Kimchi: A Staple of South Korean Cuisine

Kimchi is the most common side dish in South Korea cuisine. It is a uniquely pungent mixture of Chinese cabbages (Napa cabbage), fermented in spices, soy sauce and rice wine or vinegar, which nourishes the Korean soul as well as the body, because it provides both psychological and physical comfort through its taste. In South Korea, people have Kimchi in almost every course of a meal including breakfast, especially with noodles (Ramyeon) and Korean rice. Each South Korean consumes about18 kgs (40 pounds) of Kimchi in a year. Kimchi enhances the taste of other foods and is high in fiber and also contains Vitamins C&E which work as an antioxidant. It is surprisingly low in calories, with only 33 calories per cup.

Kimchi has been a part of the Korean diet for centuries and all over the world people have been eating fermented vegetables, most likely cabbages, for more than 4000 years. It all started when dwellers of Northern India brought cabbage seeds to southern China. Since the preservation of vegetables in brine was common in China, they preserved Cabbages in salt and rice wine. Approximately 2000 years ago, the laborers who built China’s Great Wall, used to eat cured vegetables to stay strong and healthy. Some 1000 years later, Genghis Khan and his troops carried this dish with them into parts of European areas and soon these cured vegetables became the staple of a European diet. The Dutch sailors in 1770s, used to eat a daily portion of cured cabbages in brine to prevent scurvy. The Cured vegetable as the main source of lactic acid in their diet was the factor of longevity and vigorous life in history.

It is important and especially satisfying to Korean culture to prepare and preserve Kimchi according to the old family tradition. The texture, color, aroma and taste is only determined by the recipe being passed down from mother to daughter over generations.

The special flavor is determined when the cook uses her hands to marinate the vegetables with spices.

Here is a simple recipe of Kimchi provided by "Carving a Journey"

https://www.carvingajourney.com/day-to-day/making-kimchi-for-the-first-time/