Three Creative Kimchi Dishes | FN Dish – Food Network Blog by Guest Blogger in Restaurants , May 11th, 2016 By Amanda Marsteller 3 of a Kind checks out three places across the country to try something cool, new and delicious. Kimchi is having a moment: The traditional Korean dish is beloved for its fermented funkiness and the instant dose of umami it adds to any recipe. Though typically made with napa cabbage or daikon, kimchi is getting a creative overhaul in some restaurants. Lately, chefs have been experimenting with alternative kimchi bases — and finding undeniably pungent success. Brussels Sprouts Kimchi at Blue Duck Tavern, Washington, D.C. Everyone’s favorite brassica goes incognito at this upscale Georgetown restaurant, thanks to a clever preparation. Shaving the Brussels sprouts creates thin, ruffled shreds that soak up a heady bath of fish sauce, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and Korean chile flakes. After a week or two of fermentation, those transformed frills provide a tangy nest for rosemary seared scallops.

Ingredients 2 pounds Brussels sprouts, shaved 1 1/2 tablespoons salt 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic, minced 1 1/2 tablespoons ginger, minced 2 tablespoons fish sauce 1 teaspoon cooked jasmine rice, at room temperature 1 cup scallions, roughly chopped 1 tablespoon Korean chile flakes (dried) Directions Combine Brussels sprouts with salt and sugar in a bowl. Crush and smash the mixture until you see liquid seep out from the Brussels sprouts. Puree garlic, ginger, fish sauce, soy sauce and rice. Add the pureed mixture, chopped scallions and chile flakes to the Brussels sprouts in the same bowl. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for 2 hours. Pack the sprouts mixture tightly into an open-mouth container until you see liquid rise above the Brussels sprouts. Add a food-safe weight (i.e., a glass jar or small plate) to keep the Brussels sprouts submerged, then cover. Leave at room temperature, in a dark and cool place, for 1 week minimum or up to 2 weeks maximum. This mixture can be saved in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

Ramp Kimchi at Orchids at Palm Court, Cincinnati Ramp season is officially in session, and like most chefs across the country, Orchids’ executive chef Todd Kelly makes the most of cult-favorite wild onions while he can. Deeper in flavor and aroma than leeks or scallions, ramps deliver a garlicky boost that tastes like spring at its greenest. At Orchids, Kelly tosses these foraged gems with daikon and slathers them in a spicy paste of gochujang (fermented Korean chile paste), fermented shrimp and bourbon barrel-aged soy sauce for a slaw that’s perfect in fried rice or tacos. Ingredients 1 pound ramps, whites removed to the purple portion 1 tablespoon salt 3 red apples, cored and peeled 15 garlic cloves 2 tablespoons fermented salted shrimp 1/4 cup bourbon barrel soy sauce 4 ounces daikon radishes Directions Clean the ramps and cut into 5-inch sections. In a food processor, add salt, sugar, red apples, garlic, ginger, gochujang, fish sauce, shrimp and soy sauce, then puree into a paste. Thinly julienne daikon in 5-inch sections and toss with the ramps.

Wearing gloves, work the paste gently into the ramps and daikon. Place the ramps in a glass jar and cover with cheesecloth. Store in a cool, dark place for 4 days. The fermentation process will begin. Remove the cheesecloth and replace with a tight-fitting lid. Refrigerate for 1 week. Mustard Greens Kimchi at FuseBox, Oakland, Calif. This tiny fusion restaurant turns out oversize Korean flavor profiles. Known for its housemade kimchis, FuseBox prepares a rainbow of fermented options as part of its daily banchan plate. On any given day you’ll find kimchis crafted from daikon, bok choy, Japanese cucumbers and breakfast radishes, but keep an eye out for the seasonal mustard greens. The sharp, peppery bite of the bitter greens lends extra liveliness to a kimchi paste rich with ginger, salted shrimp and crisp Korean pear.

Ingredients 1 tablespoon sweet rice flour 1 tablespoon garlic paste (about 5 cloves crushed with a mortar and pestle) 1-inch-long piece fresh ginger, finely grated 2 scallions, cut into 1-inch strips 1 medium carrot, peeled and thinly sliced into 3-inch pieces 1/4 Korean Shingo pear, Asian pear or crisp apple, sliced into thin strips (optional) 3 tablespoons fine-ground gochugaru (Korean red chile powder) 3 tablespoons coarse-ground gochugaru (Korean red chile powder) 1 tablespoon seau jjot (small salted shrimp, found in refrigerated section of Korean grocery stores) or fish sauce 1/4 cup granulated sugar 8 ounces mustard greens, cut into bite-sized pieces 2 tablespoons coarse Korean sea salt Directions In a small saucepan, add the rice flour and 1/2 cup ice-cold water. Place over medium-high heat and whisk until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. In a large bowl, combine the garlic, ginger, scallions, carrot, apple or pear, chile powders, salted shrimp and sugar.

Add the rice powder-paste and mix together well till it becomes a soft paste. Cover and set aside. Place mustard greens in large stainless steel bowl. Fill with cold water to cover mustard greens. Soak for 15 minutes. Drain mustard greens in colander. Shake off excess water from mustard greens and clean the bowl. Return mustard greens to the bowl. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons Korean sea salt, or to taste. Toss the salt with mustard greens by hand. Set aside for 20 minutes. The mustard greens will wilt, as the salt will pull the water from the mustard greens. Toss the mustard greens again and set aside for another 20 minutes. Pour off 90 percent of the salted mustard green water from the bowl. Gradually add and mix the kimchi paste with the mustard greens according to taste. Store in a tightly sealed container for 2 weeks in the refrigerator, or bury it in your backyard.

DIY Kimchi: How to Make Better Kimchi at Home | Greatist LIKE US ON FACEBOOK Get More Greatist in Your Life Photo by Perry Santanachote Kimchi (also spelled “kimchee”) is a traditional Korean dish that uses the process of fermentation to pickle and preserve fresh vegetables. The spicy, crunchy, cabbage-based vegetable mixture has a texture similar to sauerkraut but boasts much bolder flavors thanks to garlic and spicy seasonings. Originally developed in 7th Century Korea as a means of storing vegetables during cold winters, the dish has been steadily — if slowly — gaining recognition beyond the boundaries of its native country. While Chinese, Japanese, and Thai cuisine have long been popular in the U.S., it’s taken Korean food significantly longer to work its way into American mouths. But its Asian-food forbearers helped popularize spicy flavor profiles (think rooster-red Sriracha ), which no doubt paved the way for Korean food’s entrée into American markets. Today (thanks also in part to marketing funded by the South Korean government ), many American chefs have adopted Korean food and cooking styles — and Kimchi has finally made it onto center stage .

To understand the extent of this coup, one need only check either the Asian or health food section of most grocery stores — odds are, Kimchi will be there. Kimchi aficionados swear by the dish’s health benefits, and this may not just be the Kool-Aid (or the cabbage juice) talking: Fermentation in general has been shown to increase the nutritional properties of food Fermented foods: patented approaches and formulations for nutritional supplementation and health promotion . Borresen, EC, Henderson, AJ, Kumar, A., et al. Department of Clinical Sciences, Colorado State University. Recent patents on food, nutrition, and agriculture. 2012 Aug;4(2):134-40 . Kimchi specifically has been linked to anti-obesity effects, and might help treat atopic dermatitis and even lower cholesterol Oral administration of Lactobacillus strains from Kimchi inhibits atopic dermatitis in NC/Nga mice . Won, TJ, Kim, B., Lim, YT, et al. College of Pharmacy, Chung-Ang University, South Korea.

Journal of Applied Microbiology, 2011 May;110(5):1195-202 Functional properties of Lactobacillus strains isolated from kimchi . Lee, H., Yoon, H., Ji, Y., et al. School of Life Sciences, Handong Global University, Korea. International Journal of Food Microbiology, 2011 Jan 31;145(1):155-61 . (That said, one study suggests that consuming Kimchi might actually increase the risk of gastric cancer, at least in Koreans — so maybe don’t down a bucket of the stuff each day) Kimchi and soybean pastes are risk factors of gastric cancer . Nan, HM, Park, JW, Song, YJ, et al. Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Korea. World Journal of Gastroenterology, 2005 Jun 7;11(21):3175-81 .

The dish’s health benefits are in large part attributable to its high probiotic content (i.e., good-for-you bacteria ); it’s also loaded with fiber and vitamins A, B, and C. Spicier varieties also get a boost from capsaicin, a component of hot peppers that’s been shown to improve metabolism . Recipe: DIY Kimchi There are now more than 200 varieties of Kimchi, but we’ve chosen one of the simplest (and fairly traditional) recipes we could find. Photos by Perry Santanachote What You’ll Need 1 head (1.5 to 2 pounds) napa cabbage or green cabbage, cut into 2 by 1-inch pieces (reserve 2-3 large leaves, uncut). Note: You can also substitute bok choy in place of cabbage. 2 tablespoons kosher salt 2-3 large cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated 1 teaspoon sugar (alternatively, use 1 apple or pear , thinly sliced) 3 tablespoons Korean chile pepper flakes or paste (gochugaru).

Note: If you don’t live near a Korean market and can’t find this at your regular grocery store, substitute Aleppo pepper or 1 tablespoon of Sriracha , in a pinch. (Do not substitute red pepper flakes; they are much spicier than gochugaru.) 4 green onions, green parts only, cut into 2-inch pieces (optional) 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced (about ¼ cup) (optional) Optional: a few large carrots , thinly sliced For extra hotness: add 1 chili pepper (doesn’t need to be gochugaru) Equipment 1 wooden spoon Food processor, blender, or mortar and pestle Yield: several quart-size jars (the exact number depends on how tightly the jars are packed, how finely the veggies are sliced, etc., so it’s best to have several jars on hand in case the recipe yields more than anticipated) What to Do Wash all vegetables and pre-measure all of your ingredients so you have them ready to go. Set aside a few large cabbage leaves (to be used at the end of the process). Place the rest of the cabbage in the large bowl and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of kosher salt. Toss to combine.

Cover the large bowl and allow its contents to sit at room temperature until the cabbage has wilted (expect this to take a minimum of one hour and as many as 12). As it wilts, the cabbage will release around a ¼ cup of liquid. While the cabbage is wilting, combine the garlic, ginger, chili pepper, carrots (if you’re using them), and sugar (or the apple or pear, if using) in the food processor, blender, or mortar and pestle. Process the mixture until it forms a rough paste (around 30 seconds if using a food processor or blender; longer (as needed) if using a mortar and pestle). Be sure to scrape the container’s sides as needed. Now it’s time to check on the cabbage — it should be wilted, and there should be lquid in the bottom of the bowl. Remember this could take as many as 12 hours, so give it time if it needs it! Once the cabbage has wilted, drain it, set the liquid aside, and pat the leaves dry. Thoroughly mix the cabbage with the paste. This is your basic kimchi mixture. Pack the kimchi into the mason jars (try to avoid air pockets).

Add equal amounts of the liquid to each jar, making sure that each jar has at least an inch of headspace (If needed, add some water to the jars to make sure the kimchi is completely covered by liquid.). Press the mixture down firmly using the wooden spoon, so that the brine covers the top. Cover the top of each jar with one of the reserved large cabbage leaves. Seal the jars loosely. Let them sit at room temperature (65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit) for three to five days. Taste the kimchi every few days; it will be ready when it has developed a sour, spicy taste and a texture resembling that of sauerkraut. When the kimchi is ready, remove the big cabbage leaves from the top of each jar and store the jars (tightly sealed) in the fridge. The kimchi should keep for several months. Ingredients, equipment, and instructions adapted slightly from food52 , mynewroots , and Maria’s Farm Country Kitchen . Are you a fan of Kimchi? Have you ever made your own? Share your thoughts in the comments below or get in touch with the author on Twitter @lauranewc .

How to Buy, Make, and Cook With Kimchi - Allrecipes Dish How to Buy, Make, and Cook With Kimchi Salty like soy sauce and spicy like sriracha, kimchi is the Korean superfood—condiment, ingredient, side dish, and tasty probiotic—you need to be eating right now. Here’s more about this delicious fermented dish. What is Kimchi? Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish made by first combining vegetables — usually a lightly colored leafy green called Napa cabbage (or sometimes cucumber )– with red chili powder, salt, garlic, ginger, onions, and fish sauce or anchovy paste. The mixture is then rested at a cool, dry room temperature until it has fermented. Kimchi dates back for more than 1,500 years. It came about for the same reasons we have things like beef jerky and canned peaches. Ancient Koreans, without modern refrigerators, wanted to eat fresh food all year long. Now, it has found a home stateside, where it’s loved for it’s pungent, pickled flavor and unique health benefits. The varieties are endless and can be as regionally specific as barbecue in the U.S.

Photo by Meredith What Does Kimchi Taste Like? Do you like sauerkraut ? If you’re a fan of one fermented cabbage, you’ll likely be a fan of the other. (In fact, kimchi would make a delicious Reuben .) Kimchi is almost always salty, spicy, and packed with umami. It can vary in sweetness and crunchiness. depending on the amount of sugar and vegetables used. You can add more chili to make it hotter, or less for a milder variety. If you’re vegetarian, you can leave out the fish sauce or anchovy paste, though it’ll lack some of the funky flavor kimchi is known for. The Health Benefits of Kimchi The health benefits of kimchi come from the bacteria that grow during the fermentation process. It’s a vegetable probiotic in the same way yogurt is a dairy probiotic. It’s good for your tastebuds and your gut! Some medical reports have linked kimchi to more than just healthy digestion—it’s said to help lower obesity, cancer risk, and cholesterol, as well as improve your skin, brain, and immune system health.

Related: Fermented Veggies Are Alive With Probiotics Buying Kimchi If you haven’t got the days—or weeks—to wait for kimchi to ferment, it’s an easy ingredient to pick up at your local Asian market. If you’re near an H-Mart ( locations around the country ), the Korean supermarket has a particularly expansive selection. But even if that’s not an option where you are, you won’t be left high and dry: Pick up a jar or can on Amazon for under $10. Making and Storing Kimchi If you’re making kimchi yourself, you’ll need to store it in an airtight container for at least 24 hours at room temperature. Traditionally, it ferments in a clay pot buried in the ground to maintain a cool and consistent temp (but not so cold as the fridge, which slows the process). Once your kimchi is done—or your store-bought jar is opened—you can store it in the fridge for months. It will get increasingly sour as the lactic acid builds up, but this “ripe” kimchi is perfect for using as an ingredient in cooked dishes.

Crisis in Korea as younger generation abandons kimchi | Global | The Guardian Crisis in Korea as younger generation abandons kimchi Traditionalists fear for national dish, amid changing tastes and trade war with China Yakult workers in Seoul make kimchi in an annual event to help people in need. Photograph: Jeon Heon-Kyun/EPA Friday 21 March 2014 11.37 EDT First published on Friday 21 March 2014 11.37 EDT Close This article is 2 years old Its unmistakable smell permeates Seoul subway carriages during the rush hour, and aficionados claim it is the healthiest food on the planet. Once valued as a source of vitamin C before the arrival of refrigerators, kimchi now crops up on menus far from its birthplace on the Korean peninsula. The spicy, garlicky cabbage dish is to be found as a pizza topping and taco filling in the UK, Australia and the US, where the Obamas are said to be converts. Kimjang, the traditionally communal act of making kimchi, was recently awarded world cultural heritage status by Unesco .

But despite its growing popularity in restaurants from Los Angeles to London, South Korea's national dish is in crisis in its country of origin. To kimchi's basic ingredients of napa cabbage, garlic, seasoning and copious amounts of chilli power, we can now add a trade war with China and fears of lasting damage to Korean cultural identity. According to the World Institute of Kimchi, South Korea's kimchi exports were worth $89.2m (£54m) in 2013, down 16% on the previous year. But imports – almost all of which come from China – rose almost 6% to $117.4m. That left the South Koreans with a kimchi deficit of more than $28m – and a wound to their national pride that has festered since the trade imbalance first appeared in 2006. "It's a shame that so much of our kimchi comes from China," said Kwon Seung-hee, who teaches tourists how to make the dish at her guesthouse in Seoul . "It's cheap, but it doesn't taste as good as ours.

I can tell straight away if I'm eating imported kimchi." The kimchi deficit should have been foreseen, perhaps, when the dish made the transition from luxury food to popular staple in the late 18th century. To keep up with demand, Korea began importing cabbages from China. Kimchi is an indispensable part of the Korean diet, with South Koreans eating almost 2m tonnes every year. Though it often appears in stews and soups, no meal is considered complete without a side dish of cabbage kimchi, along with variations made from daikon radish, cucumber, perilla leaf or a host of other seasonal vegetables. "The making of kimchi … is a culture that continues to be shared by virtually all Koreans and is a significant part of their lives," Park Hei-woong, a cultural heritage administration official, said when the Unesco status was announced at the end of last year, adding that kimchi-making maintained the "cohesiveness of Korean communities … and is an essential part of the Korean cultural identity". There are an estimated 100 varieties from the fresh, crunchy dish preferred in the north to the more pungent version commonly eaten further south.

According to the cultural heritage administration in Seoul, about 95 percent of Koreans eat kimchi more than once a day; more than 60 percent have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. According to Jia Choi, president of O'ngo Food Communications , a cookery school in Seoul, kimchi forms the basis of a perfectly balanced meal: several dishes made with seasonal vegetables, with a smaller quantity of rice or noodle dishes providing the carbohydrate. Traditionally, meat was never considered part of the Korean culinary jigsaw, and the famed barbecue restaurants that line Seoul's streets today only took off after the city hosted the summer Olympics in 1988. "The Unesco award certainly gave us an added sense of pride," said Choi, who hopes kimchi's international recognition will boost consumption among her young compatriots. "Interest in traditional Korean traditional cuisine is waning. Kids today eat a more varied diet that includes a lot more western food, and that's why kimchi consumption is declining year after year." A stall selling kimchi in South Korea. Photograph: Justin McCurry for the Guardian If children develop a kimchi habit while dining out, they will almost certainly be served the Chinese version.

Chinese kimchi is cheaper and, for most diners, impossible to identify as a "fraud". The trade deficit, coupled with declining consumption at home, has been described by one politician as an ordeal "as harsh as a Korean winter". But South Koreans are now looking beyond their own borders to secure kimchi's long-term future. Korean cuisine has been part of the trendy food scene in parts of California for several years and was among Forbes magazine's top 10 food trends of 2013. Kimchi and other staples such as bulgogi [], japchae [] and samgyeopsal are also finding their way on to menus in parts of the areas of the UK outside the Korean expat enclave of New Malden. Many Britons had their first taste of kimchi, along with more than 100 other Korean foods during a two-week Tesco promotion at the end of last year, when overall imports of Korean food products to the UK rose 135 percent compared with 2012. And after years of being overlooked, Korean cuisine has joined other Asian cuisines on the UK celebrity chef beat, as demonstrated by the Hairy Bikers in a programme from South Korea that aired this week.

"We need to keep pushing Korean-made kimchi as authentic, in the same way that European countries promote their cheese and wine," said Choi. "We're a tiny country compared to China, so although we can't compete in terms of volume, we can remind people around the world that our kimchi is authentic and safe." Kimchi is usually made from napa cabbage, garlic, seasoning and chilli powder. Photograph: Brian Yarvin / Alamy/Alamy How to make kimchi A quarter of a head of napa cabbage, soaked in brine overnight A quarter of a cup of coarse sea salt for the brine 100g daikon radish 1 tbsp sugar 1. Julienne the daikon radish and cut the spring onion into 3cm slivers. 2. Colour the radish with the chilli powder then add the spring onion and all of the other ingredients except the cabbage to make the paste. Give it a thorough mixing. Rubber or plastic gloves recommended. 3. Place the cabbage in a shallow tray and along with the paste. Starting with the outer leaves and working in, smear generous amounts of the paste on each leaf until the entire cabbage is covered. 4.

Tightly press the leaves together to create a bundle, and transfer the cabbage to an airtight container and place it in the fridge. You can eat the kimchi after a few days; for a more pungent dish, leave it to ferment for a month to several weeks. Courtesy of O'ngo Food Communications • This article was amended on 21 March 2014. The recipe mistakenly omitted 1/4 cup coarse sea salt for the brine and the 30g spring onion was wrongly changed to 3g in the editing process. These have been corrected. Korean kimchi recipes from Cooking Korean food with Maangchi Maangchi on YouTube Maangchi on Facebook Maangchi on Twitter Maangchi on Instagram Korean kimchi recipes Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish made of seasoned vegetables and salt. Koreans eat it at nearly every meal. It can be fresh, like a salad, or it can be fermented. While the most popular variety is spicy kimchi made of cabbage , there are hundreds of different types of kimchi made of different vegetables, and not all of them spicy . Kimchi is also a main ingredient in many other Korean dishes .

I answer many questions about making kimchi in a kimchi-making FAQ . More than kimchi: Korean food's popularity soars | Public Radio International More than kimchi: Korean food's popularity soars Kimchi is a ﻿﻿traditional Korean dish of spicy fermented cabbage and radish. Credit: Mike Coppola SEOUL, South Korea — Most of us associate the spread of Korean culture across much of Asia, and now Europe and North America, with catchy pop tunes and improbable TV drama plot lines. Less well-known is the third member of the "Korean Wave" triumvirate — the country's bold and colorful cuisine. Thailand and Japan have proved that gastro-diplomacy can go a long way toward educating people and their palates in the history, culture and aesthetics of a nation's cuisine. Now South Korea's government has plowed huge sums into bringing bibimbap , japchae and samgyeopsal to the attention of adventurous epicureans thousands of miles from Seoul and Busan. Any primer on Korean cuisine has to begin with kimchi.

It packs a pungent whiff that has a habit of lingering sometime after it has outlived its welcome, but once acquired, the taste for spicy pickled cabbage is rarely lost. No Korean meal is complete without it, either as an ingredient in the main dish, or as part of a medley of side dishes called banchan. "Kimchi is absolutely central," says Joe McPherson, the American founder of ZenKimchi , South Korea's longest-running English-language food blog. "It is to Korean food what fries are to steak, or mash to bangers." With roots said to go back well over two millennia, kimchi is perhaps the closest any country gets to a culinary national obsession. According to one survey, South Koreans much their way through more than 1.5 million tons of kimchi a year — or 12 percent of each adult's daily food intake. It can be eaten in the earliest stages of fermentation as a light, crunchy snack, or left to "fizz" in compartmentalized fridges that many Koreans use to keep different types of kimchi at their optimum temperature, and to prevent its smell from tainting other food.

Aficionados swear by its vigor-imparting properties, a claim supported by "Health" magazine, which included kimchi in its list of the world's five healthiest foods. It is rich in vitamins, helps digestion and is said to ward of some cancers, although overconsumption has been blamed for high rates of gastric cancer among South Koreans. At the height of the Asian SARS crisis in 2003, a group of South Korean researchers even claimed kimchi was an effective antidote. There are more than 200 varieties of the stuff, from the crisp, lightly salted type found in North Korea to the fish-sauce-heavy versions popular on the southern tip of the peninsula, according to Kim Hye Jin, a chef at O'ngo Food Communications , a cooking school that also organizes food tours of Seoul. "We spend the whole year preparing to make kimchi," says Kim, whose mother typically pickles 80 heads of cabbage a year. "It's all about sourcing the right chili powder and good-quality fish sauce." But Korean adulation of the humble Napa cabbage, the most popular vegetable used in kimchi, occasionally comes with nationalistic overtones.

In 1996, South Korea denounced Japan's version of the dish a fake, and demanded that its stop marketing it as "kimuchi." In 2010, a poor Napa cabbage harvest sent kimchi prices soaring, prompting one newspaper to describe the shortage of homegrown vegetables as a "once in a century crisis." Only this year, the dish was the cause of friction with Chinese netizens after South Korea lobbied Codex, the international food standards agency, to change the official name of its main ingredient from "Chinese cabbage" to "kimchi cabbage." Just as sushi barely scratches the surface of the Japanese gastronomic miscellany, kimchi is merely the hub of a vibrant food culture that ranges from multiple-course royal court cuisine to ddeokbokki, a popular rice-cake snack often eaten on the hoof. Beyond its home turf, Korean food has made its biggest impact in other parts of Asia and North America.

New combinations dreamed up for the US market include kimchi quesadillas, burgers cooked bulgogi style, and tacos filled with barbecued meat — a pioneering dish that helped the South Korean chef Roy Choi to be named best new chef of 2010 for the US magazine "Food and Wine." During his trips back to the US, McPherson has been surprised to find that — the addition of tacos aside —distance has not dulled the authenticity of the food that now consumes almost his every waking moment in his adopted home Seoul. "Koreans are often accused of being insular," he says, "But that also means they've retained their traditional cooking techniques. It's authentic; it has a history." But South Korea's official marketing strategy, he adds, is in need of an overhaul. "The problem with government campaigns is that they are like aristocrats marketing to aristocrats," he says. "They arrange expensive gala dinners for US senators and serve high-class royal cuisine, the stuff that ordinary Koreans don't eat. And they do this in the middle of a recession. I don't think the government needs to get involved at all — it's best left to immigrant populations, word of mouth and people's natural curiosity.

"You have to create excitement and promote a mood rather than just the product itself. Korean food involves new flavors and creates a sense of excitement — there's an emotional appeal. Americans like the bold flavors and the idea that it's healthy." While the unmistakable aroma of marinated, barbecued meat wafts through the streets of LA and New York from fusion tacos trucks, other Americans, including state department officials and senators on Capitol Hill, were recently treated to a more rarefied version of Korea's cuisine at a promotional event. And during the London Olympics this summer, the discount retailer Homeplus — a joint venture involving Samsung and Tesco — will promote 150 types of Korean food at a Tesco store in southwest London, home to a large Korean expat population. O'ngo school's president, Jia Choi, sees the popularity of Korean food growing in line with the South's growing economic clout, a route taken most recently by Japan. "There was a time when people thought eating raw fish was barbaric, but then Japan grew economically powerful, and now sushi is its representative dish," she says. "The same is happening with Korean food, although it's still not as popular as Chinese or Japanese cuisine.

"There's also a greater appreciation of the healthy qualities of fermented food, and that's helped dispel negative stereotypes about the Koreans just eating dogs." McPherson, who cites grilled intestines and yukhoe steak tartare among his favorite dishes, confesses he didn't immediately take to Korean cuisine when he arrived in the country eight years ago. His epiphany came three months later. "I woke up one morning," he recalls, "and suddenly realized I was craving kimchi for breakfast." Two quick and easy Korean recipes for the summer: Spicy cucumber side dish (oi moochim) from Joe McPherson at ZenKimchi 1 teaspoon Korean chili powder (gochugaru) 1 teaspoon Korean pepper paste (gochujang) 1 teaspoon light corn syrup or honey 1 teaspoon rice vinegar 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds 1. Mix the cucumber with one teaspoon of sea salt and set aside. 2. Soak the onion slices with one tablespoon of rice vinegar and the water in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. 3. Rinse the salt off the cucumber and pat off the excess water. 4. Mix the garlic, chili powder, pepper paste, corn syrup or honey, and teaspoon of rice vinegar in a bowl.

5. Remove the onions from the water and add them to the dressing along with the cucumbers and toss. 6. Serve chilled. Kimchi recipe from O'ngo Food Communications One quarter of Napa cabbage soaked in salted water [brine] for 6-7 hours 100g daikon radish 1. Julienne the radish and cut scallions into 3-centimeter slivers. 2. Color the radish with chili powder and thoroughly mix in the spring onions along with all of the other ingredients. 3. Place the cabbage in a shallow tray with the stuffing. Starting with the outer leaves and working inwards, insert the stuffing between the leaves, smearing it generously on each leaf. 4. Tightly press the leaves together into a bundle, transfer it to a container and leave to ferment in a refrigerator for anything from a few hours to several months, according to taste. While you are here... The work we do has never been more important — whether it’s because of “news” that might not be news at all or healing the deep divides in our country. Now more than ever, we need conversation, perspective and diverse voices.

Will you support PRI in our efforts to create a more informed empathetic world? Japan Korea Kimchi Dispute Japan Korea Kimchi Dispute I. Identification 1. The Issue This case is about the dispute over Korean traditional side dish, kimchi, between South Korea and Japan. Kimchi is garlicky, peppery, pungent pickled cabbage, and it may safely be said that kimchi represents Korea. However, this Korea's national dish is in danger because of Japanese copycat kimchi. Although Japan has imported huge amouns of kimchi from South Korea for the last several years, at the same time, Japanese food companies have begun to make Japanese-style kimchi as kimchi has been getting popularity in Japan. Furthermore, Japan is expanding its share of the world kimchi market: today, the amount of Japanese kimchi export excesses that of Korean kimchi export. As a result, South Korea asked the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization's Codex Alimentarius commission to establish an international standard of "kimchi" while Japan claimed that Korea has no monopoly on kimch.

The Codex standard for kimchi is still under the condition of draft, the Codex committee will adopt the Korean recipe as the international standard for kimchi in July 2001. 2. Description The kimchi dispute broke out in 1996 when Japan proposed designating Japanese kimchi, "kimuchi" (Japanese pronunciation), as an official Atlanta Olympic food (The Independent: October 9, 2000). At the same time, Korea was annoyed by Japan's rapid increase of the amount of "imitated" kimchi export. Korea questioned that there was no international appropriate standard to inspect and evaluate the quality of imported kimchi. In other words, Korea could not tolerate Japanese low quality kimchi (from Korean viewpoint) were floating around in the world market. Korea insisted on an uegent need for international kimchi standard to "protect consumers' health and to ensure fair practices in the food trade" (KFRI). As a result, South Korea brought this issue to the Codex Alimentarius that is a part of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. We can see this kimchi argument between Japan and Korea from the following three angles. First, needless to say, this is an international trade issue.

It is a fact that about 80 to 90 percent of South Korea's kimchi exports have gone to Japan for the last few years, according to Korean Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. However, during the same period, kimchi production in Japan has rapidly increased, and Japanese foodmakers have expanded their market share with Japanese-kimchi. Moreover, the Japanese copied kimchi is cheaper than Korean kimchi because of the difference of its making process. Thus, South Korea is worried about losing the big international kimchi market. Secondly, this issue is a matter of culture as well. For the Koreans, Japanese kimchi is not genuine kimchi. It is nothing but copycat kimchi. Korean kimchi is made with Chinese cabbage, red pepper, garlic, salted fish and ginger, and then stored in clay containers to ferment for at least four weeks.(Korea Food Research Institute) However, Japanese kimchi is made with Chinese cabbage and artificial flavor, skipping the fermentation process. Kimchi is more than a food for the Koreans. It is a kind of national symbol and part of the national identity for Korea. Kimchi is Korean traditional culture itself.

Korea has a saying that "the taste of kimchi is the taste of your mother's fingertips" (The Independent: October 9, 2000). Thus, to use the term "kimchi" for imitation kimchi is not acceptable for the Koreans, and even it might insult Korean culture. Finally, we cannot forget the sad history between Korea and Japan, Japan's colonization of Korea during World War. Some Koreans do not have good feelings toward Japan and regard the kimchi dispute as another invasion by Japan. There are complex sentiments between Japan and Korea because of their history, and the kimchi issue raised new conflict between the two countries. However, kimchi is surely getting popular in Japan, and Korean culture infiltrates Japan. If the two countries resolve the problem in peace, their relationship will be better and closer in the future. 3. Related Cases II. Legal Clusters 5. Discourse and Status: Disagreement and in progress This case relates to the Agreement of the Application on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) of the Uruguay Round Negotiation.

According to WTO, this agreement "sets out the basic rules for food safety and animal and plant health standards, and member countries are encouraged to use international standards, guidelines and recommendations where they exist." "Under the WTO foundation and its SPS agreement, the inspection criteria for the food inspection of countries have been required to harmonize with its Codex standard" (Korean Food Reseach Institute). Along with the popularity of Kimchi in the world, Korea, the leading exporting country, began to be concerned about that its market share was threatened by Japan, since there was no international standard of Kimchi products. Although Japanese "kimuchi" - comes from Japanese pronunciation - does not follow Korean traditional making process "kimchi," Japan has increased the amount of kimchi export. As a result, in December 1995, Korea asked the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization's Codex Alimentarius commission for establishing Codex standard for the international kimchi trade. Korea claimed that an urgent international kimchi standard was needed to secure fair trade and protect consumers' health. Since then, Korea and Japan have discussed about the kimchi issue in the Codex sessions to set a standardized criteria of kimchi product in terms of its recipe and trade.

At last, in September 2000, the 20th Session of the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables advanced the Draft Standard for Kimchi for final adoption. In July 2001, the Codex Alimentarius Commission will adopt the draft as the Codex Standard, and all countries which are involved in kimchi trade will comply with the rule. According to the draft, a product, which does not meet the Codex Standard, is not labeled as kimchi. When a product meets the standard once, it should be named "kimchi." Therefore, Japan will have to change the name of its kimchi products, which satisfies the rule, from "kimuchi" to "kimchi." 95 % of the standard recipe (draft) is based on Korean original making style, and only 5% is from Japan's requests. Korea's assertion is reflected in the criteria of basic ingredients, Chinese cabbage and seasoning mixture (red pepper, garlic, etc.), and the necessity of fermented process. On the other hand, the draft also permits using artificial food additives, citric acid and xanthan gum, which is Japanese food makers' manufacturing method.

The Codex Alimentarius Commission 6. Forum and Scope: WTO and Multilateral 7. Decision Breadth: Japan and Korea 8. Legal Standing: Treaty b. Geographic Site: East Asia c. Geographic Impact: Japan 12. Type of Measure: Intellectual Property 13. Direct v. Indirect Impacts: Direct 14. Relation of Trade Measure to Environmental Impact a. Directly Related to Product: b. Indirectly Related to Product: c. Not Related to Product: d. Related to Process: 15. Trade Product Identification: Kimchi 16. Economic Data 17. Impact of Trade Restriction: 18. Industry Sector: Food 19. Exporters and Importers: Korea and Japan In this case, the key importer is Japan, and the key exporters are both Japan and South Korea. Korea is the major exporting country of kimchi, since it is Korea's traditional dish. However, Japan has also been expanding its international market of kimchi while importing most of the kimchi exports from Korea.

The following data are from Korean Food Research Institute: ( KFRI ) Korean Export of Kimchi 15,229 23,816 The amount of Korean kimchi export dramatically grew up about 1.8 times in value and about 1.6 times in quantity from 1998 to 1999. The major factor of the growth is the increase of Japanese import because it accounts for more than 95 % of the exports from Korea in 1999. Japan has imported more than 90 % of Korean kimchi since 1996; moreover, the amount is still increasing. However, despite the enormous amount of Japanese kimchi import, Japan has more expanding its worldwide kimchi market than Korea. Japan has grabbed nearly 80% of the world kimchi market (Far Eastern Economic Review: May 25, 2000). 20. Environmental Problem Type: Culture 21. Name, Type, and Diversity of Species NA Name: 22. Resource Impact and Effect: NA 23. Urgency and Lifetime: NA 24. Substitutes: VI. Other Factors 25.

Culture: "'What the Japanese are selling is nothing more than cabbage sprinkled with seasonings and artificial flavorings,' said Robert Kim, assistant manager for the overseas sales team at the Doosan Corporation, a South Korean food manufacturer that operates the world's largest kimchi factory" (The New York Times, February 5, 2000). He, his company, and other kimchi factories in Korea are surely affected by the wave of Japanese kimchi industry's market expansion both domestically and internationally. Since the 1988 Seoul Olympics, when kimchi was introduced to world people, the amount of Korean kimchi export has been increasing, and kimchi has become a lucrative trade item for Korea. Especially, the popularity of kimchi in Japan is amazing; more than 90% of Korea's kimchi exports have gone to Japan the last 4 years. However, along the popularity, Japanese foodmakers have begun to make Japanese-style kimchi and eroded the kimchi market that was once operated by Korean kimchi industry. Today, only 10% of kimchi consumed in Japan is imported from Korea; the rest is produced in Japan. 80% of the world kimchi market is occupied by Japan.

One of the main factors of the success of Japanese kimchi makers is their low-cost production process unlike Korean way. Japanese makers skip the fermentation process and add artificial flavoring instead of natural one. This method is cheaper and less time consuming; thus, they can provide low-priced kimchi and win the competition with Korean counterparts. Furthermore, Japanese kimchi is made to suit Japanese taste, which is less spicy and pungent than Korean one, and foreigners tend to prefer this Japanese mild kimchi. Such Japanese copycat kimchi has stirred up Korean patriotic sentiment, since kimchi is more than food and a kind of national symbol for Korea. For Koreans, to make kimchi with non-traditional way and call it "kimchi" mean to insult Korean culture. The above-mentioned Robert Kim said,"This debate is not only just protecting out market share. We are trying to preserve our national heritage" (The New York Times, February 5, 2000). Korea has a complex attitude toward this kimchi dispute. Although majority opinion is to oppose Japanese kimchi to protect Korean culture, it is a fact that some Koreans are pleased at the amazing popularity of kimchi in Japan.

Both opinions are closely related to the unforgettable historical fact of Japan and Korea that Japan colonized Korea for 35 years. Japan's increasing share of the world kimchi market has reminded Korea of the past Japan's invasion. Despite the fact that Japanese way of making kimchi does not follow Korean traditional style, Japan's imitation products are floating around the world as "kimchi." For Koreans, this is not only Japan's market domination but also insult of national pride as they experienced before. "Asked if South Korea's effort to restrict Japan's use of the word kimchi reflected lingering animosity over Japan's colonial rule of Korea, Mr. Fukuda said, 'Though I do not belong to the generation that ruled Korea, there could be some remaining sentiments'" (The New York Times, February 5, 2000). On the other hand, there is the opinion that the recent Japan's penchant for kimchi will be a bridge between two cultures. Japan and Korea have not willingly exchanged their cultures because of the sad history; however, this kimchi issue would be a good chance for Japan to have interest in Korean traditions and cultures. This will be the beginning of establishing a good relationship between Korea and Japan.

Furthermore, some Koreans view that Japan's expansion of kimchi trade helps the globalization of kimchi, Korean national food, namely, the worldwide awareness of Korean culture. With regard to Japanese attitude, they are claiming that they also have the right to use the term "kimchi." Japan insists that Korea has no monopoly on kimchi, as Mexico and India do not have the privileges of "tacos" or "curry." "Japanese kimchi makers contend that once Korea Food Research Instituteethnic dishes gain international popularity, they are usually altered to fit the local palate" (The New York Times, February 5, 2000). 26. Trans-Boundary Issues: No History of Kimchee | Asian Recipes You are here: Home / Korea Recipes / History of Kimchee History of Kimchee By ARAdmin Kimchi is a uniquely pungent mixture of fermented vegetables and its variations amounted to roughly 80 kinds of dishes during the Choson period. For spring, summer and fall consumption, kimchi was cured in a small quantity, but for the winter months, large quantities were made so that it could be eaten over three or four months.

The kimchi-curing for the winter season was called, “kimjang” and was usually done in late November. In ancient times, kimchi was made of greens picked and salt or a salt and alcohol mixture. By the end of Unified Shillan and the beginning of Koryo, sliced-radish kimchi pickled in brine became popular. Soon thereafter chili was introduced to Korea around 1500 and it was added to make kimchi as well. During the late Choson era, powdered chili, together with chotkal (fish or shellfish paste), bcame the favored ingredients in kimchi. In the southern regions, the chotkal was amde of anchovies, while in the northern regions, croaker and shrimp chotkal were more popular. The climatic differences of each region affected the taste of kimchi as well. In warm places, chotkal andchili poweder were used in abundance so that kimchi could be prevented from going bad. On the other hand, kimchi made in colder areas was less salty and pungent. Today, many firms are mass-producing kimchi.

Kimchi Tangy and hot, it’s the accent and counterpoint to a traditional meal of rice and soup, but nowadays, kimchi is turning up in pizzas and burgers, making it a most versatile ingredient, not to mention the test of a good cook. Even bachelors who can hardly cook to survive know how to transform leftover kimchi and rice into sizzling fried rice or bubbling kimchi stew. The process of making kimchi is an excellent example of how Korean women approach cooking. (Most men never enter the kitchen, and most women learn how to cook only after marrying and under the tutelage of their mothers-in-law.) Measurements? A handful of this, a pinch of that. Food processors? Bare hands rigorously pound, mash or rub. Fingers are dipped into the sauce for a taste. Seasonings are adjusted drop by drop. The best makers of kimchi are “old hands,” literally, because Korean cooking is very much a manual-intensive labor and the best cooks are said to have a magic touch. No recipe book can substitute for the year of trial and error necessary to develop tastebuds to detect subtle variations of flavor and the intuition to season accordingly.

in the past, all the women who married into one family learned to make kimchi in the same kitchen with their mothers-in-law. The family’s distinctive flavor of kimchi has been handed down through generations. These days, fewer women have the time or space to make kimchi in the traditional way. With nuclear families now the rule, urban households living in apartments are unable to join together for Gimjang, the annual winter kimchi making during which enough batches are made to last several households all winter. Kimchi used to be stored underground in earthenware jars that aided the fermentation process, but nowadays, special containers and even refrigerators are being developed to allow modern women to make smaller batches all year round. The easiest and quickest kimchi to make is mul kimchi, or water-kimchi. Slightly sweet and very refreshing, it’s the perfect comlement to heavy, rich dishes. Unlike most other forms of kimchi, this one does not require fermented salt shrimp paste (jeotgal), and is fermented within days. Becoming an International Favorite Kimchi is a “great cultural myth from the old dynasty era of ancient Korea…” There is a superbly palate-pleasing kimchi to delight every taste.

A global favorite, kimchi is a food that adds zest to all kinds of meals and its appeal cuts across all social, economic, ethnic and geographical boundaries. Kimchi is an exotic, super spicy side dish. While no one is quite sure whether kimchi is a pickle or a salad, its wide range of flavors, types and styles make it a palatable part of an irresistible side-dish, a great appetizer, and a naturally cultured healthy raw vegetable. Kimchi has been served daily with every meal throughout generations of Korea for thousands of years. Kimchi sparkles with the flavor of garlic, ginger, scallions and chilies. Kimchi adds zest to all goods. Kimchi is an excellent contributor to the human body. Unlike other similar foods, kimchi has its own unique nutritional value of promoting health and preventing disease, there is “none better” and it is “well worth” to the human diet. A study of kimchi history reveals that people were enjoying kimchi’s unique goodness more than 4,000 years ago. In about 2030 B.C. the inhabitants of northern India brought seeds of this vegetable to Mongolia, and the preservation of greens with other vegetables soon became common as cultured raw vegetables.

Kimchi is the most versatile food. In Japan and Korea it is served as a side dish. An impressive range of all kinds of kimchi is becoming very popular in America, Hawaii, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and way down under in Australia. Indeed, it is found and enjoyed almost everywhere nowadays. Kimchi is never fickle where flavor is concerned. Its tantalizing taste attracts particular eaters. In Japan, Korea, and both northwest and southeast Asia, each person munches an average of ten to fifteen kilograms of kimchi a year. In South Korea alone, that is about four hundred tons per year or more of kimchi consumed than any other vegetable. Currently, kimchi has become a popular health food in the “New World” ever since the first immigrant settled in the Hawaiian Islands and North America from many Asian countries. The kimchi patch provided great emotional comfort to those under exiled conditions far away from their homeland. Kimchi touched and appealed to many ethnic settlers who started making kimchi and spoke enthusiastically its zesty flavors.

Believe in Beauty In both Eastern and Western history, the most famous femme fatales, Cleopatra and Yang Gyuibee, were devoted eaters of cultured raw vegetables, and believed that cultured raw vegetables had made them more beautiful. Queen Elizabeth was another royal cultured raw vegetable fancier. The Emperor of the Han Dynasty enjoyed this vegetable everyday, and fighting men from the days of Julius Caesar’s troops through the time of Napoleon on up until today have found them a delicious addition to drab soldiers’ meals. During both the Korean and Vietnam wars, the Korean government drafted kimchi into the Korean armed forces diet and earmarked almost 90% of shelf-stable (canned) kimchi production for the Army, Navy and Marines. Going even further back, there is a reference to a sailor’s salted and cultured raw vegetables in the eleventh book of the “Odyssey.” Kimchi is popular and is becoming more popular. For thousands of years in various forms “the famous and the not-so-famous” have enjoyed its unique ability to please the palate for cultured raw vegetables.

Whether or not Cleopatra and Yang Gyuibee were right and this type of vegetable actually made them more beautiful, millions of cultured raw vegetable eaters for countless centuries agree that it has limitless appetite appeal. Everybody’s favorite, it adds sparkle and zest to any food: a sandwich, a salad, a banquet, a snack…. or is delicious when accompanied with rice, noodles and eaten with every main dish as a great functional appetizer or a perfect side dish. The Humor in Kimchi Kimchi is a happy and cheerful food and more than a hundred different types of kimchi offer something to appeal to every personality and taste. The Koreans build kimchi awareness with humor, for example, they say “smile with kimchiiiii’s sound!”, instead of “cheese!” when they are taking photographs. The fine autumnal harvest season is the right time for kimchi making for the long winter months. Every household is customarily and consistently serious in their efforts to preserve the best possible product for the family and other kimchi-fanciers, eaters or adorers in every neighborhood.

At the same time, they recognize the nearly unlimited opportunities in keeping people’s awareness of the role of the cheerful kimchi in brightening a meal or a day. Koreans say that the surest way to get an honest laugh is to talk about kimchi. Throughout the nation, many cities, counties, and villages traditionally have their customary events like new-kimchi-festivals, kimchi-fairs and or kimchi making contests, mostly in autumn, when new crops are harvested to celebrate the abundant blessings from God in their happy and healthy lives. It is believed that a woman’s housekeeping skill or quality is mainly evaluated by “how to make and preserve kimchi best” in their home throughout all generations from ancestors until now. Kimchi is also used as a raw material or an ingredient for a variety of other delicious dishes. Thus, making, preserving, and eating kimchi is a naturally healthy, wealthy food pattern Koreans have cherished and inherited. ‘How to make Kimchi’ for the Korean diet is not merely a proud, but an unavoidable mission to the people and the nation.

Now, kimchi makers are planning to organize an international event, “the World Kimchi Fair” with cooperation between the North & South Korean Ministries of Culture to explore their ancestors’ mythic wisdom of unique food culture in the year 2002 in Seoul, Korea. Beyond an Exotic Dish Kimchi is naturally cultured raw vegetable that originated in ancient Korea. Kimchi has been served daily in every household at every meal throughout generations of the nation for thousands of years. Kimchi sparkles with the flavors of garlic, ginger, scallions and chilies. Kimchi adds zest to all foods. Kimchi is an excellent contributor to the human body. Unlike other similar foods, kimchi has its own unique nutritional value of promoting health and preventing disease; there is “none better” and it is “well worth” for the human diet. It adds spice, flavor, and an appetite to meals and joy to living. Cheerful and bright, the flavor-packed kimchi is a friendly favorite that enlivens a meal and lifts the spirits. The power of kimchi is the power of peaceful, prosperous people who smile while working, instead of laughing at work.

Because theirs is an ancient wisdom, Koreans have had an immense opportunity to note what is sound and what is likely to be of enduring value. In addition, since their is the food that has historically brought mankind a chuckle as well as refreshment, they are perhaps a little closer to the well springs of honesty and good cheer. They know that the ability to smile at oneself is a compliment to one’s accomplishments, the reward of reasonable men, and the sign the humanity is in a happy condition. Kimchi’s Potential Although kimchi is similar to sauerkraut and other pickled products in its method of fermentation, it differs from them because of the mixed spices and salt concentration that are used. In Korea, kimchi is served as a staple food and many “cooking with kimchi” recipes have appeared during recent years. Kimchi is served in Japan as a “health food.” Thousands of professional scientists are working in kimchi research teams with an industry team functioning along side them. There is the Kimchi museum, the Kimchi Foundation, the Kimchi Research Institute as well as Kimchi science departments in colleges in Korea. All of these institutions and programs’ approach to research means that overlapping disciplines develop a comprehensive method of coping with research problems.

As many as 500 or more agricultural co-operations, academic institutions, science and technical programs, and big or small private industrial firms throughout the nation co-operate in devising ways to improve the product. Working through state institutions, the research program co-ordinates activities concerned with such aspects as horticultural breeding for better raw materials, quality controls, improving ideal flavor, ensuring shelf stability, culturing and preservation studies, packaging required, postproduction handling, and controls. Changing food patterns created the need for conveniently packed kimchi products. This in turn, required new types of products and completely different packing techniques. Cabbage Agriculture One ancient record shows that types of cabbage were introduced into China in the second century B.C. Another record shows more than 40 centuries ago the peripatetic cabbage began a journey that carried the cured raw vegetables from India to every section of the globe except for the Arctic and Antarctic. A study of the history of kimchi reveals that people have been enjoying some form of cured (fermented by natural process) vegetables, usually cabbage, for more than four thousand years. At about 2030 B.C., the inhabitants of northern India brought cabbage seeds to a valley region in the southern part of China.

The preservation of this vegetable in brine became the common throughout China, Mongolia, and the Korean peninsula. However, the particular form of seasoned, then cured, begetable product that is now known as kimchi was developed only in the Korean peninsula. Long before man began to write a record of history, cured raw vegetables were excited palates and creating tastier meals. Kimchi, a well seasoned traveler, makes friends and sparks appetites wherever it goes. In the beginning, kimchi was introduced overseas only by its own people. During the Korean war however, the UN troops who were stationed in both North and South Korea became kimchi eaters. Then the troops eventually became proponents of kimchi in their own home countries. Kimchi is no longer a mere side dish or condiment for the Korean diet alone. It has now become a favored super spicy pickle in many countries throughout Asia, Europe, North America and Latin America, as well as in Australia in recent years. Kimchi deserves its popularity because of its unique component of natural flavors: hot, sour, sweet, salty, and spicy aromas. All of these flavors are recognized as basic food tastes, and their inclusion in a single dish is both distinctive and wholesome.

During the war in Vietnam, the South Korean government commissioned scientists to create kimchi for soldiers in a plant near Seoul. In the summer of 1966, “kimchi-in-tin” products were finally shipped and served to the Korean troops in Vietnam. This was the first mass production of kimchi on a modern industrial scale, and was based on scientific research on its long history of kimchi in Korea. The first academic research paper about the science of kimchi, exploration on the phenomenon of kimchi fermentation, the food value of kimchi, and its function to human diet and so forth, was presented to the 2nd. International Conference of Food Science and Technology in Warsaw, Poland, in August 1966. It was also acknowledged as the first original research paper about kimchi in English. Thus, kimchi has been a part of the global cuisine for almost four decades. At present, there are more than 400 industrial kimchi manufacturers in South Korea alone. Although, the exact volume of kimchi production is not known in North Korea, it is probably no less than that of South Korea. Many Koreans acknowledge that the best palatable kimchi has traditionally been produced in certain regions of northern Korea.

Pyongyang and Kaesung kimchies were historically graded as the “Gourmet kimchi” of the Korean peninsula from old dynasty era. Although kimchi is is similar to sauerkraut and other cured vegetables in its method of pickling, it differs from them because of the spices and many aromatic vegetables that are used. In Japan, kimchi has been served as a “health food” for more than two decades. In Korea, kimchi is served as ‘the staple’ for centuries and many ‘cooking with kimchi’ recipes have introduced appealing new cuisine in recent years. Coordinated and comprehensive, kimchi industry research consistently improves cultural, pickling, preservation, packing and shipping methods. The result is a superior, mouth watering product of the consumer globally. An untiring effort to develop the method of modernizing kimchi production from that cottage-industrial scale to a systematically improved manufacturing process in Korea. It has finally achieved a delicacy that is cherished for its pleasantly appetizing super spicy side dish, an exotic pickle of a global palate. While skillfully managing to maintain the original humble purpose of preserving vegetables, kimchi makers have now accomplished an authentic preference of fancy global taste.

Kimchi Packing The modern kimchi manufacturers use varieties of cabbages and radishes far superior to those used for kimchi is years past. Each species has its own characteristic flavors. Soil, moisture, the climate (mainly surrounding temperature of the growing field), and the location all have crucial effects on developing the right kind of tender, crisp and pungent flavor-packed cabbages for kimchi. With careful precision, they are selected and picked at precisely the time that will provide the tastiest kimchies. Traditionally, kimchi is prepared and processed in autumn for long term preservation for the winter months when fresh greens are not accessible. It is packed into earthenware pots after the cabbage is marinated with mixed seasonings, then buried underground in the shady backyard of the house. Therefore, the kimchi pots re kept in constantly cool ambient temperatures during the whole period of a winter while kimchi is consumed. Kimchi researchers and packers have improved conventional kimchi manufacturing practices and ultimately achieved their long cherished desire for delivering ‘a global kimchi’ to the world markets: accordingly, kimchi makers have developed new varieties of super savory flavors and created aesthetic packs of high quality kimchi that have become ‘a global preference’.

However, there are currently three basic packs of kimchi products in modern super markets: 1) Freshly-packed items of salad type kimchi 2) refrigerated items of pickled kimchi 3) Pasteurized items of shelf stable kimchi. These kimchi products are produced on an industrial scale in modern facilities in response to increasing consumer demand in both domestic and foreign markets. After the wilting period in brine, the cabbages are carefully washed, drained, sorted, and trimmed then marinated with the spicy seasonings selected to impart authentic flavor. This kimchi is firm, crisp, chili-red in color and refreshingly appetizing. Authentic, original kimchi is the major exception. This is wilted and marinated at the industrial facility by a pickling method using mild seasonings and packed in specially selected container for pasteurization. Throughout the entire process of wilting in brine and marinating for freshly packed and for pasteurized kimchi, meticulous quality control procedures assure atop quality product for the consumer. The kimchi has had a long, long journey for the past 4,000 years. Today, modern methods produce a superb selection of perfect kimchi for people around the world.

Kimchi Potpourri There are more a hundred different kinds of kimchies prepared to appeal to every taste and fit in with every serving need. Also, there are many different varieties within the four seasonal groups, as well as the three major processing groups: pasteurized, refrigerated and fresh pack. Pasteurized can be either fermented or pickled. Fermented kimchi preserved and cured by natural fermentation. Genuine kimchi made from cabbages wilted in special sea salt brine, seasoned with typical kimchi ingredient and mixed spices. Current kimchi is made the same as genuine kimchi except for the long term maturation period. Refrigerated may be made in several ways, including placing wilted cabbages in a pickling solution of spice-mixture and keeping them cool, or using partial fermentation followed by refrigeration to slow the process. Fresh pack kimchi packed in spiced-ingredients plus sour vinegar mixture. This sour-cured type tastes like fresh salad kimchi. The four seasonally different types vary with its different materials and spice stuffing of each season – spring, summer, autumn and winter. The whole cabbage kichi is packed in conventional spice-mixture stuffing for a long term preservation throughout whole winter months.

The autumn kimchi is usually seasoned lighter than that of the winter’s. The summer kimchi is mainly fresh pack or sour-cured type. The spring kimchi is usually combined with other spring vegetables and stocked fall winter vegetables. Often, they are prepared together as fresh spring pack. In spring, there is also some well stored winter kimchi to be found together with newly processed one. It is not only possible to have kimchi year round as a side dish, condiment or an appetizer, but also a wide range of “cook-with-kimchi” recipes is picking up momentum. Facts About Kimchi Kimchi is ready to eat right from its container all year round. Its firm, tender, crisp texture and its zesy, fully refreshing taste makes an exotic popularity. For kimchi eaters, there is not other food that can attain the same appeal as kimchi. Kimchi satisfies the appetite and is also a perfect relish which enhances the taste of other food: it has 42 mg of vitamin C per 10g, which is more than half of the US government’s recommended daily allowance.

It is fascinating to note that when captain James Cook set sail in the 1770’s, he served his seamen a daily portion of fermented, cured cabbage to prevent scurvy, which is now known to be the result of vitamin C deficiency. Kimchi is high in fiber, a food component usually too low in the average American diet. Fiber also add the bulk necessary for proper digestion. Kimchi is rich in minerals and vitamins and is an essential source of thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), calcium and iron, all of which are essential components for human health. Kimchi is surprisingly low in calories for a food of such nutritional value, with only 33 calories per cup (less than 15 cal/100g). Hence, it provides a great way to lose weight or just keep it off. Kimchi is versatile, and its low cost and east of serving are among the reasons for its popularity. Kimchi has finally achieved its long-cherished desire of meeting global demand in handy safe containers. The Versatile Kimchi Kimchi is versatile, and its natural, healthy, low cost, and ease of serving are among the reasons for its popularity.

Kimchi is ready to eat right from the container all year round. Firm, crisp texture and its exotic, refreshing taste make it particularly savory. For many people, there is no other food that can attain the same nutritional value as kimchi. It provides a great way to lose weight or just keep it off. Kimchi has finally achieved its long-cherished desire of meeting global demand in handy, safe, shelf-stable containers. Kimchi adds zest to all food. Enjoy kimchi with meat, fish, soup, stew, hot-pot, rice and noodles. For all cuisine, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and or all Asian and Western cuisine add kimchi as a super savory side dish. Information provided by the Korean Embassy. Kimchi information taken from booklet “Hello from Korea” from the Korean Overseas Information Service and from “New Facts About an Old Myth” from Cheil Jedang Corporation. You may also like... Regular everyday Nepali food is very healthy, nourishing , practical and surprisingly tasty. … » more... Super Search Recipes by Type Food Advertising by Share Your Asian Recipes If you've got a favourite Asian recipe you'd like to share, you are welcome to submit it to us for inclusion in the correct category.

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Question: Kimchi is a traditional dish of which country?
Answer: Korea