Summer Peach (Yeolmu) Kimchi

Four months ago, my dad and I binged When Life Gives You Tangerines (which we wept through together episode after episode) and at the end of it all, he said to me, “When you weigh life’s happy moments vs the sad ones…the anxious ones, the worrying ones — the sad ones outweigh the happy ones by far. That’s life. That’s why you have to live life and really savor the good moments when they come.”

I’ve been thinking about what he said ever since. Part of me was tempted to reason with him, to convince him otherwise, to chime in on the value of perspective and “making the choice” to see the glass half full. But my dad is ever the optimist. And for him to say such a thing, I knew better than to open my mouth and disagree. So instead, I wrote it down in a draft email to myself and have been pondering it every few days when it un-snoozes back to the top of my inbox.

Even though I probably need to live a couple more decades to really wrap my arms around the breadth of what he’s saying, I’ve already begun to heed his advice b/c right now is definitely one of those moments for me when life feels really good. So much celebration in the recent past, so many exciting ventures ahead in the near future. Things aren’t perfect but I have my health, my parents, my friends, a deepening community here in SF.

So I guess this recipe is a way to embody this resolve to soak in the good times. Make them last. Since good things don’t last forever, I’m finding the best way to savor the best fruit of summer — juicy sweet nectarines or peaches or apricots or whatever you still have — fermented in one of my all-time favorite kimchi of all time — classic summer kimchi — and to make it last.

Summer Yeolmu Kimchi with Nectarine (1 large jar’s worth):

2 lbs young radish

2 TBSP coarse sea salt

1/2 cup buckwheat flour (or all-purpose flour)

3 Jimmy Nardello red peppers (not spicy!)

1 white onion

3 cloves garlic

1/3 cup fish sauce

3-4 peach, nectarine, apricot, whatever stone fruit you like (mixing and matching OK too!)

1/3 cup gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)

1 TBSP kosher salt

1 TBSP sesame seeds

Step 1. Wash the radish bunches several times to remove all dirt. Using a paring knife, scrape the dirt from the small white radish root. Roughly cut into 3-4 inch pieces, rinse and set aside. In a large bowl, combine 3 cups water and 2 TBSP coarse sea salt. Add the radish greens and let it sit for at least 1 hour to brine (up to 3 hours, no problem). Drain and rinse in fresh water a couple times and then set aside to drain in a colander.

Step 2. While the greens are brining, combine buckwheat flour and 2 cups of water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then simmer, whisking gently as it bubbles until the mixture is thick. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. You can also use all-purpose flour instead but the buckwheat flour will have better flavor.

Step 3. Prep vegetables and fruit. Slice the red peppers into thin julienne strips. Cut the white onion into thin slices. Mince the garlic. In a food processor or blender, purée the fruit with a splash of water and a sprinkle of sugar if needed. If your fruit is very ripe, skip the sugar. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of the flour slurry, 2 cups worth of fruit purée, fish sauce, red pepper flakes, garlic, veggies, salt, and sesame seeds. Mix to combine and taste to adjust.

Step 4. Store in a large, airtight container and leave at room temperature for 24 hours to kickstart the fermentation process. After that, store in the fridge to continue fermenting for at least two weeks. Enjoy mixed into a bowl of rice with 1 TBSP gochujang, 1 tsp doenjang, and a splash of sesame oil and sesame seeds for a quick, savory meal! You can also enjoy with thin wheat noodles with 1 TBSP gochujang, 1 TBSP sugar, and a drizzle of sesame oil and sesame seeds.