Live Kimchi cook-along with celebrity chef Judy Joo

Westminster Kingsway College is delighted to announce an exclusive Korean cookery masterclass with celebrity chef Judy Joo. Judyisa Korean-American chef, author and founder of London’s popular Seoul Bird restaurants.

Recently appearing on ITV’s Cooking With The Stars, Judy is no stranger to our television screens having also starred in Food Network's Korean Food Made Simple and Iron Chef UK.

The event, run in partnership with the Korean Embassy, will take place at the College’s award-winning Vincent Rooms restaurant on Monday 15 November and will be streamed live on our social media platforms from 6pm.

If you hope to cook-along at home, see the recipe below to help with your preparation.
3 napa cabbage heads (approximately 2 kg of cabbage)
220g chive leaf (or scallions washed and thinly sliced lengthwise and about 3 inches in length)
200g peeled ginger
430g peeled garlic
300g carrots, peeled and julienned
300g gochugaru, coarse ground (or to taste, depending on how hot the brand is)
105g Korean anchovy sauce
105g saewoo jeot
200g plum extract
200g dashima broth
Kimchi preparation (process completed prior to cook-along date)
First, brine the cabbage with Korean salt, fill a large container with warm water, and add enough coarse salt so that it tastes salty, but not overly salty. Mix until salt is dissolved and let the salted water cool to room temperature.
Note: The brine is about 2 litres of water and 225g of coarse sea salt, but not all salt is same saltiness, so taste it.
Meanwhile, trim and remove the outer leaves of the cabbage. Cut the cabbage in half, by slicing from the middle downwards (to keep the top leaves full and intact), pull apart the cabbage gently and quarter in the same way if you are using a large head of cabbage (or if smaller, leave in halves).
Place the cabbage in the cooled salted water, cut side up and place a heavy bowl or plate on top of the cabbage to fully submerge the cabbage in the brine. Leave overnight at room temperature.
The next day, remove the cabbage from the brine and drain well by placing cut side down in a large colander placed on a deep plate or in a sink. Taste one of the leaves and it should be pleasantly salty and palatable. If too salty, rinse with cold water and even soak in cold water, if necessary to remove some of the salt. Drain well.
Make the dashima stock with dried anchovies, dried shiitake mushrooms, and kombu (you can add dried shrimp and bonito flakes too to the stock, if you like). Allow to cool to room temperature.
For the Dashima stock
0.5 onion, roughly chopped
4 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 spring onion, roughly chopped
1 x 13cm (5in) long piece of dried kelp (dashima)
8 large dried anchovies (myulchi), heads and guts removed
Salt
To make the stock, combine the onion, dried mushrooms, spring onion, kelp, anchovies and 750ml (26fl oz) water in a large pan and bring to the boil over a high heat.
Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, covered, for about 45 minutes. Strain, discarding the solids, and set aside.

Steps to be completed during cook-along (15 Nov)

Place the garlic, ginger, saewoojeot, plum extract, and anchovy sauce in a food processor and blend until smooth. Remove from the processor and place into a bowl. Add the gochugaru and mix well. Add some dashima stock to loosen the mixture to make the paste a thick but spreadable consistency. Taste and adjust the amount of plum extract or gochugaru as desired. Mix in the carrots and chive leaves (or scallions).

Place the cabbage sections on a tray. Using your hands (I suggest wearing gloves), spread the paste into and between each cabbage leaf making sure to get the inner roots, covering every part of the cabbage. Once all covered, take the outer most leaf of the cabbage and wrap it around the of the cabbage, swaddling it. Repeat until all of the cabbage is covered in the paste. Once done, place the cabbage it into a container and pack firmly, placing any leftover paste on top.

Allow to ferment at room temperature for 5-7 days, and then place into the refrigerator. Depending on how warm your room is, you may shorten the room temperature fermentation by one or two days.

Make sure you “burp” your kimchi by releasing the air pressure in the jar, otherwise it may explode!