When I was 7 years old, I attempted to carry a huge
watermelon that is sitting on our kitchen countertop. Just like any other curious kid, I carried it anyway although I know it’s going to be heavy. Before I even had the chance to carry with my short arms and small hands, the watermelon just slipped and plummeted onto the ground. And when I looked down, they were split into two. The first thing I did was to cry out loud. My brother was there and he brought me to see dad who was in his room watching television and he told dad what happened. I thought dad’s going to be angry with me but he wasn’t. He understood. That story is a classic.
Last Sunday, my brother John and his family brought us a huge watermelon as his “Easter egg” present for us. Since the temperature is rising, watermelon is a great way to cool down the body. But in Chinese medicine, you’re not allowed to eat it when you are suffering from cough because of its’ warm nature. I would say it’s because of the gritty texture upon swallowing.
I have about 4 ½ pounds of
watermelon rind and throwing them away would be a huge waste. You can peel the watermelon by cutting the ends first and peel the skin with a knife or you could cut the watermelon into pieces before you separate the flesh from the rind and peel it. It's just a bit time consuming. I usually juice the watermelon rind along with celery and carrots or cucumber but since my juicer broke down many months ago, I kept the rind in the fridge first. Making pickles out of this rind would be a great way to use it but I ended up making a kimchi out of it. I think it’s another serendipitous moment.
I prepared this kimchi somewhat different from the
Napa Cabbage Kimchi . After salting the rind and allowing it to sit for an hour or so, I added the rest of the ingredients without draining or rinsing the watermelon rind. The liquid from the rind will act as a brine for the mixture. I am also using
pink Himalayan sea salt for this kimchi which provides added
minerals. I forgot to mention from my other kimchi post that it’s important to taste your mixture after you make them. You probably know that already. Then, the following day, you have to taste it again and check whether the kimchi needs to be fermented a little bit longer. That would be according to your taste.
Since the tropical heat can dry our newly laundered wet clothes in just two hours, I fermented my watermelon rind kimchi for just 1 day which is recommended so the rind will be crunchier than the day before. My sister-in-law prefers this one compared to the Napa Cabbage Kimchi because the Watermelon Rind Kimchi is more flavorful and spicier with the addition of
Thai chili powder. You can also do the same thing with small
cucumber and Korean
radish and varying the ingredients by adding some small
salted shrimps. I also added some
whey (a highly recommend ingredient in lacto-fermented foods) to each bottle so there's enough liquid to cover the mixture. I'll do a post about whey in the future. In the meantime, enjoy this kimchi.
Makes enough kimchi to fill about 2 bottles of 500 gram jars
4 ½ lbs watermelon rind
2 tbsp unrefined sea salt
1-inch piece fresh ginger root
5 cloves garlic
6 green onions (Philippine size)
1 small onion (optional)
1/3 cup Korean chili powder
1 tbsp Thai chili powder
2 tbsp honey
To prepare your ingredients, cut watermelon rind into cubes and place in a large bowl. Add the salt and toss to combine. Then set it aside for about 1 hour to draw the moisture out of the watermelon rind. Then, peel and grate the ginger, and finely chop the garlic and green onions, and cut the onion into medium dice.
To prepare the kimchi, add the ginger root, garlic, green onion and onions to the bowl with the watermelon rind. Then, add the Korean and Thai chili powder, and the honey. Wear a disposable glove and toss the mixture for about 5 -7minutes. Taste the mixture and add more chili powder or honey according to your taste. Transfer to 2 glass bottles. Cover and leave at room temperature to ferment for one to three days.
- Make sure to cut off the soft flesh from the rind so that the kimchi will remain its crunchiness.
Enjoy!!
Love and light,
Print Recipe
When I was 7 years old, I attempted to carry a huge watermelon that is sitting on our kitchen countertop. Just like any other curious kid, I carried it anyway although I know it’s going to be heavy. Before I even had the chance to carry with my short arms and small hands, the watermelon just slipped and plummeted onto the ground. And when I looked down, they were split into two. The first thing I did was to cry out loud. My brother was there and he brought me to see dad who was in his room watching television and he told dad what happened. I thought dad’s going to be angry with me but he wasn’t. He understood. That story is a classic.
Last Sunday, my brother John and his family brought us a huge watermelon as his “Easter egg” present for us. Since the temperature is rising, watermelon is a great way to cool down the body. But in Chinese medicine, you’re not allowed to eat it when you are suffering from cough because of its’ warm nature. I would say it’s because of the gritty texture upon swallowing.
I have about 4 ½ pounds of watermelon rind and throwing them away would be a huge waste. You can peel the watermelon by cutting the ends first and peel the skin with a knife or you could cut the watermelon into pieces before you separate the flesh from the rind and peel it. It's just a bit time consuming. I usually juice the watermelon rind along with celery and carrots or cucumber but since my juicer broke down many months ago, I kept the rind in the fridge first. Making pickles out of this rind would be a great way to use it but I ended up making a kimchi out of it. I think it’s another serendipitous moment.
I prepared this kimchi somewhat different from the Napa Cabbage Kimchi . After salting the rind and allowing it to sit for an hour or so, I added the rest of the ingredients without draining or rinsing the watermelon rind. The liquid from the rind will act as a brine for the mixture. I am also using pink Himalayan sea salt for this kimchi which provides added minerals. I forgot to mention from my other kimchi post that it’s important to taste your mixture after you make them. You probably know that already. Then, the following day, you have to taste it again and check whether the kimchi needs to be fermented a little bit longer. That would be according to your taste.
Since the tropical heat can dry our newly laundered wet clothes in just two hours, I fermented my watermelon rind kimchi for just 1 day which is recommended so the rind will be crunchier than the day before. My sister-in-law prefers this one compared to the Napa Cabbage Kimchi because the Watermelon Rind Kimchi is more flavorful and spicier with the addition of Thai chili powder. You can also do the same thing with small cucumber and Korean radish and varying the ingredients by adding some small salted shrimps. I also added some whey (a highly recommend ingredient in lacto-fermented foods) to each bottle so there's enough liquid to cover the mixture. I'll do a post about whey in the future. In the meantime, enjoy this kimchi.
Makes enough kimchi to fill about 2 bottles of 500 gram jars
4 ½ lbs watermelon rind
2 tbsp unrefined sea salt
1-inch piece fresh ginger root
5 cloves garlic
6 green onions (Philippine size)
1 small onion (optional)
1/3 cup Korean chili powder
1 tbsp Thai chili powder
2 tbsp honey
To prepare your ingredients, cut watermelon rind into cubes and place in a large bowl. Add the salt and toss to combine. Then set it aside for about 1 hour to draw the moisture out of the watermelon rind. Then, peel and grate the ginger, and finely chop the garlic and green onions, and cut the onion into medium dice.
To prepare the kimchi, add the ginger root, garlic, green onion and onions to the bowl with the watermelon rind. Then, add the Korean and Thai chili powder, and the honey. Wear a disposable glove and toss the mixture for about 5 -7minutes. Taste the mixture and add more chili powder or honey according to your taste. Transfer to 2 glass bottles. Cover and leave at room temperature to ferment for one to three days.
Gluten-Free; Vegetarian; Dairy-Free (if whey is not used)
A must -read: Lessons from Watermelon Kimchi
Enjoy!!
Love and light,
Print Recipe