Korean pickled/fermented foods

[Gul_Dekar]

I made a trip to Koreantown and noticed a lot of pickled/fermented stuff besides kim chi and decided to try some out. The only problem is I didnt manage to finish eating all of it and only noticed recently (a month and half after purchase) that I still had some of it at the back of the fridge (some pollack roe and pickled clam meat). So how long do these things keep? Kinda clueless here...

[touaregsand]

Pollack freezes pretty well.

Um... my mom's joke is that some Korean pickled/fermented dishes have already gone bad (in a controlled way, obviously)... if you've stored it properly in a clean, airtight container it should be fine. Do you see any signs that it looks like it's going bad?

[jayt90]

Whenever I have ventured into Koreatown (in Toronto) I have tended to over-buy, or get things I don't know how to use. The staff are not that helpful (once I asked for dried bonita flakes, which they had, but I was sent to the canned tuna section!).

Yesterday I went to the Korean store on Parliament Street. English is not a problem there. I took home a tub of home made Kimchi, but, as a neophyte, I was disappointed. I love the spicy hot sauce, but the preserved chinese cabbage seems too watery, or waterlogged. Should I expect something crispier, or am I being too fussy?

[Philanthrophobe]

Whenever I have ventured into Koreatown (in Toronto) I have tended to over-buy, or get things I don't know how to use.  The staff are not that helpful (once I asked for dried bonita flakes, which they had, but I was sent to the canned tuna section!).

Yesterday I went to the Korean store on Parliament Street.  English is not a problem there.  I took home a tub of home made Kimchi, but, as a neophyte, I was disappointed. I love the spicy hot sauce, but the preserved chinese cabbage seems too watery, or waterlogged. Should I expect something crispier, or am I being too fussy?

←

I just did exactly the same thing on Thursday--bought a big jar of homemade kimchi at LV's Korea town, which is more like a Korea half-block. It's gorgeous, but absolutely no fermentation, no fire...just mildly salty. I'm confused. The jars aren't even labeled, so I KNOW that it isn't the kimchi made for pasty white girls. I don't ask the grocer's help anymore either--they're really lovely people, but don't understand that I don't want the Korean version of Wonderbread.

Also, the vegetable in mine looks sort of like a carrots with the top attached, only the root part is white, and the greens, although wilted, are deep green and a bit succulent. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

[sanrensho]

Also, the vegetable in mine looks sort of like a carrots with the top attached, only the root part is white, and the greens, although wilted, are deep green and a bit succulent. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

←

Sounds like small daikon radishes. They are quite common as kim chi.

[nakji]

It could be yeolmu kimchi, or maybe chonggakmu kimchi.

Here is a brief guide.

I think kimchi varies a lot depending on the person who makes it. I get the best cabbage kimchi from my boss's wife - her family likes it with lots of shredded mu and she doesn't skimp on the ginger. I find the best way to get yummy kimchi is to befriend a Korean housewife, and beg a sample of the stuff she makes for her family.

I've also had an amazing cabbage kimchi from my favourite pork restaurant in Seoul - it's kind of limp and watery, but the owner ages it for six months before she serves it, and it has an amazing cidery- sourness that I love, with almost none of the shrimpy flavour that I don't love. Every time I visit, she sends me home with a big bag.

Of course, while begging, I usually have to have the whole, "Oh, you like Kimchi? Really? It's not too spicy for you?" conversation that I have every single time someone sees me eating kimchi. It's a small price to pay for good kimchi!

[Philanthrophobe]

I think I do have daikon kimchi....thanks for the help and kimchi pointers!

I just got two Korean cookbooks from Half.com today, and both have a variety of kimchi recipes. I'm going to give 'em a shot!

[jayt90]

I ended up straining the red sauce out of the tub of chinese cabbage kimchi, and tossing the soggy cabbage.

Next I'll try to make my own, in the fridge.

[twobrain]

http://www.kimchi.or.kr/eng/about/history.html

fairly comprehensive kimchee site