If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll have noticed I’m on a roll with Kimchi recently. I made a rhubarb, ginger, orange kimchi that should really have its own post. (Psst.. it will…)

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, it’s also that time of year again. We must say goodbye to the glorious colors of our summer vegetables and make room for the deep greens, browns and whites of fall and winter.

If you’re like me, when you get the itch to plant something new, you probably need to pull out something that still bears unripe produce. Tomatoes are one of the biggest culprits for me.

Today I pulled out 5 Roma tomato plants and ended up with a basket full of green and light red tomatoes.

Now, there are lots of things you can do with a green tomato:

1. Fried green tomatoes
2. Green tomato chutney
3. Fermented green tomatoes aka green tomato pickles
4. Green tomato chow-chow
5. Google…

I’ve done all of these before. Some are great…some alright…some are better with tomato’s other than these Roma’s I have here.

So I thought…green tomato kimchi. That could be a thing. And here it is!

I’m a big proponent of the idea that fermentation, more so than any other activity in the kitchen, is an unpredictable and powerfully flexible activity. The same recipe will NEVER yield the same results twice, so why try?

For this reason I will share pictures and general methods I used, but recipes….bah! Have fun with it!

If you’re new to this whole fermenting thing I’ve started a page outlining the basic things you probably want to know.

Green Tomato Kimchi

Stuff

Salt (non-iodized)

Green and slightly red tomatoes chopped into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces, a bushel or a peck or some such

A bunch of green onion chopped into 1 inch sections

A couple bunches of radish, grated (I chose something with some bite rather than a typical daikon)

Ginger in matchsticks

Fish sauce, about 2/3 cup

Garlic, 4 to 5 cloves, minced

Korean pepper powder – fine grind

Process

Decide what music to listen to. I chose Fleetwood Mac but anything will do.

Decide what you will drink while you prepare the ‘recipe’. I went with a Kinahan’s single malt Irish whisky because it was that kind of day.

Coat the chopped tomatoes in salt and place in a large collander. Wait 2 hours. Rinse well and let the water released by the tomatoes run off.

Pour yourself another drink, because it is now 2 hours later. Sorry you should have read ahead.

Combine all of the ingredients into a bowl, along with another tbsp of salt, mix well and firmly with your hands (gloves recommended).

Pack into large 2l mason jars very firmly and screw on an airlock lid of some variety. These aren’t absolutely necessary, but are a big improvement. Watch the Fermentation Basics page for tips and equipment ideas.

Wait 3 or more days, tasting each day until you’re happy. Unless you are stupidly easy to satisfy – which would beg the question “why are you making kimchi?” In that case, ask a picky person to check. I know several if you want to borrow one.

Last but not least, find some friends who like kimchi because you probably made too much.

Kamsamnida!