Kimchi Mania

When talking to other Koreans, Rosa refers to me as “kimchi mania” when we’re out at restaurants or eating somewhere. I don’t know if that’s a common phrase for people who like kimchi or just some funny nickname she gave me. Kimchi is a delicious spicy,  fermented cabbage dish. Koreans eat it in the morning, afternoon, at night, and any snack time in between. Kimchi is special, because each time it’s made it tastes slightly different.

After spending my whole day blogging and futzing around on my computer, I thought I should be more productive and make kimchi. I hadn’t made kimchi for at least six months. I forgot how long it takes. I ended up not finishing until 2 a.m, and today I was so sleepy.

Kyle’s mom first taught me how to make it. I love her kimchi. After carefully analyzing each ingredient and how much she puts in, I always end up making kimchi that tastes the same each time I make it–and it never tastes like hers.

My ingredients for kimchi are:
Nappa cabbage
Green onion
White onion
Garlic
Small fermented shrimp (blended/mushed)
Korean red pepper
Hondashi
Sugar
Salt

Kimchi that I made last night. I let it sit out for 24 hours, but usually people let it ferment for around one week.

I also made a radish kimchi, called musaengchae. It’s shoe-string cut radish with many of the same seasonings.

Musaengchu. This is a type of radish kimchi that is fairly quick to make.

Vocabulary
배추 Bae-chu (nappa cabbage)
파 Pa (green onion)
양파 Yang-pa (onion)
마늘 Ma-nuerl (garlic)
새우젓 Sae-eu-jeot (small fermented shrimp)
고추루가 Go-chu-roo-ga (Korean red pepper)
혼다시 Hon-da-shi (Japanese seasoning, seafood/salty flavor)
살탕 Sal-tang (sugar)
소금 So-guem (salt)
무생채 Mu-saeng-chae
 

About these ads