The Kimchi Topic

[Pan]

I'm not suprised that it was good. It looks very good!

[Laksa]

kimchi umeboshi

I'm curious. That doesn't look anything like the traditional kimchi. What's in it? And why is it called kimchi?

[torakris]

kimchi umeboshi

I'm curious. That doesn't look anything like the traditional kimchi. What's in it? And why is it called kimchi?

it lists the ingredients as (besides the umeboshi):

chiles (I am assuming powder though it doesn't specify), garlic, ginger, ami no shiokara (tiny brined shrimp?), iwashi no shiokara (fermented sardines?) nira (garlic chives), sugar and sesame, preservatives.

[torakris]

It has been a really long time, but yesterday I made kimchi

now I just have to wait......

[Pan]

That looks good!

[jschyun]

How long are you going to ferment this particular batch?

Speaking of which, almost time for me to make kimchi as well.

[torakris]

How long are you going to ferment this particular batch?

Speaking of which, almost time for me to make kimchi as well.

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I haven't decided yet...

The recipe I loosely followed said to leave it out overnight and then refrigerate it. I left it out for two days and it is now refrigerated. I will taste it periodically...

[chefzadi]

What's your favorite kimchi?

What is one of the most unusual ones you have eaten?

Check out this site for some less common examples:

http://www.kimchi.or.kr/english/kind/index.html

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My favorite kimchi is napa cabbage kimchi with rice and kalbi (or sauteed sausages). Does it get better than this? The most unusual kimchi I've tried? It wasn't a kimchi, it falls unde the jeot category. Fermented cuttle fish, seasoned with garlic, ground red pepper, garlic. A drop or two of sesame oil before service. Delicious!

[yushoe]

how did the kimchi's turn out?

[Soup]

Last time I was in korea, my wife and I went to the Kimchi museum in Seoul. Near the financial district (i think). Lots and Lots of plastic formed to make it look like kimchi.

Not sure if I have a favorite but my top five goes like this (not in any order).

Chongack kimchi (small radish with the greens attached).

Mul Kimchi or Tongchimi

Oyee Kimchi (cucumber)

Gul Kimchi (napa cabbage kimchi preserved with salted oysters)

Tong Kimchi (Large raddish cut into big sections).

[chefzadi]

OKay, so a friend of mine's wife told me she likes to eat kimchi with Indian meat curries. I had a hard time wrapping my mind around it. It seemed so odd. Then I tried some Bengali karahi beef. The spicing reminded me of some North African beef stews.

The other day we made beef with quince. We rarely make sweet tagines, but the quince looked good and the beef was on sale. And the dish isn't really sweet anyway and we spiced it with turmeric and saffron. We had couscous on hand, but I thought it would be better with rice. Basmatic rice with butter and saffron is one of my favorite foods. As I was sitting down to eat, I had a mad craving to have kimchi with the meal. It was delicious.

I think this is the first time in my life I've had a meal that combined elements from different cultures (aside from an Algerian-French meal). Yes, I am that set in my ways when it comes to eating. I don't like to mix stuff up. We don't do fusion at home. But it worked. It was really really good.

[sazji]

The general stereotype of Japanese kimuchi in Korea is that it has sugar

in it (!) and lacks both garlic and chili. 

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Horrors! What would be the point?

Actually in surfing the internet I've found many, many Korean recipes for kimchi that include some sugar. I've never used it when I make my own though.

As for my favorites, napa cabbage and cubed radish top the list. I put some watercress in my last batch of radish kimchi, and also green garlic as it's just started to appear on the market, and it was very good. Here's a picture. My kitchen is unheated so in winter I just leave it on the counter till it's done.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b60/sazji/kimchi.jpg" border="0" alt="Image hosting by Photobucket"></a>

By the way, I learned that a large number of the Koreans who fled to the Soviet Union after the Korean War were settled in Uzbekistan, and now kimchi has become a staple there among Uzbeks as well!

I can't handle the squid one. To me it tastes sort of like a marine aquarium in need of cleaning smells. But my Korean friend Yujin was horrified that I didn't like it, and exclaimed "You don't like that one? But that's the best one!" I think she gave up hope on me then... Oh well, more for her!

If it can be made from crabs, is it ever made from shrimp?

Edited February 12, 2006 by sazji (log)

[nakji]

Some of my favourite "fusion" recipes for kimchi are here

What happens when foreigners get their hands on kimchi and incorporate it into their native cuisines, based entirely on western ingredients that can be found in an average "Mart" in Gangneung, Korea? My favourites are Kimchi Ham bokkum sandwichi and Kimchi Garlic Sludge.

Warning: Language

[jeniac42]

Since I can't seem to find a kimchi recipe on RecipeGullet, would anyone mind sharing theirs? I've found various confusing and conflicting recipes online, which is to be expected, but I'd like just some basic beginner's version. I will confess that I don't like my kimchi to be too fishy; I think I'll have to work up to that.

[chefzadi]

Kimchi recipe and a few others

You won't find another source online or in English who knows as much about Korean culture and cuisine

[Philanthrophobe]

Kimchi recipe and a few others

You won't find another source online or in English who knows as much about Korean culture and cuisine

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Wonderful!! Thanks for the link...great photos, too!

[helenjp]

Yes, yes, great link! There's SO much to read there, so many answers to questions that have lain for years in the back of my mind!

Jeniac, this is the recipe that I use, form a Japanese book written by a Korean woman - it's by far the most detailed Korean cookbook I own. I've made it without the squid, as my kimchi-loving husband wasn't too keen on the idea in our warmer southern climate. At time I couldn't find fermented krill paste locally either, and the original recipe shows some signs of simplification, but even so, it has a much fuller taste than the average bought kimchi, and isn't hard to make if you have made pickles. However, if you don't use the squid or the fermented krill, you should add a little more salt - about 1 tab.

Chinese-cabbage Kimchi

4 kg chinese cabbage (hakusai in Japanese)

300ml coarse pickling salt

1.5kg giant radish (daikon in Japanese)

6 tab chili powder (get it from a Korean grocery - the average grocery stuff has no taste)

1 regular onion

1 bunch water celery (oenanthe javanica, seri in Japanese, don't know what it is in Korean)

1 squid

1 tab Korean fish sauce (or Japanese shottsuru, Thai nam pla etc if you absolutely can't find the Korean one)

MIX A: 2.5 tabs finely grated garlic, 1.5 tabs finely grated ginger root, 2 long onions finely shredded (naga-negi in Japanese), 5 tabs chili powder (medium grind, I think), 1/3 c of fermented krill or other fermented seafood paste, 1/3 cup Korean fish sauce, 2.5 tab salt, 30g tiny dried shrimp (the flat pink papery ones called "sakura-ebi in Japanese" ), 2 tab sugar

200 ml Japanese dashi stock (Make this from katsuo flakes and konbu)

1 tsp coarse pickling salt.

Prepare cabbage: Make a deep cross-cut in the root end of the cabbages. Pull apart with your hands. Make another cut and pull in half again if the pieces are really huge. Put to soak in 10 cups of water with 1 cup of the measured salt dissolved in it. Rub the remaining half cup into the thickest white stem portions. Weight so that the cabbage is completely underwater, cover lightly, and leave overnight. Next day, drain, pull off the toughest outer leaf or two on each chunk, and set aside.

Radish and squid: Wash the radish, cut into 2-3 inch lengths, slice and shred...or use a coarse grater. Sprinkle over the 6 tab chili powder. Add the finely shredded regular onion, the water celery (trim roots, cut into 2 inch lengths). Use a big bowl.

Separately, gut squid, peel membrane, remove quill, and cut into shreds, pour the 1 tab fish sauce over.

To complete: Mix all A ingredients into radish. Add onion and squid.

Take chinese cabbage, and stuff the mixture between each leaf (without separating from the base, though it's not too crucial). Make sure there is no air trapped. Place into clean container, and pack down firmly. Pack the rough outer leaves on the top.

Combine liquid remaining in bowl of stuffing ingredients with the dashi stock, add salt (more if you didn't use the fermented krill paste), pour over. I then cover the surface with plastic wrap, forcing out bubbles, weight with a clean, rustproof weight, and tie a clean cloth over the top plus a loose plastic bag.

Now place in a cool place with even temperatures - ideally, about 45degF, 7-8degC for 5-6 days. Take out 1-2 bunches to serve and keep in the fridge, replace the outer leaves and coverings (clean if necessary).

Serious kimchi makers have a "kimchi fridge" - a small beer fridge in the garage, for example. This allows them to make kimchi year round, but really, fall or winter is the best time. One reason why people add a tiny amount of sugar is that unless you are using chinese cabbage harvested after the frost, it won't be as sweet.

[twobrain]

The general stereotype of Japanese kimuchi in Korea is that it has sugar

in it (!) and lacks both garlic and chili. 

←

Horrors! What would be the point?

Actually in surfing the internet I've found many, many Korean recipes for kimchi that include some sugar. I've never used it when I make my own though.

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when you let the kimchee ferment, youre letting the lactic acid producing bacteria thats found on the cabbage break down the starch/sugars in the cabbage, adding sugar gives the bacteria a little help... a head start on reproducing

kimchee and sauerkraut are suppose to be good for you cause

1. theyve broken down the vitamins/minerals for you, making it easier to absorb

2. maintains proper colonization of the gut

mmm kimchee protects chickens from avian flu

didnt use this as a reference... but wiki is awesome http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimchee

Edited April 4, 2006 by twobrain (log)

[melonpan]

today i am really missing moms crispy bubbly sweet bosam.

*sniff*

i should give her a call today

[_john]

I am proud to present my ゴーヤーキムチ　goya kimchi! This kimchi of bitter melon, also known as bitter gourd, and a lot of other names, including the Japanese name Goya, was prepared in the same way as every other kimchi except for the fact that I blanched the goya after salting. I love bitter melon, so I thought why not make kimchi of it? I prepared it tonight so it hasn't fermented yet, but when I get back from Korea in two weeks it should be just right. Does anyone know the name for bitter melon in Korean? I couldn't seem to figure it out.

[torakris]

I have no idea of what bitter melon is called in Korean, but John that looks incredible!

Defintely share the recipe when you get back and enjoy your trip!

[Pan]

Yeah, that really is beautiful! It's odd: I think kimchi somehow is one of the things I shouldn't like, but I've liked it since the first time I had some in Seoul at the age of 10. I would definitely try that bitter melon kimchi, as I, too, like bitter melon.

[melonpan]

i dont know if this is true of other koreans, but i know that i have never had bitter melon in a korean context. and hubby hasnt either. dont know the korean name for it either. this does not mean that there isnt a korean name for it, but i dont know of any... i tried looking up goya in korean to see if sites would type up the korean name in parentheses, but <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=%22%EA%B3%A0%EC%95%BC%22&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&sa=N&tab=iw">no luck</a> (just a lot of hits about the artist goya). there were some hits for <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22%EA%B3%A0%EC%95%BC%EC%B0%A8%22&btnG=Search">goyacha</a>, bitter gourd tea, but not that many. if any one knows the korean name, i would also be interested to know.

[melonpan]

that being said i think it sounds delicious, goyakimchi.

i love goya as it is. i dont know why it is not more popular with the korean polks.

[_john]

After a little linguistic hunt and peck I have come up with this: bitter cucumber in Korean is 쓴오이 ssoon oi. this receives 97,000 results on google where you can see pictures of goya. further research leads me to believe this is not the only way to say it in Korean, but someone might know what you are saying if you said this. Maybe I will bring some to the okinawan restaurant near my apartment when it is finished. My area has a very large concentration of Koreans so it would be the perfect fusion!