What is Kimchi? Kimchi,김치, is an iconic traditional Korean dish that commonly uses salted and fermented vegetables and marinated with gazillions of spices (red chilli pepper, ginger, kelp sauce, fish sauce etc) which is usually hot and spicy, mostly orange-red in color. The most well-known one is made with napa cabbage as their main ingredient. In Korean language, “kimchi” is actually a broader term that means marinated vegetable. Therefore, besides napa cabbage, kimchi has versatile variations (about 200), such as kimchi made with cucumber, Korean radish, carrot, young radish leaves, and some other vegetables of the season.

How is kimchi made?

In the old days, food shortage during winter time was a severe recurring problem to most Korean people because no fresh vegetable could grow in the field under the bone-chilling weather. They have to think of a way to make their food last longer. They eventually discovered the use of salt and spices on preserving food for a longer time. For that reason, kimchi, marinated vegetable, was invented as a sustaining food.

For a better preserving result, a Korean kimchi master would carefully rub the seasoning spices to each and every leaf of the vegetables. Traditionally, they put the seasoned vegetables in big earthen crockpots and stored them underground in soil where there was no direct sunlight and to keep it cool. These days, to save the trouble and to be more efficient, Korean people have invented the kimchi refrigerator,김치냉장고, which specializes the perfect temperature for storing the kimchi.

Is kimchi good for us?

Korean people undoubtedly are the die heart fans of kimchi! It is estimated that each Korean person consumes 40 pounds of kimchi per year. Why Korean people love kimchi so much? Well, it is because kimchi is actually a superfood that is surprisingly healthy for the human bodies. Due to the nature of kimchi, mainly vegetables, it contains a high amount of fiber and is definitely low fat. To those of you who want to lose a few pounds, this is absolutely exciting news!

Also, thanks to the fermentation process, kimchi, like yogurt, contains “healthy” probiotics that are beneficial to our bodies which is called “lactobacilli.”It aims to help with our digestion, especially aids to fight diarrhoea and helps with people who are lactose intolerance with digestive problems. In addition, the antioxidants produced along with the fermentation process could help with slowing down the aging of our skin. Looks like we accidentally discovered the Korean’s “Fountain of Youth.”

Furthermore, the allicin and selenium from the garlic in kimchi is proven to lower cholesterol levels in our blood streams which prevent us from getting atherosclerosis. Besides, the selenium is part of a booster compound that assists our bodies to retain and reconstruct vitamin C, so we can have bright shiny hair and radiant skin (less wrinkles,yay!). Not to mention, kimchi has a high level of vitamin A that every 100 grams of kimchi has 18% of the daily vitamin A value in our 2000-calorie diet. Vitamin A helps to shake off the free radicals in our bodies that could give rise to cancer; vitamin A also aids to develop and maintain a clear, healthy vision.

Apart from the garlic, the isocyanate and sulfide in radish and cabbage also serve as detoxes for the heavy metals that left in our livers, kidney, and intestines. Most importantly, kimchi arouses the activity of immune cells and the abundance of antibodies.

Kimchi in Korean cuisines?

Kimchi captured our hearts owing to its versatile nature of food business. On top of that, kimchi is now a national cultural food in Korea that every Korean household (no matter the rich or poor) makes their own kimchi for each and every year, mainly in autumn. (they even have kimchi making competitions!) Having said that, allegedly in the old times, Korean women can’t find a husband if they don’t know how to make kimchi. (You can see Koreans do treat kimchi-making very seriously.) Not to mention, kimchi made with “secret family formula” gets to be passed down from generations. These “secret” homemade kimchi recipes are priceless treasures to most Koreans since each and every kimchi formula is unique depending on where they live (weather, soil, nearby the ocean or not etc).

ow no wonder why Koreans love kimchi so much because of it’s rich in history and its versatile adoption in cuisines. When I was in college, I lived with a Korean roommate for a while. We had kimchi on our table every single meal, mostly the one made with cabbage and radish. There were two kimchi dishes that my Korean roommate cooked all the time: pork kimchi jjigae with noodles and stir-fry kimchi udon. I guess it was because they were easy to make and less time-consuming. In Asia Market, we have stocked a variety of kimchi products. For example: Pork & Kimchi Dumpling, young radish leaves kimchi, canned kimchi, ponytail radish kimchi and so on. Kimchi also tastes good with alcoholic beverages, such as soju, plum wine, and beer. A quick fun fact, kimchi can act as an refreshment (like chewing gum) to remove the odor in your mouth after eating.

Will kimchi ever go bad?

To most Korean people, they probably would say “NEVER” because fermented food is technically already gone “bad.” In general, kimchi could have a long shelf life if we store it properly, close tightly, in a cool dark place or a (kimchi) refrigerator. Usually, kimchi that is unopened could be stored for a year or more. On the contrary, kimchi in an opened jar is safer to be finished within 3 months. Even though kimchi may have an acquired taste to some people, we as cautious consumers should play on the safe side to get rid of it if we see the molds start to develop, kimchi juice starts bubbling, or the veggies become mushy and sour. Yet, to most Koreans, they honestly would just turn the sour kimchi into another tasty dish.

Nowadays, kimchi is not merely a sustaining food for winter anymore. Kimchi is a national icon that represents traditional Korean culture and family value of Korean people. Frankly, kimchi is an indispensable connection between Korea and the rest of the world.

Author: Enid Chiu