Friday, March 9, 2018

Kimchi Corned Beef – Adding Some Seoul to St. Patrick’s Day

I’ve always loved St. Patrick’s Day, since apparently that’s the only day of the year I get to eat corned beef and cabbage. Besides the copious amounts of salt, nitrates, and fat, I have no idea way we’re not eating this stuff a couple times a week. Anyway, because this is usually an annual thing, most folks make it the same way, year after year, but that’s never been my M.O. I like to think of ways to creatively tweak the recipe, so that while I’m enjoying my new creation, I can think about how much I’d wished I just boiled it in water, with that little packet. 

What I’m trying to say is, not every attempt has been a homerun. Or whatever a homerun in Irish hurling is. This, however, was a success. The spicy, fermented cabbage, added a lot of extra savoriness, and not only to the meat, but even more so to the vegetables.  The potatoes especially soaked up a surprising amount of flavor, and may have been my favorite part of the whole dish.

I used a corned beef made from the round, instead of the traditional brisket, which worked out much better than I thought it would. If you do decide to go this lower fat option, be sure not to cook it too long. The fork should pierce the meat without too much force, but we do not want to meat falling apart, as it will become dry and chalky. Chances are you’re going to use a brisket anyway, which is much more forgiving, but something to keep in mind if you do go with the round. Either way, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 6 portions:
1 ready to cook corned beef (mine was about 3 1/2 pounds)
4 cups kimchi, not drained
1 cup cold water or as needed
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
3 large carrots, cut in large chunks
2 ribs celery, cut in large chunks
green onions to garnish

21 comments:

Granny said...

For the past three days, I've been making food from your site. We've been in Heaven. Truly. Thank you. With a little trepidation, I'm going to try this one. How exciting!

Sullivanspapa said...

Hello Chef John,
Your work has made into a Foodie and my wife and family are pleased with my "hobby"!
My FoodWish is a dish called Jerusalem Chicken not the Baked but the Pan version.
Anyway I as well as many others do Enjoy your work!

Unknown said...

Do you think a "slow cooker" set to high would work here?

Mama4Christ said...

This is a little off topic, but when you mentioned about the potatoes being so flavorful, it reminded me of another YT'er I watch - Mike Chen, Strictly Dumpling, who says he orders potatoes with his hot pot because they soak up so much flavor. I love watching your videos. My 12 year old son says your voice is the "friendliest, most generic voice" he's ever heard. I think it's a compliment. Thanks for the videos!

Brigade Fifteen said...

Your website produces messages saying “website certificate configured incorrectly,” or something of that sort. You should probably look into fixing this, because it will deter some people from visiting your Foodwishes blog.

Giby said...

Thank you. I did need a new corned beef and I didn't know it! will do.

Me said...

Make lebanese sfiha!!

Glauco said...

Chef John, can you post a video someday on a easy to make kimchi. If possible with simular ingredients (or at least the minimum mandatory ingredients).

Also, been wanting to ask you if you could post someday one of my favorite cookies recipe: the dutch Speculas (speculoos). I really want to make them at home.

Unknown said...

Could you please create catergories for Crock Pot/Slow Cooker recipes and also another for quick/weeknight recipes? Pretty Please!

beemo said...

I bought my first ever corned-beef-brisket piece and as soon as I buy some more kimchi I will do this.

Food wish: How about trying to make your own Parmesan? It looks about as hard as genuine sourdough bread, but the aging period is minimum 8 months =)

Kimchi recipe: I have made my own kimchi several times using the instructions of a Korean lady who calls herself Maangchi ('hammer' -- it's a long story.) The results compared favorably with various decent kimchi I had while living for 3 years in Korea. Perhaps we shouldn't put links here so just google for Maangchi kimchi and you will find her. For beginners I suggest the 'easy-to-make kimchi' also known as Mak Kimchi or Mat Kimchi; the classic upper-level version is 'Napa cabbage kimchi' or Tongbaechu kimchi, which is more laborious. Watch all her kimchi videos and you will rapidly see which one suits you. It is best to get a real kimchi pot, they come in various sizes and are not terribly expensive, you can make other things in them too and they last a lifetime, and are attractive to boot.

Unknown said...

How would I adapt this to a pressure cooker?

CaseyRocky said...

I could only find pre-cooked canned brazilian corned beef in my supermarket. Upside was i was eating in 30 minutes. And the beef crumbled in the moisture making for a delicious ‘cabbage carnage’. Plus i didn’t have those flora and fauna particles to scoop out. I picked up the fumble of my cabbage crumble.

Chris K. said...

If you want to make this dish more Korean, you could add some fermented shrimp paste and sore gojujiang, which is a hot pepper paste.

If you want to make this dish more Irish you could throw a filled bowl at your drunken father's head and pronounce how you refuse to join the priesthood.

Chris K. said...

Also: leftover kimchi corned beef sandwiches. Mmmmm.

DaveSetton said...

I've been doing corned beef in my sous-vide...I really love it. The idea of kimchi is interesting and I'm going to have to try it.

Love your site!

Bigpow said...

Chef John,

I started watching your videos starting from this one very video.
I was ill and while laying down surfing youtube, ended up with this video.

Your voice, even though weird at first, or so I thought is very soothing.
Comforting.
I've watched dozens of your videos.
Really enjoy them. A lot.

Personally, I enjoy cooking, very much.
Probably more than eating, if that's even possible.

Your videos allow me to learn a lot of new techniques.
I appreciate your efforts in making these videos.
It's obvious, it's a labor of love.

I always dream of studying culinary.
But life events dictate another way. Or so I'd like to believe.
Perhaps I'm just not a chef material.

I used to have someone to cook for, besides myself.
Now I just cook for myself.
Do you have any suggestions for me, how I can continue to cook for others?
And therefore, improve my home-cooking skills?

Thank you, Chef.
I'm a subscriber and I've told all my friends to subscribe to your channel.


Unknown said...

If you want to include the spice packet (and maybe add a few whole spices of your own) but don't want a mouth full of mustard seeds, you could put them in a tea infuser. It would work just like a bouquet garni but you wouldn't have to go out and buy cheesecloth.

Patrick Chadd said...

Chef John, I am making this as I type - although I threw mine in the Instant Pot...can't wait!!!!

Patrick Chadd said...

I made this tonight and it was OUTSTANDING! Definitely use the Corned Beef Round (found mine at BJ's) and I used an Instant Pot so it was ready in 50 minutes.

Unknown said...

This was too salty for us.

beemo said...

This is fantastic, it turned out marvellously. Plus the other day according to more of your great instructions I made Spring Rolls with some small-sized rice paper I found lying around. After the tenth one I had the technique down very well and it ended up a real feast.