Waste not, want not with “Ferment,” a new cookbook by Kenji Morimoto

A recent audit of my fridge yielded some troubling findings: two heads of broccoli, half an onion, a coral branch of ginger and two lemons (one still plump, one so puckered it looked like it had sucked on itself). And that was just the crisper. On the bottom shelf sat an enormous head of cabbage, some tofu, a droopy bundle of cilantro, the remnants of two separate meals and a tub of my aunt’s famous rice pudding. As someone who tries not to waste food, a knot of anxiety formed. What was I going to do with this clown car of perishables? The first thought that popped into my head was: broccoli stir-fry with tofu! The second was: How did I forget about that cabbage, those lemons, and the cilantro and rice pudding? And I need to eat those leftovers, even if my kid grouses about a meal cobbled together from day-old spaghetti and red beans and rice. The alternative — potentially tossing the food — is far worse. Between 125 and 160 billion pounds of food go to waste in the U.S. each year, much of it still perfectly good to eat; households are responsible for a considerable portion of that waste, more than 76 billion pounds of food per year to be precise. Will Aunt Roz’s rice pudding contribute to that statistic? Not on my watch.

Recipe: Garam Masala Sauerkraut  

Kenji Morimoto, “Ferment“

This is my favorite variety of sauerkraut and was the first fun flavor profile I explored after I was confident with the basics. If you want to make this recipe even easier, swap the individual spices for a ready-made curry or garam masala blend; however, dry roasting the spices first and then freshly grinding them will release the natural oils and impart much more flavor, so it’s worth this additional step. This sauerkraut is incredible in a grilled cheese, the spices adding a lovely warmth to the melted cheese; mix it into a chicken salad or eat it alongside your next South Asian feast.

Prep time: 30-45 minutes | Fermentation time: 2-5 weeks

Makes one 1-liter (1-quart) jar

Ingredients:

800g (1.75lbs) white cabbage
1 small red onion about 100g/ 3.5oz, peeled and thinly sliced
2 mild red chiles about 30g (1oz), deseeded and thinly sliced
measured salt: 2% of the total weight of above ingredients

FOR THE SPICE MIX

1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tsp brown mustard seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 green cardamom pods, crushed and seeds extracted
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground turmeric

Method:

1. Halve the cabbage. Shred it finely using a sharp knife or a mandoline. Place the shredded cabbage in a bowl with the red onion and chiles and calculate 2% of the total weight. This is the amount of salt you need.
2. Add the salt to the vegetables and massage for 5–10 minutes, using a fair amount of pressure to optimize the creation of brine. If you do not see much brine, continue massaging the cabbage and a pool of brine should appear.
3. Put all of the ingredients for the spice mix except the turmeric into a dry pan over a medium heat for 1–2 minutes until aromatic and the mustard seeds start to pop. Tip into a spice blender and blitz only a few times until it’s a coarse mixture; you can also do this using a mortar and pestle.
4. Add the spice mixture and the turmeric to the vegetables and mix thoroughly.
5. Decant into a jar and pack it down to ensure there are no air pockets, allowing the brine to gather on top of the vegetables. Use a food-safe fermentation weight to ensure everything is below the brine.
6. Cover the jar and leave it at room temperature and out of direct sunlight for 2–5 weeks. After 2 weeks, start tasting. When you’re pleased with the flavor, move it to the fridge where it will keep indefinitely.

Recipe from “Ferment: Simple Recipes from My Multicultural Kitchen” by Kenji Morimoto © 2025. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, The Experiment. Available everywhere books are sold. theexperimentpublishing.com

Top photo © Dan Jones.