Ode to Kimchi

I may have been Korean in a former life. I LOVE kimchi. It's one of my favorite foods. 

As with all my favorite foods I am trying to make it myself.  Thanks to Momofuku and David Chang I had a recipe to start with. 

But.....

In the book Momofuku, Korean chili powder is called "kochukaru".....I found no such thing at my local Korean market. What I did find is the following: Gochujang, Gochitgaru, and Gochugaru.  

I figured it out...after standing in the spice aisle for about 30mins. Ugh. (P.S. go with Gochugaru)

 

So, now I have a VERY smelly container of fermenting cabbage in my fridge. It's been about a week and I have about a week to go. 

In the meantime my new task is to find some thing to eat with it. Korean BBQ party anyone?

**Update: I wouldn't call it a failure, just a very smelly adventure. I have learned that I am a fan of white kimchi, not red. Red is very sweet and spicy and not very pickled.

Also, everyone was scared of it and wouldn't eat it. So, I ate some then threw the rest away with a heavy heart. Sigh.