Fermented foods, how do I eat them?

May 9, 2019 6:23 AM

I was just thinking the other day that I like the taste of fermented foods but generally don't eat them because I don't know how to use them in dishes and there's a limit to how much sauerkraut you can fork into your gob. What fermented foods do you like and how do you incorporate them in dishes/with other foods?
posted by Frowner to Food & Drink (50 answers total)

Any Eastern European / Russian grocery shops where you are? They usually have a much broader selection of pickled veg than you might be used to. I especially like the pickled salads and small pickled squashes as an accompaniment to other dishes.
posted by Middlemarch at 6:34 AM on May 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

I visited Germany for work once, and they served sauerkraut as basically your vegetable side dish, right next to the giant potato ball, with most meals.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 6:38 AM on May 9, 2019 [2 favorites]

Excellent question! I have an array of fermented preparations in my fridge:

- mango/lime pickle for when I have indian food
- curtido for tacos or pupusas
- escabeche for nachos or quesadillas

Current favorite is a very mild short-fermented sauerkraut with cabbage, carrots and turmeric. I grated the ingredients so it’s very fine; I eat it over my usual rice & veg but could also just put it in any salad - just adds crunch and color. It’s inspired by the delicious Donald Chump Kraut (I just skipped the horseradish).

Just a heads up, store-bought pickles will usually be vinegar pickled - still delicious but lacking the full health benefits of lactofermented food. Same with the sauerkraut you buy for cooking in Germany - it’s usually not fermented but vinegar-preserved. I prefer to make my own.
posted by The Toad at 6:40 AM on May 9, 2019 [5 favorites]

Kimchee is delicious (also easy to make). It's great eaten as a side dish to pretty much any Asian style food you can think of. Stir it through a bowl of good rice for a lovely quick lunch. In soups & stews & most delicious as a pancake ingredient. If spicy isn't your thing you can make it to your taste.
posted by wwax at 6:43 AM on May 9, 2019 [14 favorites]

Depending on your taste for & tolerance of spicy, there's kimchi (simplifying greatly, I am sure, Korean pickled cabbage), and Mexican pickled carrots (which I linked to a recipe, but I can always find premade jars in groceries that specialize in LatinX food.)

I just eat 'em straight as a side dish.
posted by soundguy99 at 6:44 AM on May 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

Yes, kimchee! And this one is usually easy to find in a lactofermented (not just pickled) version.
posted by The Toad at 6:45 AM on May 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

I love a fork of sauerkraut or pickled veg on the side of my plate or in my sandwich or thrown on to my salad or scrambled eggs - like a condiment or sauce or flavorful garnish. Eating a spoonful more frequently is going to be more beneficial that eating a large amount rarely.
posted by RoadScholar at 6:45 AM on May 9, 2019

People make and use chow chow all kinds of ways in the Southern US, but I like to just eat it straight. It’s especially good as a side dish to fried or heavy foods—just don’t chop it up too fine and you can eat it the way you would cole slaw.
posted by sallybrown at 6:51 AM on May 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

I can't believe nobody has mentioned yogurt! You can make it at home, even the fancy strained yogurt.

Tempeh is soybeans fermented into a solid cake. You can stir-fry it or braise it anywhere you'd use extra-firm tofu. I've never put it into a soup, but I've heard of people doing that too.

Fish sauce tastes very similar to soy sauce (salty and savory). It will smell much fishier, but as long as you add it in soy-sauce scale quantities a minute or two before you turn off the heat, there won't be a fishy flavor.

Black bean garlic sauce and hoisin sauce go well into just about any stir-fry, as well as Peking roast duck, stir-fried noodle or rice cake dishes, and steamed or stir-fried vegetables such as rape, green beans, or broccoli.

Miso paste is good for any soup, not just the classic miso soup.

If you're a bit more adventurous, you can try the famous Shanghai stinky tofu, which like fish sauce has a bit of a smell but tastes just fine. Try pan-frying it, or spreading it on bread or rice porridge. Other places have their own varieties of stinky tofu, which will taste quite different.

Also in the more adventurous category is natto. Some people object to the mucilaginous texture. You usually mix it into rice.

Note that many traditionally fermented products are now also manufactured with brining or with shorter fermentation periods. If you're eating these as probiotics, you may want to get the traditional versions.
posted by meaty shoe puppet at 6:55 AM on May 9, 2019 [5 favorites]

I ferment chiles for hot sauce. If you blenderize them whole, brine and chiles and all, and add some emulsifier (I used xanthan gum, which Bob's Red Mill sells) you get something with the texture of sriracha or sambal oelek but a tangier flavor. If you skip the emulsifier and strain out the solids after blenderizing, you get something in the neighborhood of Tabasco. Both are good as table condiments or as ingredients.
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:59 AM on May 9, 2019 [2 favorites]

Kimchi jjigae, which is kimchi pork stew.

Fatty pork and lard melted into a lot of umami flavours (which is what most fermented food has). Great for a cold winter day or just about any day.

This recipe for kimchi jjigae is an easier one. Basically, put tofu, pork and kimchi in pot. Boil.
posted by moiraine at 7:00 AM on May 9, 2019 [5 favorites]

My favourite side salad includes sauerkraut, grated apple and onion chopped very finely (or processed in a food processor), with olive oil and optional cumin seeds. Give it an hour to blend in the fridge before eating.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 7:02 AM on May 9, 2019 [2 favorites]

The All Purpose Hungarian Recipe has advice on using sauerkraut as a stew ingredient rather than a side dish. (It's basically Hungarian kimchi jjigae, actually.) The gist of it is "rinse it at least a bit, and cook it at least a bit, before adding it to the meat and other veg." That gets you nice soft tangy bits of kraut rather than A FISTFUL OF PICKLE JUICE DIRECTLY TO THE FACE.
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:04 AM on May 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

I add fermented veggies (russian salad, sauerkraut) as a side to pierogies and potatoes.

Kimchi with sushi (I make nori rolls with cucumber, not raw fish at home), added to clear soups as mentioned.
posted by lafemma at 7:09 AM on May 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

I can't stand sauerkraut but adore kimchi. It's good sauced in stirfries, soups, and as a side dish.

Miso is good and versatile as anything from a salad dressing and marinade to soup flavor.

Tempeh is good with a peanut sauce.

It's not for everyone, but I enjoy Thai sour sausage.

Leftover pickle juice makes a good marinade and you can make something approximating the Chick-Fil-A flavor without the homophobia.

Injera is tough to make yourself but you can buy it from some ethnic groceries or restaurants.

Pickled veggies tossed into a salad or stirfry help perk them up. I'm blanking on the name, but there's a thai beef dish that comes with rice sizzled with pickled veggies that's wonderful.
posted by Candleman at 7:15 AM on May 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

Kombucha is a fermented tea drink that you might like. Can be store-bought or homemade. Other fermented drinks include kvas and kefir. Yum!
posted by stillmoving at 7:16 AM on May 9, 2019 [3 favorites]

My go-to breakfast most mornings is soft-boiled eggs over spicy kimchi. Yum!
posted by AngerBoy at 7:19 AM on May 9, 2019 [4 favorites]

Kimchi is very good in fried rice--just mix it in as you cook. If you prefer it crunchy, do so later in the process than you would regular broccoli or cabbage, just so it warms up.
posted by dlugoczaj at 7:29 AM on May 9, 2019 [3 favorites]

there's a limit to how much sauerkraut you can fork into your gob.

This may go over your limit, but family will eat kapusta as a meal (cabbage, carrot, tomato and saurkraut).

We'll also put saurkraut on our hotdogs. Or as the side with any sausage meal.

I've started to see kimchi used in salads or as one of the available up charged toppings. I had it on my Eggs Benedict recently.
posted by ghost phoneme at 7:30 AM on May 9, 2019

Coming in to say Kimchi fried rice. I used to eat it in the popular "orange" restaurants (just these little restaurants that are everywhere there, usually characterized by the color orange) in S. Korea. Top with a fried egg for extra deliciousness.
posted by kathrynm at 7:42 AM on May 9, 2019 [2 favorites]

A favorite easy meal is chicken sausage, boiled potato and homemade sauerkraut. Also I would guess that cooking, even heating, fermented foods will kill the microbes so they should probably be eaten raw if they are meant to be therapeutic.
posted by Botanizer at 7:53 AM on May 9, 2019 [2 favorites]

Sauerkraut makes a great filling for pierogi or hand pies. Mix with mushrooms, ground meat, potatoes, turnips, and/or rutabaga (mashed or diced small). If you eat dairy & meat together, a spoonful of sour cream can help things hold together bit more, but it's not necessary.

I really like the mushroom & sauerkraut potato gratin from The Gefilte Manifesto, which also introduced me to the concept of sauerruben--lacto-fermented turnip or rutabaga. I ate the sauerruben on top of salad, since pickled things are lovely on salad. Also great with roasted vegetables! The book also has recipes for salad dressings that use leftover pickle juices.

The way I grew up eating sauerkraut was to sautee some onions and maybe garlic, then dump in your sauerkraut, add a splash of water, bring to a boil, then simmer until desired texture and flavor was achieved (usually 30-60 minutes). Then, slice kielbasa on the bias and dump into the sauerkraut. Stir and heat through on low. Serve with deli rye and butter. We sometimes grated in a carrot or two for color or added some chopped apple for sweetness. Cooking the sauerkraut in beer is a nice change.

I've also put sauerkraut on the bottom of a baking pan and roasted pork chops or similar cuts on top of it, usually with sliced apple and onions.
posted by carrioncomfort at 7:58 AM on May 9, 2019 [2 favorites]

We make kimchi udon a couple times a month because it's tasty, quick and filling.

There are a lot of recipes on the internet, but basically, I melt some butter and some red chili paste (gochujang, if I have it but sometimes I have to substitute) in the pan, cut up the kimchi and heat it in the butter and chili with some kimchi juice. I boil the udon to almost done, then strain them and toss them into the pan with the kimchi. Then I transfer it to bowls and top with scallions and sesame seeds. I will sometimes crack an egg into the udon and stir right when I serve it. Sometimes I'll fry an egg for the top.
posted by crush at 8:29 AM on May 9, 2019 [3 favorites]

I cook kielbasa or other sausage, or pork chops, in sauerkraut in the oven, maybe with some potatoes. I usually drain the sauerkraut, rinse if very salty. Recipes above look good.
posted by theora55 at 8:35 AM on May 9, 2019

Kimchi, sauerkraut, Mexican pickled carrots and chow chow all taste amazing as an add-on pizza topping. They also work well to jazz up any flatbread/cheese combo and are wonderful with Greek spinach pies.
posted by caveatz at 8:56 AM on May 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

I make a fermented hot sauce with habanero peppers (including the seeds), shredded carrots, garlic, a modest amount of brine, and a spoonful of brine from kimchi or other fermented vegetable (to provide the starter culture). I blend everything together, let it ferment for about four days (give or take), and then strain it through a sieve. I don't have much of a recipe beyond what I just wrote. The flavor is quite strong, and it was definitely an acquired taste. I didn't like it the first time I tasted it. But now I love it.
posted by alex1965 at 8:59 AM on May 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

I think it's fair to consider a yeast bread as being a fermented food. Increasing the amount of yeast in a bread recipe will give a yeastier taste as described here.

Other fermented products you can put in food are wine, beer, and vinegar.
posted by SemiSalt at 9:10 AM on May 9, 2019

You might be interested in It's Alive, a Bon Appetit Youtube series that is very charming and covers a lot of things you either might not have considered or might not have planned to make yourself. Not all of them are strictly about fermenting, but there's some fun stuff there.
posted by Sequence at 9:27 AM on May 9, 2019 [4 favorites]

If sour in general is a taste you go for, I got a bunch of good answers for acidic recipes on AskMeFi last year.
posted by little onion at 9:37 AM on May 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

We make kefir and use it in fruit smoothies, you can buy kefir grains from people on ebay or etsy (be sure to get milk grains and not water grains...I don't know if the water grains really ferment anything, I don't know anything about them). You can make kefir in a sterile, cloth-covered jar on your kitchen counter in about 24 hours depending on the temperature in your kitchen.

As far as books I would highly recommend The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Katz.
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 9:43 AM on May 9, 2019

I feel like kimchi is having a moment right now, culinarily. I've seen it being used in a lot of non-traditional dishes... I've seen it on top of fries or tortilla chips (sometimes with cheese, which my Korean friends find highly questionable as a pairing, but it works!), on burgers, inside roulades, and of course in various stir fries and rice dishes. Oh, and kimchi pancake.

It's a really versatile food, and if you make it yourself (or have access to a good Asian, particularly Korean, market) you can get it in a variety of grades/types, sort of like cucumber-based pickles. There are less-pickled / more crisp varieties and then a whole spectrum until you get to very pickled, brinier/sour types. (FWIW, "kimchi" in Korean refers to a whole category of pickled vegetables, analogous I suppose to the word "pickle" in that it refers to a category of food as well as its most common variety. Common "kimchi" is Baechu-kimchi made from Napa cabbage. There's also radish, cucumber, green onion, and carrot kimchi... and those are just the ones I've seen.)
posted by Kadin2048 at 9:52 AM on May 9, 2019 [2 favorites]

Lot of great suggestions here. *favorites post*

I love kimchi fried rice. Super-simple, just chop it to desired chunk size and add after you put in the rice but before you put in the egg.

I also buy packets of mysterious pickled mustard greens from the Korean market (these also come sometimes at the hardcore places in open bins in the refrigerated section) and stir-fry them with some ground pork, dried shrimp, chopped Thai chiles, and just a wee bit of sugar.
posted by praemunire at 11:01 AM on May 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

I adore kimchi so much that I've started making my own baek/white kimchi: Vegetarian Baek Kimchi.

It's mild enough that if I want, I can just put a heaping amount on a pile of rice, and there's dinner. But usually, I'll cut up 1/4 cup or so, and have it as a side dish every day for dinner. Alternatively, I'll cut some up and put it in soup/stew.

Don't forget the juice! I'll take that, and use it as a liquid in soups. So, SO good, and full of fermented goodness!
posted by spinifex23 at 11:11 AM on May 9, 2019 [2 favorites]

I like a wide-ranging definition of fermented food, and enjoy a lot of it. Here's some of my current go-to foods, many mentioned above as well:

kimchi - great just with rice actually! I would even it in at the end. Super easy.
miso soup - simple miso soup is quick and easy. You'll probably need some hon dashi from an Asian store (but not if you have dairy allergies) - do not boil the miso soup, but mix in a little dashi stock at the end to make a paste and add back to the stock.
tempeh - I often roast mine in a pan with a higher smoke point oil such as canola. Makes it nice and nutty. Then for instance add it to a rice/veg stir fry dish.
kefir - plain is good, check some of the 'flavored' ones for artificial sweeteners etc.
posted by carter at 11:17 AM on May 9, 2019

I eat kimchi on sandwiches, with mayo and chicken or tofu. It’s pretty good and adds crunch and flavour. I don’t know how well it would keep but great for eating right away.
posted by five_cents at 11:39 AM on May 9, 2019

I love pickles and kombucha. Mostly when I want pickles I have a small bowl or plate of them so I can eat or add them to my food, and also so there's a little pickling liquid to drink at the end (quite a few recipes that include kimchi also ask for an amount of the liquid for flavor). Nearly any sort of sandwich or sandwich-like food can stand a pickled vegetable as an accompaniment (onions, jalapenos, etc.). Kimchi is delicious with fish and chips.
posted by koucha at 11:56 AM on May 9, 2019

if you have a butcher nearby that sells smoked pork chops, there is a great meal you can make (serves 2):

trim fat off of 2 smoked pork chops, save
cut meat into cubes
cube and pre-cook 2 or 3 potatoes (steam?parboil?microwave? whatever just make them softish)
get 2 frying pans going, and add some fat to each, fry that for about 10 minutes to render the fat out
add equal amount of meat to both pans, brown for a few minutes
add a few cups of sauerkraut to one pan, and the potatoes to the other
fry until potatoes are browned
eat
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 12:34 PM on May 9, 2019

If you have access to a good Chinese grocery, zha cai is a pickled/fermented vegetable a bit like sauerkraut. (Both are brassicas.) It's a bit saltier, though. It goes well with pork, such as in this recipe that I've enjoyed, but potentially also in soup. The texture is pleasant; a sort of soft crunchiness.
posted by serathen at 12:36 PM on May 9, 2019

We're keeping a stock of either/or/all home-fermented sauerkraut (red-with-coriander or white-with-caraway), carrots-with-garlic, mixed veggies-with-oregano, beets-with-ginger-and-garlic or whatever else comes up in my mind on fermenting day, and have them basically for every meal except breakfast: right out the jar as side-veggies, often instead of a salad. Some are really good when mixed with a bit of (good) mayo. Just chomp away.

Then, Sauerkraut of course can be cooked together with smoked pork shoulder and sausages, for a good long while, and eaten together with mashed potatoes (with a lot of butter in it).
posted by Namlit at 1:22 PM on May 9, 2019

Pickled Dutch Herring from a jar is maybe not exactly fermented (?) but it is pickled in brine, and has that nice sour/tart taste. A little bit with a slice of rye bread makes a nice light snack. (note: foods like this are on the Avoid! List with MAOi style medication.)
posted by ovvl at 1:35 PM on May 9, 2019

Estonian seljanka uses sauerkraut as the vegetable portion of an otherwise meaty stew and the sharpness is a nice contrast to the sweeetness of the tomatoey sauce.
posted by penguin pie at 1:44 PM on May 9, 2019

Oh, choucroute garnie is a bit of an operation, but it's tasty!
posted by praemunire at 2:35 PM on May 9, 2019 [1 favorite]

I make a giant bowl of soup with instant dashi, random amounts of soy, mirin, sake and sugar, diced tofu, scallions, and a metric tonne of kimchi.

Kimchi is also great in an omelette or scrambled eggs.

Sometimes I add miso to both.
posted by some little punk in a rocket at 5:15 PM on May 9, 2019

Check out the Bar Tartine cookbook, which is heavy on delicious fermented things.
posted by rhiannonstone at 7:05 PM on May 9, 2019

Olives! In salads, on pizza, with pasta, in stews. Or on their own.
posted by the duck by the oboe at 7:57 PM on May 9, 2019

I like kimchi. I eat it with steamed white rice, and if I want a treat, Japanese rice. I also eat Japanese pickled plums. You can make onigiri with the flesh of this pickled plum in the centre.
posted by catbird at 10:01 PM on May 9, 2019

Kimchi on all the things! The one suggestion I haven’t seen yet is kimchi pancakes.
posted by like_neon at 12:52 AM on May 10, 2019

I drink Kefir every day and find it addictive.
posted by Morpeth at 2:17 AM on May 10, 2019

If you're making a Big Crunchy Salad of any description, like a slaw, a handful of fermented veggies mixed in there is very good.

Fermented veggies are also great in a breakfast sandwich (or any sandwich, but they're especially good for cutting the richness of an egg-based breakfast).

In general, when you have any food that's kind of rich and bland, that you'd like to add some acidity and crunch to, ferments are a good thing to reach for. Like if you're eating storebought mac'n'cheese or something and want to make it a little bit fancier and maybe also a bit easier on your stomach (ymmv).

Fermented finely shredded leeks, either on their own or in a sauerkraut, are one of my faves, they're very versatile for adding a mild oniony savour to pretty much anything.

Also, I saw It's Alive mentioned above, and I would gently caution that it's entertaining and can be good for inspiration or ideas, but please look up other recipes if you're making anything from it, because some of his advice is pretty ill-informed.
posted by ITheCosmos at 5:43 AM on May 10, 2019

I love refrigerated steel cut oats, sunflower seeds and fermented sauerkraut for breakfast. Very refreshing!
posted by goodsearch at 9:17 AM on May 10, 2019