Free food! God bless America!

A Few years ago, the owner of a florist turned me on to dandelion kimchi.  I was wary (as usual) and asked where the dandelions came from, and will I truly not die if I eat them? The kimchi tasted AWESOME.

For those of you who don't know, Kimchi is a very spicy pickled condiment that is the staple of Korean food.  My father has drilled this into my mind since I was a wee babe. He insisted Kimchi could cure all sorts of ailments, and spark wars and feuds. Growing up in America, I always gave a good eyeroll and grumbled about my father's blind nationalism for Kimchi.
 
However, come to find in books and articles (http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20410300,00.html )
that there is a grain of truth in what he's said.  It is one of the top ten most healthy foods of the entire world.
Due to its fermentation, it contains the same bacteria that is in yogurt.  Therefore, it helps in a probiotic way, which means good stomach digestion, less yeast infections, and some studies show it can prevent the growth of cancer.  Well, I guess dad wasn't just being overtly enthusiastic about it.  Maybe there was even more than just a grain of truth.  Maybe I owe him an apology.  Maybe someday...

Dandelion kimchi has a flavor I can't quite put a finger on, but there's definitely a flowery hint in the aftertaste.  Mrs. Oak the florist gave me some basic sage advice:
Do not pick dandelions from the side of roads,
and make sure to pick ones that did NOT flower already. I took mental note.
I have known others to use dandelion greens in salads, and the repeated counsel is to eat them before they allow a flower to bloom, as it will get bitter beyond that point.

Last year, I thought I'd try this venture, myself. I asked my friend Ben if he could take out some dandelions from my yard while I was at work.  I wasn't expecting much, but when I came home, I was surprised to find his hands black, and a bag full of dandelions.  Rockin'! I cleaned them at my parent's house and had them make the kimchi.  It was not the same as the florist's, but still had a similar flavor which I could only affirm was the dandelion.  Mmmmm so goooood with rice.

So this year, I armed myself with the taproot/dandelion/weedpuller device, and set to work in the backyard after a good rainfall. FYI, friends, taking anything out of the soil is a thousand times easier after the rain.

Got some over here (my daughter was the camera woman.  I insist on doing all these things while the kids play in the backyard. That way I can be an adult presence while they play, or indirectly they can help or observe... but they will grow up being around these activities).

and s'more over here

and even over here.  The last time we painted the deck was two years ago,

so I felt it was safe to partake of this proximity, but they were smaller so I gave up quickly.

Many hands lighten the load?  In this picture,

I am removing some small and dried out looking leaves by the taproot.

Here it is a little clearer.

I washed them best I could, and it needed not triple washing, but something like quintuple washing. Fine grains of dirt, and nooks and crannies of clay tied with bits of grass. HOW ON EARTH DID THE FLORIST LADY DO IT?!  I'm not sure, and when I called her to ask, she said in Korean "Oh, y'know if you wash it well, then that's good!"  ...ehhhh  -_-*

So all in all, I've got three grocery bags full of dandelions washed a few times, and cleaned. I will give them a final rinse tomorrow at my parent's house.  They have giant steel tubs made solely for kimchi making.

They even have a refrigerator solely for kimchi making.   Therefore, I will document the process and let you know how my family's super not-so-secret kimchi recipe is adjusted to make DANDELION KIMCHI.

These times spent with my parents learning their recipes are the treasures I hope to receive as an inheritance.

Seacrest out!