Kimchi is less a recipe and more a mindset and technique. It, along with other ferments, give me the regularity of vegetables that prioritizes texture over richness, process over product. As a result, my meal planning doesn’t rely on ledgers of calories in and calories out. Instead, I follow the seasons, I adapt to my surrounds, I make do with whatever is around.
Category: fermentation
the ABCs of FFF
At the start of grad school, I wanted to build an abecedary. (Many people have since asked me how to pronounce this term. I say “ah-BECK-eh-dairy” unlike… Read more “the ABCs of FFF”
Ready, Set, Ferment!
I remember thumbing through a friend’s copy of Jamie Oliver’s The Naked Chef (2000! So young!) and chancing upon his yoghurt recipe. Unlike his other recipes with… Read more “Ready, Set, Ferment!”
Woven Into Each Other
Japanese kioke (lit. trans. wood oke) barrels are unique in that they are held together by bamboo hoops called taga. No glue, no nails. Just meters of bamboo that are intricately cut, angled, and woven to make sure that everything seamlessly maintains a circular shape. Over centuries of practicing, woven bamboo became the answer to the practical problem of creating salt-based seasonings in a humid climate. With metal, rust would creep into the fermented products. So how are these practices maintained today?
Maya Hey 