Making Kimchi!!!

When I decided to come back to Korea, one thing topped my list of things to do that I didn't get to do last time...Make Kimchi!!

What is kimchi, you might ask?? Well, if you're in Korea for more than a second, you'll see this spicy cabbage dish on your table. Kimchi is [unoffically?] the national dish of Korea. It's everywhere!! In a phrase, it's spicy fermented cabbage. I think it's served as a side dish for just  about every Korean dish, and the Korean people love it. Actually, they swear by it. You know the saying "An apple a day...", well, in Korea, it's kind of like, "Some kimchi everyday..."

Do I like it, you might ask next? Well, that's a tricky question because I am not into spicy food...but they do have a version of this dish (baek kimchi) that doesn't have the spicy sauce and I really love it...too bad it's not very common!

Then, you might be thinking, 'how do you make this famous dish?' I'll give you a very brief description...since I'm definitely not the kimchi expert!! (Click this link for a really good explanation, if you'd like to read more.) Ok...here goes from my point-of-view:

• As the weather starts getting cold and the cabbage is at it's peak, it's kimchi-making time in Korea! This process is called 'kim-jang'. After gathering the heads of cabbage and cleaning them, the cabbage is soaked in salt water for about a day. This part of the process allows the cabbage to wilt and become easier for handling.  The following day, the cabbage is covered - leaf-by-leaf - by a spicy concoction. My suspicion is that each family has their own spicy recipe, but that has not been confirmed! In the kimchi that I made, the sauce had some ginger, oysters, red sauce (goh-chu), garlic, and probably more things that I didn't know about! Next, the cabbage heads will be placed in large kimchi pot that will hold the kimchi for an extended period of time (a year or more) until the family is ready to eat it.

 Ok, let's get to the pictures now! They're the fun part anyway!! :)

 Our ingredients - cabbage & the spicy red concoction



 Learning the proper technique

 Trying some of the [spicy] delicousness!!

Coating each leaf!

I was having so much fun!

The finished product!!

Of course, we shot a little video too! Enjoy!!



I had loads of fun, and I feel really happy that I got to partake in this Korean tradition!