Kimchi is as necessary to Koreans as rice, and is perhaps the most written about subject in the scanty literature on Korean cuisine. Kimchi, in the most basic recipe calls for cabbage to be first salted for few hours until wilted, then washed and stuffed with a filing of fadish strings, garlic, chilli, salted shrimps, etc. And fermented until it 'Matures' which can take two to three days in warm weather, to weeks in freezing cold of winter. It is served cut into small sections.
At the last count, there were over 100 versions using vegetables such as radish, cucumber, spring onion, spinach, egg plant, sesame leaf, etc., with all manners of variations in the fillings, which can include raw fish and oysters in some regions as well as 'white' Kimchi, made without any chilli. Kimchi is probably responsible for single handedly giving Korean cuisine a reputation as being a spicy cuisine - A misconception since there are probably as many mild flavoured dishes as there are spicy ones. But it is without doubt true that Koreans are fond of their chillies and garlic, blamed for much of stomach problems before, but more recently lauded to be healthful !
Among foreigners, Kimchi has shares a reputation similar to cheese ; they are both fermented, producing a pungent aroma, and they are deemed to be an acquired taste, becoming addictive in time.
| 이전글 | 앤디랄라|2006-01-22 | |
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