What exactly is kimchi?

I'm sure after some of my posts now, some of you are left wondering "Ok, so what exactly is kimchi? Why is it such a big deal in Korae?"  I asked myself these questions a bit as well before coming here but now that I've had it I can explain.

Basically, kimchi is the traditional dish of korea.  As Russia is known for having borscht, Korea is known for kimchi.  The oldest references to kimchi were from about 3000 years ago in Chinese poetry texts.  The name was originated from the Three Kingdoms of Korea (I don't understand all the history of the kingdoms yet, but since I live in where probably 90% of the history is, I'll learn soon enough).  Kimchi was originally only made with cabbage and beef stock.

Today, kimchi is made with napa cabbage (a variety native to southeast asia).  There are other varieties available today that may include asian radishes (that are MUCH larger than the variety in the US), green onions, and cucumber.  The main vegetable of choice is then fermented by painting it with salt and then having it sit out overnight or for at least 5-6 hours, cleaning it, and then applying the sauce. Depending on the recipe, you may have some garlic and other vegetables in the sauce, but for most all of the traditional sauces used red pepper flakes is the main ingredient.

From my experience, I can't say that there is any good comparison.  Some people say that it is similar to sourkraut (since that is fermented as well), but I don't notice much similarity once you add the sauce.  Because of the red pepper flakes, some batches can be quite spicy at first but you can eaily tone it down by eating some rice or drinking some water after each bite.  In the Gyeongju area (and more southern part of the peninsula) it sounds like it tends to be on the spicier side than up on the northern part by Seoul.

Kimchi is the most common banchan (side dish) of Korea.  It is normally served before your meal or as a side treat to add with your meal.

Kimchi does also have many health benefits (more than yogurt), which I outlined in an article here: Health Benefits of Korean Kimchi


*Random trivia: In Korea, when you take a picture you do not say "Cheese!", instead you say "Kimchi!"

First home-cooked Korean meal (Americanized)

After almost 3 weeks of being in Korea, I finally gave in and decided to start eating in my apartment what most Koreans eat at home -- rice.

In the last two weeks my diet mostly included: sandwiches (with the fresh bread I'd buy from the bakery since they have no bread isle), yogurt, cereal, fruits that I can buy at home (apples, bananas, peaches, grapes), and eating out at either Korean restaurants or western culture-based restaurants.

It worked well for a while except for one big problem: All of those things are expensive.  Why?  There is no demand -- nobody here buys it.  For instance, a box of Kelloggs cereal is about $7 and the little 500 ml of milk was $3.

Since I was done at work by 6:30 tonight, I took a quick 3 block walk to the supermarket to buy some more cost-effective items.  Cooked my first batch of non-instant rice (since that doesn't exist here) and sauteed some vegetables with a teriaki sauce.  To top it off, I even bought a small package of pre-made kimchi for 90 cents (fermented cabbage) to replace the yogurt that I'd normally have (since it has more probiotics than yogurt).

To make it complete, I sat on the floor and ate on a traditional Korean table with traditional utensils -- a spoon and chop sticks.  And yes, I may be finally mastering the art of chop sticks -- I've come a long way since my first horrid attempt in 3rd grade during our "trip around the world" and continued to struggle even during college when trying to eat chinese food with them.

So long milk, cheese, bread, yogurt, cereal, and raviolis -- its been fun, but I have to enjoy other things right now.