Kimchee Base – Kimchi Spice Paste

Japan is crazy about Korean food, and this ‘kimchee base’ brings the distinctive hot-sour Korean kimchi flavours to any dish you cook. The richly spiced red purée is a blend of chilli pepper, fruits and fermented vegetables – just like a classic kimchi recipe, but without the large crunchy leaves of napa cabbage. Plus of course a little bonito and squid extract to add that extra touch of umami.

Either add the kimchee base as a sauce when stir frying meat or noodles, toss through cold vegetables to make a delicately spiced salad. Also use instead of kimchi juice when making tofu jiggae, a spicy Korean tofu-based stew.

A few recipe ideas below:

• Stir-fried kimchi pork – fry pork mince in cooking oil, stir in kimchee base and finely sliced spring onions. Serve with white rice, and a drizzle of sesame oil.
• Spicy cucumber salad – finely slice cucumber and toss in little kimchee base along with spring onion.
• This is a great example of Japanese fusion comfort cooking: Cabbage, processed cheese & egg with kimchi! Slice a small Chinese cabbage and stir fry for a couple of minutes. Add a slice of processed cheese cut into 1cm squares a lightly beaten egg. Stir until the egg is lightly set.  Drizzle over the kimchee base to taste.

Ingredients: Water, salt, garlic, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, apple , flavour enhancer (E621), spirit vinegar, mandarin orange, chilli pepper, fermented vegetables (shallot, chinese  cabbage, salt, acetic acid E260), bonito extract (fish), squid extract (mollusc), hydrolyzed soy protein (soya), dried bonito (fish), acid (E330), ginger, kelp, stabilizer (E415), flaour (disodium succinate), colour (E160c).