Traditional Korean Food Lesson

One of the neat things about adopting from Korea is being able to incorporate different parts of the culture into our lives. Korea is know for it savory, different, and enjoyable foods (something that Shawna and I both enjoy is trying out foods from other cultures.) While Korea has many foods that both of us enjoy, one item that is shared by only me (and not too many others apparently) is the wonderful dish, kimchi.

In Korea kimchi is as ubiquitous as squid. Kimchi is eaten at every meal, and some might say the aroma and taste must be acquired. For others (Shawna, my coworkers, my family, my friends, well really everyone except a select few) it smells something like dirty feet or old, rotten shoes. To me (and that select few) it’s a treat to be savored.

There are actually several varieties of kimchi to complement different meals much like wine. They are made from pickled cabbage, radishes or tofu, and seasoned with peppers, onions and garlic. If you’re in kimchi’s homeland it will be put in large jars and allowed to ferment underground for months. Yes, months. When we buy the Safeway variety it is so fermented that it explodes upon opening much like a shaken can of Coke. Not only do the cabbage and radishes pop up to say hello, but that lovely smell of rotten shoes permeates throughout the house. I really can’t understand why more people aren’t rushing out to get it.

If you think that this treat is only good for its effervescence, you’re wrong. It’s actually been named by Health Magazine as one of the five healthiest foods. (Well, yogurt is on there too.) Yes, apparently the Koreans are quite healthy for eating kimchi and you might wonder if all of the germs in the world are perhaps scared off by the pungent odor. But, really it kills viruses and bacteria, including the SARS virus and the bird flu. So, we’ll have a secret weapon in our household (even if I have to resort to sneaking kimchi into Shawna’s or the baby’s food).