To clarify: once you have some Kim Chee bubbling away, you can use a little of that juice to start a new batch/culture, provided it’s reasonably fresh. After some weeks (4-5?), the sourness climbs and the Lactic acid bacteria viability drops. If you’re starting from scratch, it often helps to buy a small commercial jar of Kim Chee and add a couple tablespoons of that juice to your new culture, if the commercial Kim Chee hasn’t been sitting around for ages. Adding a starter is especially important for me when I’ve got big batches, 9 lbs of ingredients or more. the ferment goes faster and more predictably. Usually, in 2-4 days, it’s ready to be transferred to the fridge.
As to complexity of flavor: no, it just gets the good bacteria overwhelming the culture. For complexity, you can add seaweed strips, garlic chives, green onion, Gochujang (very important), different Brassicas, like Wrapped-Heart Mustard= Kekkyu Takana, smooth radish leaves=Hong Vit or Shunkyo. I once used some Katsuobushi shavings and that was excellent, if you don’t mind the fishy, smoky highlights. This was imported from Japan-whole, authentic Katsuobushi. That’s what I use for Dashi, and it’s good in Kim Chee. Fish sauces really affect flavors, too (if you use them). I like Red Boat. By adding lots of ginger and Gochujang, the fishy flavors get muted, diffused. If you omit the fish sauce, you lose the umami punch in flavor. A substitute could be Tianjin Preserved vegetable, comes semi dried in little ceramic urns. Usually used in soups, it is a dried fermented cabbage product that picks up umami components in the drying process. It’s really salty, so use sparingly. That would be a vegan alternative.
Hope this helps!
