I have tried making kimchi with the Napa (Chinese) cabbage, and I thought it was a flimsy character, but i found a sauerkraut recipe on youtube that used Napa cabbage, shredded carrots, and Serrano peppers; so I decided to try making some. It is more colorful than plain sauerkraut and should have a little kind of a kimchi kick from the carrots and spicy green peppers. It says start tasting in 3 days, but he lets his go for 1-2 weeks. I definitely want to keep adding more probiotics and fermented foods into my diet. Here is the website with the recipe and instructions. It is called “easiest sauerkraut recipe, with a kick of spice”. https://www.logansinnerchef.com/
That's an interesting website. And the idea of eating a cold or room-temp kimchi somehow appeals to me more than eating unheated sauerkraut. I guess it's just what I've become accustomed to, since there's really little difference. Do you own a muddle, @Yvonne Smith? I have pie weights that would keep things submerged if I put them in a Ziploc bag. And from reading that recipe, it seems that it ferments without a lid on it...he covered the top with a coffee filter to prevent things from falling in. I guess it has to out-gas.
I have the little round glass weights that I use, and I have a deep bowl with a plastic muddle that i got a few years ago from the Korean store down the road. I actually like sauerkraut better cold than cooked, but Bobby likes it hot, so I usually make it with potatoes and polish sausage when I cook it. I am thinking that just a bowl of plain rice and some fresh sauerkraut would be similar to having it with a dish of kimchi. I am trying really hard to like kimchi because I know how healthy it is, but I still prefer sauerkraut. As you can see in my picture, I have the little fermenting cap lid which lets out gas. I put the jar in a small bowl in case some of the brine comes out, too.
Today, I made a small loaf of oatmeal/kefir bread and had some of my sauerkraut with it, and it was pretty good. It has an interesting flavor, not quite like regular cabbage kraut, and a little like kimchi, but without all of the hot pepper, garlic and ginger that i don’t like in the regular kimchi. I decided that it was fermented anough for me; so it is now in the refrigerator. It came out a little too salty, so i may rinse it the next time I have some.