Week 7: 2/21 - 2/23 Update

This week I started my first batch of kombucha. I was a bit overwhelmed to start because I was afraid to accidentally give myself food poisoning. It was a bit overwhelming to start with giant gallon jars so I started small and learned how to brew a small batch of kombucha using a recipe from Bless This Mess Please (https://www.blessthismessplease.com/how-to-make-kombucha/). I made an even smaller batch than the recipe recommended, which was perfect for me because I didn’t want to make too much and be wasteful. Instead of a gallon size jar, I filled a 64 ounce mason jar with sweet tea, the starter tea, and the SCOBY and waited 7 days. I tried a little bit of the batch and was surprised that it wasn’t as sour as I thought it would be, it was pleasantly sweet and a bit tart. The baby SCOBY was also a lot smaller than I thought, so I just put the mother and baby together into the second batch I made. For the first batch, I cut up some frozen strawberries for the second ferment. I’m excited to see how it tastes in one week, and I’m excited to get better at it and start gifting my friends my homemade kombucha.

 

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Homemade kombucha: starting the second ferment.

Charles and I also did some hands on experimenting with dishes and concocted dish that encapsulated both Vietnamese and Korean traditional flavors. We made a steak dish with a tangy, fresh, savory sauce that has lime juice, cilantro, onions, fish sauce, and gochujang. It was delicious and we are planning to do more experimenting with various Korean side dishes (banchan) such as kimchi, acorn jelly, pickled cucumber, braised potatoes, etc. and incorporate Vietnamese and Chinese flavors into them. This website, The Banchan Cookbook (https://mykoreankitchen.com/the-banchan-cookbook/ ) has various recipes, and I am also planning to ask my mother for any recipes that she would like to share. As well as creating recipes, we plan to research different ingredients that are optimal for the snake and the dragon and incorporating them into the recipes. 

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Korean side dishes.

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Vietnamese-Korean fusion dish that we made

Pressey, Sue. “Korean Side Dishes (Banchan) Archives.” My Korean Kitchen, https://mykoreankitchen.com/category/side-dishes-banchan/. 

Melissa. “Easy Kombucha Recipe!” Bless This Mess, 13 July 2022, https://www.blessthismessplease.com/how-to-make-kombucha/.