Like many food-oriented folk, I have a serious kimchi obsession going. But I didn’t want just any old kimchi recipe in this book. And I knew just where to turn in search of a recipe that has a little something extra: my friend Deb Samuels, cooking teacher and coauthor with Taekyung Chung of The Korean Table: From Barbecue to Bibimbap. Deb keeps up on all things Korean, and she told me that not only is it becoming more fashionable to salt kimchi less than traditional recipes call for, but also that the water-soaking process probably can be skipped entirely. She also said one of her favorites is a white kimchi with a main ingredient of Asian pear, which happened to already feature strongly in my Korean Short Rib Tacos (page 92). Why not try a kimchi with cabbage and pear together? Of course, she was right on the money. Look for Korean chili powder, which has a distinctive heat but a mellow, sweet undertone, in Asian supermarkets; for kimchi, there really is no substitute. Once you have your ingredients, this kimchi could hardly be simpler to make, and the slight sweetness and crunch it gets from the pear make it positively haunting. Besides using it on the tacos, use it on Kimchi, Ham, and Fried Egg Pizza (page 107) and Fried Rice with Cauliflower and Kimchi (page 136).

　　

Ingredients

makes about 4 cups

　　1 head napa cabbage (1 1/2 to 2 pounds), cored and cut into 2-inch pieces

　　1 tablespoon coarse kosher or sea salt

　　1 Asian pear, cored and cut into 1/2-inch dice (do not peel)

　　1/4 cup Korean red chili powder

　　6 cloves garlic, peeled

　　2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped

　　2 tablespoons water

　　2 teaspoons sugar

　　2 teaspoons oyster sauce

　　2 teaspoons Asian fish sauce

　　

Step 1

Toss the cabbage with the salt in a large bowl. Let it sit until it exudes liquid and wilts, 60 to 90 minutes. Lift the cabbage out of the excess liquid by the handful, squeeze it dry, and transfer it to another bowl, discarding the liquid. Do not rinse.

　　

Step 2

Stir in the Asian pear, tossing to combine.

　　

Step 3

Combine the chili powder, garlic, ginger, water, sugar, oyster sauce, and fish sauce in a food processor. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed. Add to the cabbage-pear mixture, toss to combine, and let sit overnight, covered and at room temperature.

　　

Step 4

Transfer the mixture to an airtight container and refrigerate. Wait at least a few days before using the kimchi, which will get more pungent as the days go by. Use within 2 weeks.

　　Reprinted with permission from Serve Yourself: Nightly Adventures in Cooking for One by Joe Yonan. Text copyright © 2011 by Joe Yonan; photographs copyright © 2011 by Ed Anderson. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.Joe Yonan is the food and travel editor at the Washington Post, where he writes the award-winning "Cooking for One" column. Joe's work also earned the Post the 2009 and 2010 James Beard Foundation's award for best food section. He is the former travel editor at the Boston Globe. Visit www.joeyonan.com.