Fresh kimchi (geotjori)

Geotjeori is a side dish eaten as part of a Korean meal. It is often described as fresh kimchi but it’s not fermented and can be enjoyed as a salad.

Geotjeori is a side dish eaten as part of a Korean meal. Credit: Tammi Kwok

• makes

  600

• prep

  45 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

“Kimchi isn’t just made from cabbage. You can kimchi anything. So think of kimchi as a verb, a process. ‘To kimchi.’ Jess Ho.

Who gets to decide what good and bad food is? Have you ever had someone yuck your yum? Have you read outstanding reviews for a hot, new restaurant and found the food disappointing? 

Hosted by food writer Jess Ho, Bad Taste is a six-part podcast series that will make you reconsider the perception of good taste.

"In Bad Taste, I wanted to explore the complexity of different dishes and let them be their own hero. I wanted to explore the full story behind each dish and see how they make us who we are."

Each episode will analyse a food, trace back its history, and look at its relevance today through the eyes of guests Nathan Lyons, Rosheen Kaul, Bruce Pascoe, Jacob Birch, Alum Choi, Miin Chan, Beź Zewdie, Ruth Gebreyesus, Thi Le and Vien Tran.

Ingredients

• 1 small Napa cabbage, washed and cut into 5 x 2.5cm chunks
• Fine sea salt
• ½ onion, diced
• 1 apple, diced. (Fuji is great here)
• 10 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 cm knob of ginger, peeled
• 3 tbsp Korean fish sauce
• 1 tbsp Korean salted shrimp
• ¼ cup of water
• 1 bunch garlic chives, cut into 5cm lengths
• 1 cup gochugaru
• 1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds

This recipe makes 1 x 600g jar.

Sitting time 30 minutes

Instructions

1. Salt the cabbage thoroughly in a colander with a few tablespoons of salt. The larger your cabbage, the more salt you’ll require. 
2. Allow to sit for 30 minutes. 
3. Toss the cabbage and leave for another 30 minutes. 
4. Rinse off the salt with running water and squeeze out any excess moisture from the cabbage. 
5. Place the onion, apple, garlic cloves, ginger, fish sauce, salted shrimp and ¼ cup of water into a blender and blend until smooth. 
6. Pour this paste into a large mixing bowl and stir in the gochugaru until combined. 
7. Add the drained cabbage and garlic chives to the bowl and toss to combine, coating evenly in the paste. 
8. Top with sesame seeds and eat as a side dish.
9. Store the remaining geotjeori in an airtight container in the fridge. 

Note

• All ingredients for this recipe can be found in a Korean supermarket. 

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

“Kimchi isn’t just made from cabbage. You can kimchi anything. So think of kimchi as a verb, a process. ‘To kimchi.’ Jess Ho.

Who gets to decide what good and bad food is? Have you ever had someone yuck your yum? Have you read outstanding reviews for a hot, new restaurant and found the food disappointing? 

Hosted by food writer Jess Ho, Bad Taste is a six-part podcast series that will make you reconsider the perception of good taste.

"In Bad Taste, I wanted to explore the complexity of different dishes and let them be their own hero. I wanted to explore the full story behind each dish and see how they make us who we are."

Each episode will analyse a food, trace back its history, and look at its relevance today through the eyes of guests Nathan Lyons, Rosheen Kaul, Bruce Pascoe, Jacob Birch, Alum Choi, Miin Chan, Beź Zewdie, Ruth Gebreyesus, Thi Le and Vien Tran.