Fermented vegetables are all the rage these days and for good reason! They are delicious and nutritious. And this carrot kimchi recipe ticks all the boxes.
What is kimchi?
Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish made from salted and fermented vegetables, often including cabbage and daikon radish. It’s savoury, slightly sour, and a little bit spicy – with deliciousness in every bite.
While you can make kimchi with many different vegetables, my favourite uses tasty carrots. Not only does it add its beautiful colour to your table, but it’s also incredibly tasty.
Carrot kimchi is a popular Korean dish that you make by pickling carrots in a spicy chilli pepper paste. It is packed with vitamins, minerals, and probiotics, which makes it great for your health.
For those who are not familiar with this kimchi, the dish may seem like a strange combination of flavours. However, the sweetness of the carrot pairs, and contrasts, well with the fiery chilli pepper paste, resulting in a delicious and addictive dish.
Why you should try to make carrot kimchi
Here are three good reasons to make this delicious kimchi a part of your diet:
- Kimchi is packed with nutrients.
Carrots are an excellent source of Vitamin A, and they’re also a good source of fibre, potassium, and antioxidants. Making carrot kimchi is a great way to ensure that you’re getting all the nutrients your body needs.
- Carrot kimchi is good for your gut health.
The fermentation process that occurs when making carrot kimchi breaks down the carrot’s natural sugars and produces beneficial probiotics. These probiotics help to keep your digestive system healthy and functioning properly.
- It is easy to make at home.
You don’t need any special equipment or ingredients to make carrot kimchi – just a few simple kitchen staples. Plus, once you’ve made it once, it’s easy to make batch after batch.
Go on, give it a go – you know you want to!
TIPS for making this kimchi
Making carrot kimchi is a process that requires some time, patience, and discipline in following a recipe.
Here are 5 tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your carrot kimchi recipe:
1. Choose good carrots. Look for carrots that are firm and bright in colour. Avoid carrots that are limp or dull-looking.
2. Taste the drained carrots for saltiness after they have drained and before adding to the spice mixture. It is important to check the saltiness of the carrots as this makes a big difference to the outcome of the kimchi.
If the carrots taste much too salty, like seawater, then rinse them and leave them to drain as before, and taste again. Repeat this rinse, if needed, until they taste just slightly too salty – like salted crisps.
If the carrots taste as if the seasoning is ‘just-right’ or bland, then additional salt needs to be added to the spice mixture.
3. Be patient! Carrot kimchi needs time to ferment properly. So assess and taste for its flavour development. The rate of fermentation depends a lot on the environment, so the length of time needed cannot be accurate – when you let the gas escape, look for the signs of bubbles, that the mixture remains covered with liquid, and a strong sour smell is developing – if the liquid increases rapidly and you needed to let gas escape more than once per day, put the jar in the fridge to slow the process down.
Suggestions for customising your carrot kimchi
There are many different flavours you can add when making carrot kimchi. Some popular options include:
- Chilli – Add a deseeded fresh chilli for a spicier kick.
- Add other vegetables in combination with the carrot e.g. cabbage, or leeks.
- For a more traditional kimchi touch, add some Korean daikon radish.
Ways to Use Carrot Kimchi
1. With rice and other Korean dishes
2. In a wrap with avocado, cucumber, and sprouts
3. As a side dish with any suitable meal.
4. As a salad ingredient.
5. In place of sauerkraut in a sandwich
6. Stirred through steamed vegetables
Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish that is made from fermented vegetables. The fermentation process not only enhances the flavour of the kimchi but also increases the nutrient content and provides health benefits. There are many different types of kimchi, each with its own unique set of tastes, textures and health benefits. If you’re looking for a delicious and healthy side dish to add to your menu, be sure to give this carrot kimchi a try! You may be surprised at how much you like it!
For more information see RESOURCES and RECIPES.
Carrot Kimchi Recipe
Equipment
- Kitchen scales
- Chopping board and knife
- Vegetable peeler
- Grater or food processor
- Large bowl
- Spoon for stirring
- Colander
- Teaspoon
- Pair of disposable gloves
- Clean, sterilised 1L glass jar or fermentation jar
Ingredients
- 1 kg carrots,peeled and grated
- 50 g Pickling Salt
- 4 cups water
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 20 g spring onions
- 1 tbsp Korean red pepper flakes/powder (Gochugaru)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce/tamari sauce/fish sauce
- Additional iodine-free salt for seasoning
Instructions
- Day 1:
- Wash, and peel the carrots, trimming the tops and bottoms.
- Use a grater or food processor to grate the carrots.
- Make up a salty brine with the pickling salt and 4 cups of water in the large bowl and stir to dissolve the salt. Add the grated carrots to this mixture, stirring around to ensure that all of the carrots are in contact with the brine.
- Cover with some cling film and leave to stand overnight, at room temperature.
- Day 2:
- Use the colander to drain the carrots and leave them to stand in the colander over the bowl to drain further.
- While this is happening, wash, and where needed peel, the spring onions and ginger.
- Then use a grater or food processor to shred the spring onions and ginger.
- Add the minced garlic, Korean red pepper flakes/powder and soy sauce to the shredded spring onion and ginger and mix to form a spice paste.
- Now take a teaspoon and taste the drained carrots for saltiness before taking the next step. (see TIPS, above)
- Once you are satisfied with the saltiness of the carrots, add them to the spice paste. Stir this together thoroughly to ensure that all the carrot is covered with the spice mixture. Taste for saltiness again, and if needed add 1/2 tsp of the iodine-free salt, stir and taste again until satisfied that it is obviously salty, but not too much.
- Hold the clean and sterilised glass jar in one hand and, with a disposable glove on your other hand, pack handfuls of the mixture into a sterilized jar and press down until the vegetables release their juices are covered in this liquid.
- It is essential to leave a gap of at least 2-3cm(1-inch) of space bewteen the top of the mixture and the edge of the jar to accommodate expansion as the carrots ferment.Use a damp kitchen towel to clean the rim of the jar. If you are using it, you can now add your fermentation weight to the jar.
- Seal the jar/screw on the lid or use an airlock lid if preferred.
- Keep the jar at room temperature for 3-5 days – in a place out of direct sunlight but also not too cold.
- You may need to open the jar once/day to let the gases escape, and also, if you are not using a fermentation weight, use a clean spoon to push the carrots down and ensure that all is covered with the liquid.
- After 3-5 days, use a clean spoon to scoop out some of the mixture for tasting – assess whether this meets your sourness and flavour preference – if yes, refrigerate immediately, start using once chilled and use up within a month (unless it spoils). If not, you can either leave it to ferment for a couple of days longer (up to 8 days) and taste again or put the jar in the fridge to slow down fermentation and you can still taste-test there.
- It will continue to ferment in the fridge but at a much slower rate
Notes
TIPS for making this kimchi
Making carrot kimchi is a process that requires some time, patience, and discipline in following a recipe. Here are 5 expert tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your carrot kimchi recipe: 1. Choose good carrots. Look for carrots that are firm and bright in colour. Avoid carrots that are limp or dull-looking. 2. Taste the drained carrots for saltiness after they have drained and before adding to the spice mixture. It is important to check the saltiness of the carrots as this makes a big difference to the outcome of the kimchi. If the carrots taste much too salty, like seawater, then rinse them and leave them to drain as before, and taste again. Repeat this rinse, if needed, until they taste just slightly too salty – like salted crisps. If the carrots taste as if the seasoning is ‘just-right’ or bland, then additional salt needs to be added to the spice mixture. 3. Be patient! Carrot kimchi needs time to ferment properly. So assess and taste for its flavour development. The rate of fermentation depends a lot on the environment, so the length of time needed cannot be accurate – when you let the gas escape, look for the signs of bubbles, that the mixture remains covered with liquid, and a strong sour smell is developing – if the liquid increases rapidly and you needed to let gas escape more than once per day, put the jar in the fridge to slow the process down.Suggestions for customising your carrot kimchi
There are many different flavours you can add when making carrot kimchi. Some popular options include:-
- Chilli – Add a deseeded fresh chilli for a spicier kick.
-
- Add other vegetables in combination with the carrot e.g. cabbage, or leeks.
-
- For a more traditional kimchi touch, add some Korean daikon radish.
Ways to Use Carrot Kimchi
1. With rice and other Korean dishes 2. In a wrap with avocado, cucumber, and sprouts 3. As a side dish with any suitable meal. 4. As a salad ingredient. 5. In place of sauerkraut in a sandwich 6. Stirred through steamed vegetables For more information see RESOURCES and RECIPES.Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
All nutritional information is an estimate only, based on third-party calculations derived from an online nutritional calculator, Spoonacular API. The data provided is a courtesy and should not be considered a guarantee or fact. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients and brands you use, your measuring methods and portion sizes. For accurate results, we recommend that you calculate the nutritional information yourself, using a preferred nutritional calculator or advice from a nutritionist, based on your ingredients and individual processes.