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Restore
50g salt
300ml water
2 heads of Chinese napa cabbage, outer leaves removed, cabbages quartered lengthways
300g Accelerated Gochujang
80g fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
6 spring onions, julienned into 4mm-thick strips
2 apples, cut into thin matchsticks (with skin intact)
You will need some kitchen gloves and a sterilised 3-litre preserving jar.
Begin by giving the cabbage a quick brine. To make the brine simply dissolve the salt in the 300ml of water in a saucepan over a medium heat. Pour it into a non-reactive container which the cabbage will fit into. Once the water has completely cooled, add the cabbage, pour over enough cold water on top to ensure the cabbage is submerged, and allow to brine for a minimum of 1 hour.
Once the time has passed, remove the cabbage from the brine and dry it thoroughly. You’ll need to get in between every leaf to make sure it’s as dry as possible. (Over the course of fermentation the cabbage will release lots of liquid and you don’t want the flavour to become too diluted, so it’s good to eradicate as much water at the start as you can.)
Wash the non-reactive container you brined the cabbage in and dry it very thoroughly. Add the gochujang, followed by the ginger, spring onions and apples. You’ll want to wear gloves for this next part of the process: once you’ve donned your gloves, use your hands to mix the ginger, spring onion and apples thoroughly with the gochujang until combined. Take your dried cabbage quarters and spread a little of the gochujang marinade between each cabbage leaf so that it is really well rubbed into the cabbage.
Wrap each cabbage quarter around itself to create a tight parcel and wedge into a sterilised 3-litre preserving jar. It will start fermenting pretty much immediately, and you’ll be able to tell by the level of liquid that leaches out of the cabbage that it’s starting to ferment.
Within two days, it’s good to go, or you can store it in the fridge. It will deepen in flavour the longer it ferments.
Fauzu Kosho
My favourite ingredient in the world is yuzukoshö. Yuzu, a Japanese citrus fruit, has a flavour that sits somewhere between a lime, mandarin and grapefruit; ‘kosho’ describes the part where the rind and juice of the fruit are fermented with very spicy green chillies and salt. NamaYasai, a brilliant farm in Lewes, in the south of England, grows yuzu, but whether you buy UK-grown or imported fruit, they are still quite expensive, and here you need quite a lot of fruit, so I go for a combination of limes and other citrus fruits. This recipe’s great because it’s a really quick ferment, and you can use up all the limes in my Lemon and Lime Pickle. It’s fantastic in everything from mayonnaise with fried chicken or tofu, to a margherita (though use it sparingly). Use unwaxed fruit and wash them thoroughly before grating the zest.
MAKES 350g
Preparation time 15 minutes
Fermenting time 2–3 weeks
finely grated zest of 16 limes
2 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
2 tbsp finely grated pink grapefruit zest
1 tbsp finely grated clementine zest
1 tbsp salt
juice of 2 fresh limes
2 tbsp grapefruit juice
2 tbsp fresh clementine juice
3 green finger chillies, very finely chopped
pinch of sugar
You will need a sterilised 500g preserving jar.
Mix all of the citrus zests in a small bowl with the salt using the back of a spoon until you have a coarse paste. Mix in the lime juice, grapefruit juice, clementine juice and green chillies until well combined. Transfer to a sterilised 500g preserving jar and seal tightly.
Leave to ferment at room temperature (out of direct sunlight) for 1–2 weeks. Once it starts to look fizzy you will know it has begun fermenting. At this stage transfer it to a food processor and blitz until smooth. Return to the jar and leave to ferment at room temperature for 1 more week.
Once this time has passed it’s ready to eat, and should be kept in the fridge.
Fermented Fruit Vinegar
I’ve used apple scraps in this recipe, but the method can be easily adapted to use up other fruit you have such as pears, overripe plums, peaches or grapes.
MAKES 1 litre
Preparation time 10 minutes
Fermenting time 3–4 weeks
scraps of 10 apples (or whichever fruit you decide to use), including cores, stalks and peel (about 450g)
50g granulated sugar
850ml lukewarm water
splash of cider vinegar
You will need a sterilised 3-litre wide-neck preserving jar or glass bowl.
Measure out the fruit scraps in a measuring jug. This method works on the principle of 1 part fruit to 2 parts sugar-and-water solution, so adjust the measurements according to how much fruit you have (e.g. for 500g of fruit you will need 1 litre of sugar-water solution). Put the fruit scraps in a large, clean glass bowl or 3-litre wide-neck preserving jar (glass is the best material to make it in as it is not reactive to high acidity levels, whereas some metals and plastics are). Stir the sugar into the lukewarm water until dissolved. Pour the solution over the fruit, making sure it is well submerged. Cover the bowl or jar with a sheet of muslin and secure with an elastic band or string. Leave the mixture to ferment in a dark cupboard for a week or so, swirling it every day to keep it well mixed and aid fermentation. Room temperature of 26–28°C is ideal – if it’s colder, it will just take longer to ferment.
After about a week, you should see the mixture start to bubble, which means fermentation has begun. The bacteria and natural wild yeasts in the atmosphere will be eating the sugars, which produces carbon dioxide, and hey presto – you are fermenting! Strain the liquid through a muslin-lined sieve into a large jug or container. Clean the original bowl or jar and return the liquid to it, adding the cider vinegar to speed up the fermentation. Re-cover with the muslin and secure with the string or elastic band. Return it to the dark cupboard and leave for a further 2–3 weeks, giving it just the occasional gentle swirl so as not to disturb the growth too much. This bacterial growth is what is known as the ‘mother’, a thick film that’s almost cotton-woolly. It is full of good bacteria so don’t be put off! You can remove this easily, and if you rinse it gently under warm water and store it with a splash of your nice new vinegar, it will be a brilliant kick-starter for any vinegars you make in the future, and replace the need for cider vinegar. Store it covered with muslin.
Once you have removed the ‘mother’, strain the vinegar again, this time through a fine sieve lined with a double layer of muslin, to remove any sediment. Transfer to freshly sterilised, dry glass jars or bottles (the warmth will help promote further maturing). The vinegar will keep indefinitely in a cupboard, and only deepens in flavour as it matures.
Tepache
My mum has been making this Mexican fermented pineapple skin ‘beer’ (or cooler) for years – that makes her cooler than anyone, in my opinion. It is the best summer drink ever! It’s made from fermenting overripe pineapple skins and cores that would normally get thrown out. My mum’s version is inspired by a Delia Smith recipe that has been bastardised throughout the years. It gets fizzy in about three days thus making it beer-like, and – served over ice, with mint or pineapple leaves – it’s just magic. Add some dark rum to the equation for some real fun!
MAKES 2 litres
Preparation time 5 minutes
Fermenting time 3–4 days
2 ripe to overripe medium pineapples, skin washed and scrubbed
2 lemons, washed and thinly sliced
60g golden caster sugar
2 litres cold water
TO SERVE
ice
pineapple leaves or sprigs of mint
extra sugar (if liked)
Cut the top off the pineapples with a sharp knife and discard for compost. Carefully cut away the skin in long strips, working your way around the whole fruit, then cut the fruit away from the core in quarters. Keep the pineapple flesh for eating.
Chop the skin and core into small pieces (about 2cm). Place in a bowl and add the sliced lemons and sugar. Mix everything with clean hands until well dispersed. Pour over the cold water, cover the bowl with a cloth, and leave at room temperature to ferment for 3–4 days, until the surface of the liquid is starting to bubble.
Strain the liquid into a clean jug, chill and serve within 2 days.
Serve poured over lots of ice and with pineapple leaves or sprigs of mint. You can add a bit more sugar if you prefer a sweeter drink.
Sauerkraut
For the uninitiated, this is perhaps the easiest entry point into lacto-fermentation. You don’t need any special equipment, just a container to put it in. The lactobacillus bacteria that live on the surface of the cabbage convert the sugars within the cabbage into lactic acid when the cabbage is submerged in brine, and this acid acts as a natural preservative, prohibiting growth of any nasty harmful bacteria. This preserves the cabbage for months in a cool dark cupboard, and in the fridge for up to a year (if you don’t devour it quicker). Sauerkraut is great cold from the jar with cured meats, but I also love it fried in butter, with German sausages and mustard.
Making sauerkraut couldn’t be simpler. It works on the principle of salting the cabbage at a ratio of 2 per cent salt to the weight of the cabbage, so here the cabbage weighs 1.4kg, therefore you need 28g salt (1 per cent would be 14g).
MAKES about 1kg (enough to fill a 1-litre jar)
Preparation time 20 minutes
Fermenting time 1–3 weeks
1 head of red or white cabbage (about 1.4kg), washed and finely shredded (use a mandoline if you have one)
28g sea salt flakes
You will need a sterilised 1-litre preserving jar.
Put the shredded cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle over the salt. Massage it with your hands, kneading and squeezing the salt thoroughly into the cabbage for a good 10–20 minutes. You’ll notice its liquid start to leach out, which is what you want to happen, as this is the first sign of the cabbage starting to break down. Keep massaging it until enough liquid has developed to cover the cabbage once it’s compressed into the jar, as it’s this liquid that will form the brining solution.
Transfer the cabbage and liquid to a sterilised 1-litre preserving jar and press the cabbage down so that the liquid rises to the surface. Seal tightly and leave to ferment at room temperature (out of direct sunlight) for at least a week. It’s safe to eat at any stage of the process, and it will develop in sourness and flavour the longer it is left to ferment. Transfer to the fridge once it’s fermented to your liking, to slow down the fermentation process.
Slow Ferments
White Miso
This is the grittiest of all of the recipes in this book, but every step is necessary. I suggest making it by hand to get a traditional chunky miso. If you prefer it smooth, just blend it once fermented before popping it in the fridge. I like sweet white miso for its taste and speed of fermenting, but this recipe provides ingredients and methods for both sweet or salty, so you can choose which one you want to make. The kombu (seaweed) adds an extra element of umami. Both types of miso take at least 6 months to ferment. White rice koji is available on the internet.
MAKES about 1.45kg salty miso, and 1.65kg sweet miso
Preparation time 5 minutes, plus overnight soaking
Cooking time 4 hours
Fermenting time 6 months minimum
SWEET MISO
500g dried soybeans
10–20cm-long piece of kombu
500g white rice koji
60g fine sea salt
SALTY MISO
500g dried soybeans
10–20cm-long piece of kombu
250g white rice koji
100g fine sea salt
You will need 2 × 2-litre sterilised preserving jars.
Rinse the soybeans under cold running water at least three times until the water runs clear, to remove any impurities. Transfer the beans to a large clean bowl and cover with fresh cold water so that the water sits 2cm above the beans. Leave to soak overnight in a cool place. Using filtered water at every stage here helps to maintain the purity of the miso.
The next day, drain the beans. They should have expanded and almost doubled in size and weight. Put the beans in a large saucepan and cover with more cold filtered water, so the water sits at least 3cm above the beans. Add the kombu and bring to the boil, skimming off any scum. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 4 hours, skimming occasionally if any more scum appears on the surface and adding more water if necessary to keep the beans submerged. You know the beans are cooked when they are completely soft when squeezed between your finger and thumb. At this point, drain the beans, retaining the cooking liquid. Set aside to cool. You want the beans to be warm when you add the koji to activate it, but be aware that the enzymes in the koji will be inhibited at any heat over 60°C, so allow them to cool for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally so that any beans in the centre cool down too.
Once the beans have cooled, start mashing! I considered using my food processor for this, but it would probably have become like cement and jammed the machine. I also favour a slightly more textured miso, which is traditional, so that means mashing by hand, a task I find satisfyingly therapeutic. Pound them with the end of a rolling pin or a potato masher until they form a pale mush (the odd bit of bean is nothing to worry about). Split the mashed beans into equal halves and put them in separate bowls – the cooked weight of our soybeans when we tested this recipe totalled 2.2kg, so we split them into 1.1kg portions.
In The Art of Fermentation – my bible for understanding the process of miso making author Sandor Ellix Katz suggests dissolving the salt in a couple of ladles of warm cooking water from the soybeans. I don’t know if this is totally necessary, as the salt becomes well mixed when you combine it with the koji and soybeans, but perhaps it is reassuring to dissolve the salt first to ensure it is evenly distributed. Either way, you want a thick paste that is spreadable but not too liquid. Add 4 or 5 small ladles of cooking liquid to each miso mix to achieve the right consistency and, depending on your preference and whether you are making the salty or sweet miso, add the appropriate amount of salt and white rice koji. Knead the mixture thoroughly: you want the rice and salt to be well combined and the whole mixture to be amalgamated.
Ensure your jars are completely sterile: this is an essential first step in waging war against mould potentially forming while the miso ferments. Now start filling the jars with your miso: add small balls of miso to the jars gradually, packing them down tightly at each stage to eradicate any chance of air pockets. Allow for a 5cm gap at the top of each jar. Clean the inner walls of the jar with a cloth dipped in vodka to keep the inside of the jar sterile. Katz mentions that he likes to ‘sprinkle salt on the moist internal surfaces of the crock before filling it with miso… to increase salt concentration at the edges’, however he also happily says, ‘I do it unless I forget: and when I have forgotten, I have never had a problem with contamination.’
Sprinkle salt on the flat, packed-down surface of the miso before weighing it down, to help inhibit mould bacteria, then place a layer of cling film or jam film on the surface of the miso to create an airtight seal. Push a sandwich bag or something similar into the remaining cavity of the jar and pour as much salt as you can fit into the bags to act as a weight. Seal tightly, label and put it in a dry place out of direct sunlight, preferably not too cool (an airing cupboard would be ideal).
The miso takes at least 6 months to ferment. Resist the temptation to open the jars and stir it, as once you expose it to air you invite trouble and the potential for mould. If you do detect any mould, don’t panic, just carefully scrape it off with a knife and re-sterilise any exposed surfaces on the jar. You’ll be able to taste when it’s reached its prime: it will have that delicious well-rounded depth of flavour. Once opened, it will keep very happily in the fridge for weeks.
Vegan XO Sauce
XO sauce is a slow-fermented chilli, seafood and pork sauce from Hong Kong that is served all over China and Southeast Asia in seafood restaurants. London has been flooded with love for the sauce, almost to the point of annoyance, but I feel like the rest of the country hasn’t quite got to grips with it. It has the deepest flavour and is fantastic over everything from veggies to fish. This vegan version uses umami-rich ingredients like seaweed and shiitake mushrooms: it makes a great base for vegan curries, as there’s no need for fish sauce.
MAKES 300g
Preparation time 20 minutes
Cooking time 1 hour
Fermenting time 2 weeks to 2 months
40g dried shiitake mushrooms
400ml warm water
2 banana shallots or 5 round ones, peeled
100g fresh ginger, cut into chunks
3 red bird’s-eye chillies, stalks removed
1 head of garlic, cloves peeled
2 large sheets of dried nori seaweed
150ml oil
200ml Shaoxing wine
2 rounded tbsp miso paste
3 tbsp sugar
You will need a sterilised 300g preserving jar.
Put the shiitake mushrooms in a bowl with the warm water and set aside for about 10 minutes to rehydrate, then strain, retaining the soaking liquor.
Put the shallots, ginger, chillies, strained mushrooms, garlic and nori in a food processor and pulse so that everything is blitzed but still maintains some texture – you want a coarse paste.
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over a medium-low heat and scrape the spicy paste into the pan. Pour the water you rehydrated the mushrooms with into the pan, being careful to leave the last little bit in the bowl as there will be some residual grit that has sunk to the bottom. Add the Shaoxing wine and mix in the miso and sugar. I go for a white miso, as I like its hint of sweetness, but any miso would work well.
Fry very gently for about 30 minutes, until everything has thoroughly sweated down, moving it around the pan occasionally to prevent it catching. Once the liquid has completely evaporated you will notice the paste will begin to brown and caramelise more rapidly, so for the next 30 minutes you will need to keep a more watchful eye on it, stirring it regularly to avoid it burning. Once you have a thick, fibrous, deeply caramelised tapenade-like paste, which is separating itself from its oil, the XO is done. Turn off the heat, transfer to a sterilised 300g preserving jar and seal. Leave it to ferment for anything from 2 weeks to 2 months. Once opened, it will keep in the fridge for months.
Fish Sauce
An absolute staple in my house, fish sauce is imperative to so much Asian cookery. It’s sometimes called ‘garam’, depending on how it’s made. I’ve discussed this recipe about a million times with chef and fermenting friends (I must give a shout-out to Andrew Clarke of chif’s mental health charity Pilot Light, whose recipe this actually is, but also Andy Oliver of Som Saa, John Chantarasak of Anglo Thai and Glyn Gordon of Eaten Alive, who all helped). Andrew Clarke’s recipe is the easiest I’ve found, and it makes incredible fish sauce, but I warn you, for two days you will wonder why on earth you bothered, because it reeks. Oh. My. God. It reeks.
For the best results, use a 15–20 per cent ratio of salt to fish (I’ve used 18 per cent below). I use a combination of fish guts I had left over from a previous dish and an extra couple of mackerel that I simply chopped into pieces.
MAKES 1.5 litres
Preparation time 5 minutes
Cooking time 2 hours
Fermenting time 6 months
1kg mackerel and fish guts, roughly chopped
180g salt
You will need a sterilised 2-litre preserving jar.
Put the fish and salt in a blender or food processor, add enough water to cover, and blitz until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and cover with cold water to a level 10cm higher than the fish. Bring to the boil, skimming off any scum on the surface as this will contain all the impurities, then reduce the heat and cook at a strong simmer (not quite boiling) for 2 hours, skimming again if necessary. The idea is for the fish and bones to break down into a slurry so you can just leave it bubbling away, as long as you keep the water level up. Your house will stink, but no pain no gain!
Remove from the heat and allow to cool, then pour into a sterilised 2-litre preserving jar and seal tightly. The optimum temperature for the sauce to ferment at is 40–60°C. Andrew Clarke recommends using a reptile heat pad (you can find these online; they’re used to keep cold-blooded creatures like snakes and lizards warm), which you can place the jar on top of to keep it warm and help the process along (I keep mine next to my coffee machine). Alternatively, a warm airing cupboard would work.
It will need about 6 months fermenting until it’s ready to use, there’s no getting around this. After it has fermented for 6 months, strain it through a fine muslin cloth-lined sieve to remove any sediment or slurry, then either keep it in the jar or transfer it through a funnel (lined with more muslin) into a sterilised bottle. It will keep at room temperature, but I advise keeping home ferments in the fridge as they will then keep forever.
Brines and Pickles
Lemon and Lime Pickle
What makes this a good saviour of the fruit basket is that so often with baking you need more citrus zest than juice. I often end up with some sorry-looking limes and lemons in my basket. Zested lime and unwaxed thin-skinned lemons make brilliant Indian pickle, as the zest of the types of limes and lemons available in this country can be a bit too intense and make a bitter pickle. I like using Kashmiri chilli powder to get that deep red colour and a more rounded and sweet flavour, but you can use a bog standard one too. This is an excellent condiment with any curry, such as my Sri Lankan Beetroot and Coconut Curry or Tarka Dhal.
MAKES 1kg