kimchi...

I know that you have been waiting on this post. My life in the land of kimchi.

Things to note about this delectable food:
-Websters defines Kimchi as a vegetable pickle seasoned with garlic, red pepper, and ginger that is the national dish of Korea.
-Wikipedia says about kimchi: any one of numerous traditional Korean pickled dishes made of vegetables with varied seasonings. Its most common manifestation is the spicy baechu (cabbage) variety. Kimchi is so ubiquitous that the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) developed space kimchi to accompany the first Korean astronaut to the Russian-manned space ship Soyuz.
-Urban Dictionary states: A healthy, good tasting traditional Korean dish made with various herbal ingredients. May seem and smell offensive to foreigners. often insulted by prejudiced Japanese people for its strong smell. (This is excluding the rather harsh definitions posted by the Japanese.)

Many blogs and websites are dedicated to this scrumptious treat: The Daily Kimchi, Love that Kimchi, kimchi.com. There is even an iphone application for kimchi lovers!

Here is kimchi propaganda:

You hear a lot of talk about kimchi here. For instance, "they" will tell you that it is very healthy for you and fights against disease and cancer...this may be true. According to Health Magazine: Kimchi is made of various vegetables and contains a high concentration of dietary fiber, while being low in calories. One serving also provides up to 80% of the daily recommended amount of vitamin C and carotene. Kimchi is listed in the top five "World's Healthiest Foods" for being rich in vitamins, aiding digestion, and even possibly reducing cancer growth. Some research focused on high-sodium dietary dependence has found over consumption of kimchi and 된장 to be a risk factor in gastric cancer (most likely due to nitrates and salt). One oncological study found one type of kimchi to be a protective factor against gastric cancer while two other types of such high-sodium kimchi as dongchimi were risk factors. One study conducted by Seoul National University claimed that chickens infected with the H5N1 virus, avian flu, recovered after eating food containing the same bacteria found in kimchi. However, these results have been questioned due to the very small sample size of only a handful of chickens. During the 2003 SARS outbreak, many people believed that kimchi could protect against infection.

Walking through an alley last night with a friend, he spied the real hygienic making of kimchi. When you hear excitement in someone's voice over Kimchi drying o a garbage dumpster, you tend to lose your appeitate for the dish regardless of the nutritional qualities it possess. My friend remarked that the garbage dumpster is probably how Koreans achieve the smell that accompanies the rotting dish.

There are many festivals and contests held throughout the year here in Korea that celebrate this national dish. I plan to be the nest ex-pat Kimchi maker world winner! In the words of the EV Boys (check them out on itunes) Kimchi, Kimchi, it is good for you and me.

I do not want to leave you with a bad taste in your mouth, pun intended here as it is called for. Kimchi leaves the taste of rotting pepper in your mouth only remedied by large quantities of rice and soup. I am eating kimchi. I find that it really might prevent the flu and definitely warms you up on a cold day. Here are some pictures to keep you intrigued! JUST WAIT UNTIL I GET BACK! I am making it for all of you!

Recipes to come soon...