Basil Kimchi

…Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish of salted and fermented vegetables that everyone must have on their table. Kimchi can be made with various vegetables along with Korean fish sauce, chili powder, garlic, and sugar. Before fermentation, kimchi tastes like a salad. Usually, people use fresh basil leaves as a garnish or herb, but someone made kimchi with basil, which is amazing. Many people are interested in this dish that no one thought of, and I am also one of them. Basil has a strong scent, so I was very curious about the taste of basil kimchi. Furthermore, I received a special fish sauce from @hee_n.j, who recommended this dish to be made with it. The smell is a bit strong to eat right after making basil kimchi, and my husband had a hard time eating it, but I liked it. It depends on each person’s taste. I recommend that it’s good to eat chop steaks with basil and the sauce on top of the chop steak. A tip that I have for those making basil kimchi at home is to give it some time to ferment. The taste of the basil slightly weakens, and you can taste that iconic tanginess that all good kimchi has.

Servings: 10

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1. 200 g fresh basil leaves, cleaned and pat dry
2. 2 1/2 tbsp fish sauce(crab sauce)
3. 1/2 tbsp Mat-Gan-Jang
4. 1/2 tbsp brown sugar(or muscovado)
5. 1 tbsp chili powder
6. 1 tbsp spicy chili powder
7. 50 ml pear juice
8. 1 tbsp garlic, minced
9. 3 green onion, minced
10. 1 tbsp sesame seeds
11. 250 g beef filet mignon(this is optional), cubed
12. sea salt to taste(this is optional)
13. black pepper to taste(this is optional)
14. 2 tbsp avocado oil(this is optional)
15. 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter(this is optional)

Cooking Instructions:

1. Take out the basil leaves from basil stems.

2. Put the basil leaves with cold water for 10 minutes(can help remove some dirt) and rinse them 2–3 times with cold water very gently. Sift them with a strainer and pat dry.

3. Put the fish sauce, Mat-Gan-Jang, muscovado, chili powder, spicy chili powder, pear juice, garlic, green onion, and sesame seeds into a bowl to mix them well.

4. Put the basil leaves onto a big bowl and add some mixed sauce into the big bowl to mix them softly before serving it(or mix all the basil leaves with the mixed sauce and keep it at room temperature for fermenting).

5. If you want to add some steak, heat a pan with medium high heat and add some avocado oil into the pan. Grill the beef filet mignon onto the pan for 2–3 minutes.

6. Add the unsalted butter onto the chop steak and sear the chop steaks with the butter for 30 seconds. Turn off the heat and place the chop steaks onto a tray. Set aside.

5. Serve it with a bowl of steamed rice or chop steak.

You can also view this recipe on instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr3TiNtLYC_/