From Our Kitchens: Make summer last longer with watermelon kimchi

The other day, veteran reporter Joe Kovac Jr. of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution bequeathed some fantastic watermelons to The Melody after returning from an assignment in Cordele, the self-proclaimed watermelon capital of the world.

Its deep green complexion was unlike anything I had seen from a fruit, the same goes for its rich pink interior. 

While the melon likely could’ve fed several people, I made good work by eating half the melon myself, mostly just eating it with a little seasoning here and there.

Half the melon was left when I thought of turning it into kimchi.

Summer’s fruit doesn’t last forever, but you can prolong its vitality through the powers of preservation. Recipes for pickled peaches or jarred tomato sauce or pineapple jam are abundant.

But with the closure of Kimchi Factory ringing the death knell of kimchi for an entire city, I decided to pay homage by cooking my own.

Kimchi is typically thought of as the spiced napa cabbage served at Korean restaurants. However kimchi can be thought of more as a technique than a singular dish.

The same fishy, fermented paste used on cabbage is applied to radishes, potatoes and even watermelon.

Kimchi is made or bought in large quantities and a diverse collection of kimchi and other small dishes, known as banchan, are enjoyed before Korean meals. 

This recipe is a copycat of the watermelon and peach kimchi I had at Roy Choi’s joint, Best Friend, in Vegas. The food there was really awesome and inspired.

Roy Choi is the chef behind Kogi, a Korean-inspired taco truck based out of Los Angeles, Choi’s hometown. He also helped Jon Favreau with culinary prep for the movie “Chef.”

I also have never made kimchi before, so I learned that you need to pre-salt the watermelon before adding the paste in order to draw water out so you’re not left with a big sloppy soup.

I also cannot guarantee this will be properly fermented, because traditionally kimchi is stuffed into pots in the ground to ferment, while this just went in my fridge. 

I freestyled the kimchi paste, but the non-negotiables are chili flakes, ginger, garlic and onion. 

Kimchi paste 

(makes about 1 cup, enough for half a watermelon)

Ingredients

• ¼ cup of korean chili flakes (gochugaru, found at Asian grocery stores or online)
• 4 cloves of garlic peeled
• A knob of ginger (about 1 tablespoon) peeled
• 1 teaspoon of oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds
• The whites of 3 scallions

Watermelon kimchi

Ingredients

• ½ a watermelon
• 1 cup of chili paste
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• Scallion greens slivered

Directions

Prepare the paste, add all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until pasty. Cut the watermelon into bite-sized chunks and salt. Let watermelon chunks sit for an hour. Drain excess water from the watermelon, rinse off excess salt. Add kimchi paste to watermelon chunks, mix until each piece is well-coated. Let kimchi rest for half an hour and enjoy.