Southwestern Style Fermented Nopales Kimchi

If you love kimchi like I love kimchi, you’ll agree that the spicy, funky flavors belong on more than just cabbage. Let’s shake it up a little with fermented nopales (cactus paddles), new Mexican red chilis, and a touch of Mexican oregano. I’ve heard it said to think of kimchi as a verb, because when treated right anything can be kimchi-ed. And while I’m not sure it actually applies to anything, these cactus paddles take kimching in stride with slightly sour, funky, garlicky, salty, and spicy kimchi goodness marrying the tender nopales.

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What are Nopales?

Nopales are the paddles of the prickly pear cactus (which also produces the prickly pear fruit!). They are very popular in Mexico, and can be found at Mexican grocery stores. If you live in the Southwestern US, you can also probably find them outside if you want to do a little foraging! I have no personal experience with foraging nopales, but you can check out this guide for a few pointers. The taste of nopales is often compared to green beans, green pepper, okra, and asparagus, with a hint of lemon. They can be eaten cooked or raw. Similarly to okra, when raw and unprocessed, nopales release a mucilaginous slime, that has a good amount of sour flavor. Fortunately, there are ways to get rid of the slime (read more about that a few paragraphs down). They also come covered in cactus spikes- again, we’ll tell you how to deal with those.

Nopales have the same mucilaginous quality okra has, which is a texture many people prefer to avoid. Plus, the outside of the paddles are covered with sharp spines- we are eating cactus after all. Be wary about where your putting your fingers, until we get those spikes off. Start by removing the outside edges of the nopal, giving yourself spike-free sides you can now safely handle. Now run your knife back and forth across the cactus top, so you remove all the spines. Repeat with the bottom side. And voila, we should now be free of those pesky needles.

If you are cooking your nopales, you can get rid of the slime by boiling them. But in this recipe we will be fermenting the raw cactus paddles, so we’ll be using an alternative method- salting. Sprinkling cut cactus with salt, and letting it sit for about 20 minutes draws the moisture out of the paddles. Make sure there is a sink or something underneath the cactus to catch your slime, because you can get an impressive amount of mucus flowing with just a little salt. It will take a few rinses under cool water to get rid of all the slime. And in case you were wondering, there’s nothing actually wrong with eating a little nopales slime, you just may not enjoy the texture.

Find Fun in Fermentation? Try one of these Fermentation Recipes!

• Fermented Spreadable Sweet Chestnut Cheese
• Spicy Stinging Nettle Kimchi Recipe
• Garlic Scape Fermented Hot Sauce
• How to Make Preserved Kumquats
• Garlicky Lacto-Fermented Snap Peas Snack

How to Make Nopales Kimchi

This recipe has two basic parts- dealing with the nopales and fermenting the kimchi. I did write a good bit about prepping your nopales a couple paragraphs up, so for this bit I’ll be focusing on making kimchi.

I know a lot of people find the idea of making fermented foods at home intimating, but relax. You’re just stepping to the side and letting microbes do their job, instead of trying to micro-manage everything. Pun intended. And it’s really not that scary, I promise! Here are a few tips from a previous post with regards to home fermentation safety:

1. Sterilize your jars- in order to make sure you’re not starting out with anything suspect, you can use hot water to sterilize your container. You can do this by running your jar through a dish washer, or by letting it sit in boiling water for around 10 minutes.
2. Don’t adjust a recipe! Adjusting the flavors and add ins a little is one thing, but don’t try and skimp or add to the salt, sugar, or acid in a recipe, especially the salt, as those ingredients are included strategically to encourage the microorganisms you want, and exclude any bad bacteria you don’t want.
3. Remember this catchy saying- “In brine, all fine. In air, beware”. Your vegetables should be fermenting in an anerobic environment. Covered in the kimchi brine they should be doing fine, but if they’re laying about naked and uncovered you may be inviting unwelcomed guests to the party.

You’re going to start by preparing your vegetables (including trimming and salting the nopales) and soaking dried chilis to soften them. Next make a paste with the soaked chilis as well as some carrots for sweetness, garlic, onion, miso, soy sauce, and a little Mexican oregano. This is the flavor profile you’re going to be fermenting the nopales in. Coat the vegetables in the paste, and pack it into a jar making sure not to leave gaps or air bubbles. I like to make sure to add a little extra of the paste on top of the jar, to protect my fermenting vegetables. Some people ferment kimchi for as little as a couple hours, or as long as about a week- for this particular batch, I ended my fermentation after about 3 days. Make sure to taste every day, since the heat and humidity of your environment, as well as your own personal tastes will dictate how long the kimchi should ferment. If you do end up finding mold or growth on your ferment, or it smells something other than pleasantly tangy please discard (this is unlikely- I’ve never had a ferment go bad on me- but you want to make sure to be safe). Once your kimchi is ready it can go into the fridge. And then eat it on everything- my partner ended up eating almost the whole jar by making frozen hash browns and topping them with a little vegan mayo and the fermented nopales kimchi. Not health food, perhaps, but deliciousness counts for a lot in our house.

Southwestern Style Fermented Nopales Kimchi

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