PAD THAI (Serves 4/Ferment time: 5 days)
Ingredients:
For the kimchi – (1 litre jar): 90g fine sea salt; 2 Chinese cabbages, 1kg, shredded; 2 finely chopped garlic cloves; 5cm fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped; 2tbsp Korean chilli flakes; 2tsp fish sauce; 2 carrots, grated; 5 spring onions, thinly sliced
For the pad thai: 200g flat rice noodles (dried weight), or 600g ready-cooked; 1tbsp tamarind paste; 3tbsp fish sauce; 1tsp sugar; 1-2tsp chilli flakes (or fresh chilli); 2tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for the noodles; 300g diced chicken or tofu or prawns; 1 onion, thinly sliced; 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 2 eggs, lightly beaten; 40g cashews or peanuts, roughly chopped; bunch of spring onions, thinly sliced; 150g kimchi; 200g beansprouts
To serve: Small bunches of mint, and basil (ideally Thai) chopped; More fish sauce, chilli flakes or sauce, to taste; lime wedges
Method:
1. For the kimchi: In a bowl, rub the salt through the cabbage, and allow it to soften and form a little brine for an hour or so. Drain in a colander over a bowl to save the brine. Mix the carrots and spring onions with the cabbage. In a cup, make a paste by with the garlic, fish sauce, ginger, and chilli flakes and stir through. Add a little brine if you need to loosen the mix.
2. Spoon into a jar, pressing down well to exclude air bubbles. Use a freezer bag part-filled with water to keep the vegetables submerged and seal the jar. Allow to ferment for five days at room temperature. It should have a pleasingly sour taste. Leave to ferment in the fridge for a few days (or weeks) if you prefer it sourer.
3. For the pad thai: Cook noodles according to instructions, then drain and toss in a little oil.
4. For the sauce: combine the tamarind, fish sauce and sugar in a pan; boil to dissolve the sugar. Add chilli or chilli flakes to taste and put to one side.
5. In a pan or wok, heat the vegetable oil over a high heat. Add the onion and chicken (or prawns/tofu) and stir-fry for eight minutes, until coloured and just about cooked through. Add the garlic and beaten egg for the final two minutes of stir-frying time.
6. Add the noodles and stir-fry for a further three minutes, making sure the chicken is cooked through. Add half the nuts, the spring onions, kimchi and beansprouts and fry for a minute to combine.
7. Stir through the sauce and cook for a minute longer before removing from the heat.
8. To serve, sprinkle with the remaining nuts and all the herbs. Add a splash more fish sauce/ chilli if you fancy and serve with the lime wedges. Add a dash of kimchi.