the Older Bolder Life Vegetable Wednesday 26 December: Collard Greens Kimchi

With New Year’s Day celebrations looming on the horizon now, being good children of the South my wife and I have been raised to eat greens as part of the traditional New Year’s Day meal.

Truth be told, I didn’t grow up willfully embracing the concept of stewed or sautéed greens, though in my youth I picked at mustard, collard, and turnip greens at many a grandmother-prepared table over the years.

My personal view of greens changed when one of our favorite Southern restaurants here in the DFW metro started serving a wonderful crudite plate with a Collard Greens Kimchi as part of the array. We often have a quart jar of some version of kimchi in the fridge (using this recipe), and while collard greens take a bit of time in a briny soak to soften, they’re well worth the effort, and some say will help ensure wealth flows your way this year (if you hold to old Southern New Year’s Day tradition).

2 medium bunches collard green leaves
Fine sea salt

6 scallions, cut on diagonal into 1 inch pieces, use the white and pale green sections
1/3 cup (or more) gochugaru (Korean red chile flakes, coarse) OR
1.5 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes, ground
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
1 tablespoons fish sauce

Remove the stalks from the collards and cut the leaves into bite-sized pieces. Wash well, drain, and quickly pat dry. Now layer in a small bowl with generous amounts of the sea salt between layers, place a dish (or other weight on top) and leave for 30 minutes. Then massage the leaves a bit, turning them over, and making sure they’re fairly well covered with salt, cover with the weight in place for another 30 minutes. Repeat this process another three times, you’re looking for the leaves to become somewhat tender.

Rinse the leaves of salt and pat dry on paper towels.

Now combine the collard leaves with the scallions, pepper of choice, garlic, ginger, and fish sauce; stir to ensure all the leaves are well coated.

Now pack into a sterilized jar, leaving about an inch of headspace. Cover loosely and leave on the counter (out of direct sunlight) for up to two days to begin the magic of fermentation. Once you’re happy with evidence of fermentation, throw in the fridge, where the flavors will deepen and mature over the next week as fermentation slowly moves onward. Kimchi gurus insist this will keep for up to two months in the fridge.

Enjoy.