Kail Learning Day (HBK) : Homemade Fermentation: Kombucha and Kimchi

By: Perswina Alaili 

Opening, by Melly Amalia (KAIL) and Dhila Baharuddin (Tepian Collective)

KAIL (Kuncup Padang Ilalang) held Kail Learning Day (KLD) on Sunday, March 6 Maret, 2016, with theme of Homemade Fermentation: Kombucha and Kimchi, with Dhila Baharudin (Tepian Collective) as resource person.

The weather at the time was cloudy, a little drizzle and windy. Participants started gathering at 09:00 and the event started around 10:00. The participants were divided into three groups. Participants KLD this time consisted of children ages 9 years and the mothers/housewives. Dhila opened the event with a history-making kimchi in Korea.

Making Kimchi

Kimchi is a vegetable with a mixture of various spices preserved by fermentation methods. It is usually consumed as a side dish, can be consumed directly or can be cooked into soups, as sautéed greens, and others. Kimchi is generally made of a type of vegetable chicory, but in its native it is made from various kinds of vegetables that available locally. It can be stored for a long time and is useful to meet their daily food needs.

Fermented kimchi is done by using biological agents such as bacteria to decompose various substances in foods to be more easily digested by the body. The event of making kimchi together called "kimjan" and can be done in spare time while hanging out with family.

Dhila explained about ingredients needed to make kimchi (left and right) 

Kimchi is typically made from various types of vegetables, but the most popular is of cabbage, carrots, and cucumber. In Korea, the whole kimchi is sliced before being presented as complementary foods (side dish) at the dinner table. It can also be cooked again as a mixture of sautéed beef, chicken, pork, and other vegetables, or even made as flavored spicy and sour soup. Eating kimchi can nourish the digestive tract since we consume good bacteria when eating kimchi. Fibers and nutrient contents in vegetables are also more easily digested by the body because it has been through the process of fermentation by bacteria. Kimchi can also be sprinkled with sesame seeds to add delicacy. In addition to soup and vegetables, kimchi can be made into pancake mix, fried rice, or kimbap (rice rolls Korean style)

The materials and equipment needed has been provided on the tables (see pictures above). They include chicory, carrots, cucumber and spices that are needed such as chives, celery, garlic, ginger, onions, and soy sauce.

At the workshop, participants stored kimchi sheets in plastic food boxes. These sheets are arranged stacked in the solid state. Kimchi can be directly consumed or saved. In 2 days, the sealed boxes are to be inflated so you need to be careful when creating and storing kimchi that you have made.

Making Kombucha

Furthermore, Dhila also has prepared materials for making kombucha tea. Kombucha is a drink that contains very little alcohol. This drink is also made by fermentation. Biological agents used are colonies of bacteria and fungus called SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) shaped in the form of sheets, similar to Nata de Coco. Scoby is a mixture of bacteria Acetobacter with yeast that is generally the species Brettanomyces bruxellensis, Candida stellata, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Torulaspora delbrueckii, and Zygosaccharomyces bailii.

The principle of making kombucha is to make sugar solution, give enough Scoby seeds and fermented for more than 7 days. Yeast will change nutrients and sugar into alcohol (very small quantities). The bacteria will break down the bonds of sugars and nutrients contained in the solution so it is more easily digested by the body. This is the reason why kombucha is safe for consumption by diabetics, as glucose or fructose has been converted into a type of sugar that is easily digested by the body.

Dhila explained components needed to make kombucha (upper),
Scoby seeds (middle) and tea mixed with sugar (lower)

Kombucha can also be used as vinegar by way of keeping it longer until it reaches high acidity. This vinegar can be used for cooking and also for cleaning agent. In addition to kombucha and vinegar, if you like sour candies or pickles, you can also soak the fruits (or other ingredients such as orange peel, ginger pieces, etc.) that you like in a solution of kombucha. Then, they can be consumed and served with sugar so they taste sweeter.

Kail Learning Day was closed with a lunch with menu kimchi and vegetables that have been made by previous participants. Although quite short with very affordable/cheap registration fee, participants get a lot of benefits in the form of knowledge and happiness to share with other participants. See you at the next edition of KAIL Learning Day!