Fermented Dandelion or Prickly Lettuce Kimchi

5 from 3 votes

A tangy, spicy, lacto-fermented kimchi recipe using dandelion, sow thistle, prickly lettuce shoots or leaves.

Prep Time10

Fermentation time7

Total Time7 10

Course: Appetizer, Condiment

Cuisine: American, Korean

Keyword: dandelion kimchi recipe, wild lettuce recipe

Servings: Servings

Calories: 28kcal

Cost: 2

½ cup water
1 tablespoon maple syrup or equivalent
3 tablespoons fish sauce preferably Red Boat Brand
1 tablespoon white rice flour or grind white rice as finely as possible in a coffee grinder
¼ cup Korean gochugaru chili flakes (coarse) 30 grams or roughly 1 ounce, or more to taste
3 large cloves garlic minced or grated
1 inch cube fresh ginger root minced or grated

Blanch the dandelion or wild lettuce greens for 30 seconds in unseasoned boiling water. You could also lightly steam the greens.
Drain the greens, spread on a tray to cool, then mix with the salt and rest for 30 minutes.
Rinse the greens well with fresh water and squeeze them dry.

Bring the water, maple syrup and fish sauce to a simmer with the rice flour until thickened, then cool to room temperature.
Add the grated or minced garlic and ginger.
Mix the cooked greens, green onions and chili mixture together well. Taste the mixture for spiciness. Add more chili flakes if you want.
At this point sometimes I add a handful of herbs like cilantro or culantro.
Pack the kimchi into a jar, pressing it down to cover with the liquid and screw on the lid.

Leave the kimchi out at room temperature for at least a week or two, When it's sour to your liking, refrigerate it. *See note
The kimchi will for a very long time-years if you want, and will continue to get more sour in the fridge. Remember to press the greens under their liquid and stir the jar occasionally.

I may leave my kimchi out for a month or more to ferment if I want it very sour. I've even forgotten about jars in my garage for multiple years which were still perfectly fine to eat.
This will make a mildly spicy kimchi. Feel free to add your favorite hot or dried peppers to increase the heat, or just add more gochugaru chili flakes.