Kimchee Making as Therapy

Craving some spice and needing a reason to stop watching the ongoing nuclear madness up in Fukashima, I made me some kimchee.  Blessed pickled cabbage. 

Small Batch Kimchee
This recipe is not particularly precise- it's suppose to be therapuetic.

a quarter head of napa cabbage,  cut into pieces, soaked overnight in salted water (1/4 C salt & H2O to cover,) drained
3 stalks of green onion, finely sliced
1/4 of a carrot, julienned
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 T. fresh grated ginger
2 T. togarashi powder, this was a substitution for traditional Korean chili powder
2 T. fish sauce
1/2 t. salt

Begin by making the chili paste by grinding the garlic, ginger, and yellow onion into a paste (definitely use a food processor if you have one.)  Add the chili powder, fish sauce, carrots, and green onions.

Wearing plastic gloves, work the chili paste in to the drained cabbage until everything is well mixed.

Tightly pack the cabbage into a plastic/ glass container, pressing out any air bubbles.  Cap and leave at room temperature for 1-4 days depending on the time of year and on how sour your like your kimchee.  I like mine tart so I let mine go for 4 days.  Taste daily to check for tartness then store in the fridge.  Makes 2-3 cups or a enough to fill a big peanut butter jar.   It's reassuring to know that if I ever need to work out any anxiety; I can always turn to kimchee.