Home-made Kimchi

How to Make Cabbage Kimchi

Makes 1 quart

What You Need

Ingredients
1 (2-pound) head napa cabbage
1/4 cup sea salt or kosher salt (see Recipe Notes)
Water (see Recipe Notes)
1 tablespoon grated garlic (about 5-6 cloves)
1 teaspoon grated ginger 
1 teaspoon sugar
2-3 tablespoons seafood flavor or water (optional, see Recipe Notes)
1-5 tablespoons Korean red pepper flakes (gochugaru)
8 ounces Korean radish or daikon, peeled and cut into matchsticks
4 scallions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

Equipment
Cutting board and knife 
Large bowl
Gloves (optional but highly recommended)
Plate and something to weigh the kimchi down, like a jar or can of beans
Colander
Small bowl
Clean 1-quart jar with canning lid or plastic lid 
Bowl or plate to place under jar during fermentation

Instructions

1. Cut the cabbage. Cut the cabbage lengthwise into quarters and remove the cores. Cut each quarter crosswise into 2-inch-wide strips. 
2. Salt the cabbage. Place the cabbage and salt in a large bowl. Using your hands (gloves optional), massage the salt into the cabbage until it starts to soften a bit, then add water to cover the cabbage. Put a plate on top and weigh it down with something heavy, like a jar or can of beans. Let stand for 1-2 hours. 
3. Rinse and drain the cabbage. Rinse the cabbage under cold water 3 times and drain in a colander for 15-20 minutes. Rinse and dry the bowl you used for salting, and set it aside to use in step 5. 
4. Make the paste. Meanwhile, combine the garlic, ginger, sugar, and seafood flavor (or 3 tablespoons water) in a small bowl and mix to form a smooth paste. Mix in the gochugaru, using 1 tablespoon for mild and up to 5 tablespoons for spicy (I like about 3 1/2 tablespoons). 
5. Combine the vegetables and paste. Gently squeeze any remaining water from the cabbage and return it to the bowl along with the radish, scallions, and seasoning paste. 
6. Mix thoroughly. Using your hands, gently work the paste into the vegetables until they are thoroughly coated. The gloves are optional here but highly recommended to protect your hands from stings, stains, and smells!
7. Pack the kimchi into the jar. Pack the kimchi into the jar, pressing down on it until the brine rises to cover the vegetables. Leave at least 1-inch of headspace. Seal the jar with te lid. 
8. Let it ferment. Let the jar stand at room temperature for 1-5 days. You may see bubbles inside the jar and brine may seep out of the lid; place a bowl or plate under the jar to help catch any overflow. 
9. Check it daily and refrigerate when ready. Check the kimchi once a day, pressing down on the vegetables with a clean finger or spoon to keep them submerged under the brine. (This also releases gases produced during fermentation.) Taste a little at this point, too! When the kimchi tastes ripe enough for your liking, transfer the jar to the refrigerator. You may eat it right away, but it's best after another week or two. 

Recipe Notes

• Salt: Use salt that is free of iodine and/or anti-caking agents, which can inhibit fermentation. 
• Water: Chlorinated water can inhibit fermentation, so use spring, distilled, or filtered water if you can. 
• Seafood flavor and vegetarian alternatives: Seafood gives kimchi an umami flavor. Different regions and families may use fish sauce, salted shrimp paste, oysters, and other seafood. Use about 2 tablespoons of fish sauce, salted shrimp paste, or a combination of the two. For vegetarian kimchi, I like using 3/4 teaspoon kelp powder mixed with 3 tablespoons water, or simply 3 tablespoons of water.

Stir fried potato and minced pork

In this recipe, russett potato is used as it is cheap, common, fragrant and fast cooking. If you do not take pork, feel free to substitute with chicken instead. 

The potato's natural starch content thickens the sauce as the stew is cooking, but if you prefer, you can also use cornstarch solution at the end to thicken the sauce.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 1/2 white onion sliced roughly
• 4 cloves garlic peeled and minced
• 80 grams minced pork marinade with 1/2 tsp light soy sauce, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp Chinese wine, 1/2 tbsp corn flour & white pepper.
• 1 russett potato peeled and sliced to 1/2 cm thickness
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp fish sauce if not using fish sauce, use a bit more light soy sauce or salt
• 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 cup frozen vegetables (carrot, corn, pea & long bean) thaw before use

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat oil in pan. Add onions and stir fry until they just start to soften. Add garlic and stir fry for 30 seconds.
   
2. Push onions and garlic to side of the wok, then add marinaded minced pork. Stir fry pork until semi-cooked, breaking the meat to smaller bits with your spatula while doing so.
   
3. Add potato slices and stir fry for two minutes. Add water, fish sauce, soy sauces and sesame oil. Stir to coat everything evenly in the sauce, then cover with lid and simmer for 10 minutes, adding the thawed vegetables half way through cooking time. Add hot water any time the simmering sauce runs dry. Season to taste before serving.

DIY projector

Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2, 3

Slide projectors are great but outdated. And digital projectors cost a bundle. What’s a photographer to do when they’re looking for a bigger picture?

We’ll show you how to turn your phone into a photo projector for just $1.

Yep, for a buck you can have Instagram on overdrive and Flickr living large.

The project is so easy, you might even have time to sneak in a cat video or two.

Make a DIY Projector for $1

Why it’s Cool:

A phone based projector is a great way to show off your mobile photos and your phone hack savvy.

Just picture laying in bed browsing your feed or watching a movie on a ginormous screen.

A projector provides a new way of looking at your shots, and for $1, who can afford not to try this project?

The Ingredients:

• Shoebox
• Paperclip
• Smartphone
• Magnifying glass (get it for $1 at Dollar Tree), or a large aperture lens
• X-acto knife or similar
• Electrical or black duct tape

Optional:

• Matte black spray paint or black paper

 

Step 1: Trace a Hole on the Box

A shoebox or similar will work great for your new projector.

If the inside walls of your box are a bright color, you may want to spray paint them black or tape up some black paper for best image quality.

Once your box is ready, trace the outer edge of your lens or magnifying glass onto one of the short sides of the box.

Step 2: Cut a Hole in That Box

Cut out the inside of the circle you just traced.

You don’t want light leaking around your lens so try not to cut too much.

At the back of your box, cut a small hole for your phone’s power cord.

Step 3: Attach Your Lens

Now you’ve got a porthole cut in your shoebox its time to stick on that lens.

If your magnifying glass has a handle, you may want to remove it first.

Line up your lens with the hole and apply tape around the entire edge of your lens.

Make sure your lens is held securely and there are no holes between the tape for light to escape.

Step 4: Take a Stand

We used this very helpful tutorial to make a stand for our phone out of a paper clip.

Other stand ideas include this ultra-portableTiltpod, this hand dandy Gorillapod, or this super creative lego stand from this cool tutorial.

Step 5: Flip Your Screen

When light passes though a lens (includingthe lenses in your eyes), it gets flipped, which means the picture from your projector will come out upsidown.

No fear though, we have a fix!

For the iPhone go to Settings > General > Accessibility and turn on AssistiveTouch.

Once activated, a little white orb will pop that you can drag around the screen.

Click on the orb and go to Device > Rotate Screen.

This will allow you to flip applications like the Photos app which would normally rotate itself right side up.

Andriod users can download the appUltimate Rotation Control.

Or if all else fails you can just stand on your head.

Step 6: Finding Focus

If your walls are plastered with pics you will need to clear out a little space for your projection.

For a screen you could use a white bed sheet, turn a poster around, project onto a shower or window curtain, or just use the bare wall.

Without a focus ring on your magnifying glass you’re going to have to foot focus.

Position your phone in its stand near the back of the box and walk forwards or backwards until your image starts to come into focus.

Once you’ve found a good range you can fine tune focus by moving your phone forwards or backwards in the box.

If you used a camera lens for your projector, you get the bonus of a focus ring that gives you some extra flexibility in terms of screen size and focus distance.

Step 7: Don’t Fight the Light

It’s not the power of your projector. It’s how you use it!

For best viewing, turn the screen brightness of your phone all the way up and turn the room lights down.

Set your phone’s photo app to slide show mode for a hands free experience.

Your power cord can go through the hole you cut in the back of the box and a little tape will seal the deal.

Taking it Further

• Use your magnifying glass to get an up-close perspective on your phones pixels.
• Try using your computer screen instead of your phone as the display in a new projector project.
• Check out this crazy sophisticated DIY digital projector that can create a 120″ HD screen!
• This mini film projector fits in the palm of your hand and was made from an Altoids tin!
• Leave it to the Japanese to do something this awesome with a projector. Hint: Samurai swords, shadow battles.

Thanks to MattBothell for inspiring our project!

Pineapple rice

Ingredients:
2 cups of rice, cooked and kept cool
250 grams small shrimps, peeled (fresh or frozen will do)
200 grams chicken breast/ fillet, diced and seasoned with some oyster sauce and white pepper
6 crabsticks, diced (and/ or diced ham, if preferred)
½ portion of pineapple fruit, diced
2 tablespoons of black/ golden raisins, soaked in water for 10 minutes
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 – 3 eggs

Sauce/ Condiments:
3 tablespoons of freshly squeezed pineapple juice 
2 tablespoons of turmeric powder
2 tablespoons of Thai fish sauce
1 teaspoon of salt
Dash of white pepper

3 tablespoons of cooking oil
1 tablespoon of butter (Optional)

Garnishing:
2 tablespoons of pork floss
1 tablespoon of cashew nuts, roasted
Some chopped corriander and red chilis

Methods
1) Break and beat 1 egg in a small bowl. Drizzle the beaten egg into cold rice and mix well. May also mix in 1 tablespoon of butter for better aromas. Set aside.

2) Heat wok with 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat, add the garlic and stir fry till golden brown. Add onion, and then, the diced chicken, crabsticks (or/ and ham) and shrimps.

3) Reduce heat to medium-low fire. Add in rice, raisins and pineapples. Then, add in turmeric power and pineapple juice. Stir fry to combine. Add salt and pepper. Drizzle fish sauce. Stir fry to combine all well.

4) Scrape the fried rice to a side further from you to create some space in the wok. Tilt the wok a little towards you. Add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, increase heat. Break 1 – 2 eggs in the heated oil and scramble with spatula. Let the eggs cook till almost set before returning the fried rice on the eggs. Reduce heat and quick stir to mix up the rice and eggs. Heat off and dish up. Garnish and serve while warm.

Inspiring quotes