Posts Tagged “kimchi”
Who Moved My Kimchi Smell?
Kimchi is not only one of the most important Korean side dishes which is also used in Korean stews and main entrees, but many, many of us love it’s one of a kind smell! I love my Kimchi and fried rice, and yes, the smell of frying kimchi is half the treat. I can’t imagine preparing and then starring at a dish of kimchi fried rice that imparts NO SMELL of kimchi. What sort of culinary nightmare is this?
Now, 56 year old Kim Soon-ja (named First Kimchi Master by the South Korean Food Ministry in 2007) has created a Kimchi that has no smell. She has run her own factory since 1986 and now holds a patent on the odorless kimchi. Her creation is a new type of freeze-dried pickled cabbage that doesn’t smell even after water is added. [1]
The Seoul-based Corea Image Communication Institute, surveyed that Korean food’s unique smell is the biggest obstacle to culinary globalization. Granted, the fermentation of cabbage, garlic, red pepper flakes, anchovy, fish sauce, and ginger greatly improves your chance of having kimchi breath but that’s what brushing and breath mints are for!
Also consider that if such odorless kimchi brings itself and Korean cuisine, in general, closer to the desired culinary globalization, what are we to do with the 3,000 year old recipes and approaches to kimchi when asked about it? What do we say to those requesting REAL kimchi at restaurants? Shall we maybe provide separate seating as we did with smokers? I’m being a bit extreme of course, but I guess we can provide a pseudo kimchi for those not willing to risk being around the smell of a healthy fermenting food. For the vendor, it might even be an extra source of revenue and probably sell for more than the real stuff. One of the few requirements for ridiculous pricing is the novelty factor and a odorless kimchi will certainly have that. People are funny that way don’t you know.
With the smell removed, what does the odorless kimchi taste like? Well, I personally haven’t had the opportunity to try it but am extremely doubtful and pessimistic that I would enjoy it as I do naturally fermented and freshly served kimchi with all it’s glorious smell. However, I will remain open minded enough to say I’ve yet to try it and until I do so, will have to hold my tongue just a little and, without effort, nose on the matter – remember it’s odorless.
The creator of the odorless ‘just add water’ brand of kimchi speaks better of it saying, “When it soaks in water either hot or cold for a few minutes, it will become just like ordinary kimchi,” says Kim, the owner of Han Sung Food in suburban Seoul.
It sounded like and reminded me of the sterilized and irradiated kimchi that was developed for space travel when Astronaut Ko San went into orbit April ’08.
I’m sure the odorless brainchild’s creator has nothing but great things to say about the Kimchi but I want the pungent smell as its part of the experience for many of us. For kimchi mongers like myself, this odorless variety would be like smoked B-B-Q without a trace of smokey beef in the air or a pastry kitchen with no sweet effect on the nose.
A food science professor at Kyung Hee University said “Some people who like freshness could dislike” dried kimchi”.
I would also be concerned about missing any of the true health benefits of traditional kimchi versus it’s odorless counterpart. I enjoy the smell of my kimchi as its served and I indulge myself. Not withstanding the lack of it’s natural smell, I can’t help but wonder if the health benefits of odorless kimchi remain intact to include the anti-toxins, anti-allergens, and anti-biotics.
From Wikipedia: (Regarding REAL Kimchi)
“The magazine Health named kimchi in its list of top five “World’s Healthiest Foods” for being rich in vitamins, aiding digestion, and even possibly reducing cancer growth.
A study by Seoul National University claimed that chickens infected with the H5N1 virus, also called avian flu, recovered after eating food containing the same bacteria found in kimchi. However, the veracity of these results has been questioned due to the very small sample size of only a handful of chickens and the fact that no subsequent research supported the claims. During the 2003 SARS outbreak in Asia, many people even believed that kimchi could protect against infection, although there was no scientific evidence to support this belief.
However, in May 2009, the Korea Food Research Institute, Korea’s state food research organization, said they had conducted a larger study on 200 chickens, which supported the efficacy of kimchi in fighting off avian flu.” [2]
Among factual health benefits of Kimchi are improved intestinal maintenance, omega-6 fatty acids, fights unhealthy cholesterol levels, high levels of garlic contributing high levels of Allicin – a natural source of Selenium and artery cleaner, and high chili pepper content with it’s vitamin C content. [3]
I suppose, my future dinning experiences may require a call ahead to specify and insure I’m served the traditional stinky kimchi following my preference between the city’s finest tap or mineral water. So if a serving of this odorless kimchi makes it to my table, it will for my tastes be only half the experience.
That would undoubtedly be a table and restaurant I would have to avoid. I mean Kimchi has been traditionally served fresh or slightly aged with all it’s natural flavors and fermented smell just as it was made as early as 2600–3000 years ago. It’s hard to part with such an old habit you know.
I must admit that opening a jar of kimchi will release a strong and lingering smell that most would find very noticeable and maybe offensive. If traveling and unable to to go where it is served as a standard, having to eat from a hotel room or another’s home, I’d be more than happy to venture into the customary grub of the region. I mean, when in Rome, you don’t bust out your tupperware full of kimchi. And even then, I know in many parts of the world, I can acquire enough kimchi locally to satisfy my needs. This isn’t like requesting 0 a pound white truffles while on expedition in the Amazon.
I’ve contacted Kim Soon-ja for a sample of her Kimchi as I would like to review her product at my site www.Love That Kimchi.com. Just as I sampled Granny Choe’s traditional Kimchi (complete with the wonderful smell of fermenting cabbage and age-old ingredients) and now recommend it at my site, I would offer a completely fair and unbiased review of the odorless kimchi for both the traditionalist and those who’ve stayed away from this gem because of the smell. Despite having my strong preference, I can offer a fair review on merits of taste alone. This despite a strong connection between sense of smell and taste – at least mine. It might be like judging a sizzlin’ steak, before the eyes, with no beefy smell but it would be the taste, after all, that is being judged. I’ve had to do worse.
Until then, with all due respect, and I mean that, I believe ‘odorless kimchi’ will be tolerated among true lovers of Korean cuisine as much as zirconia diamonds are among precious stone collectors.
In the meantime, I’m grateful to keep and wherever acceptable revert to my smelly kimchi.
I enjoy every whif of the fermenting perfectly balanced flavors of cabbage and ingredients that make this strong smelling food one of the five healthiest foods in the world according to Health Magazine. But then again, what do those shmuks know about this stuff right?
Finally, for those not willing to settle, remember, if it looks like kimchi, SMELLS like kimchi, is served like kimchi, then its probably REAL kimchi.
In the meantime, don’t make me ask who moved my kimchi smell.
Randy Stewart is owner and webmaster of www.Love That Kimchi.com
(1). Park, Ju-Min. ‘South Korean creates kimchi that won’t smell’, Los Angeles Times
(2). Wikipedia
(3). Armstrong, Eric. What Makes Kimchi So Healthy
In Korea, there is a saying “gimjang (kimchi for winter use) is half of one’s winter provisions.” No matter how sumptuous a banquet may be, a banquet spread without kimchi is unimaginable. Just like rice, another staple, kimchi is an indispensable food to all Koreans, rich and poor alike.
Since the Joseon Dynasty, preparing kimchi for the winter was an enormous domestic event. As many as 100-150 cabbages were prepared at once. As gimjang season approached, relatives and neighbors would consult with each other to avoid the overlapping of gimjang days among different families. In gimjang season, it was customary to help each other out by lending a hand to one another. However, over time, and in recent decades in particular, buying ready-made kimchi ceased to be unusual or odd. There is a book from the old days that mentions that depending on others for kimchi and jang (soy sauce and bean paste) was embarrassing. InJoseonmussangsinsigyorijebeop (a cookbook from 1943), it says, “To Koreans, kimchi is next to rice. No matter how sumptuous a feast may be, it cannot be complete without kimchi. Our palate is also accustomed to kimchi; it cannot go without it. It is indeed precious. Among things we ask of others, asking for jang and kimchi is a huge embarrassment.”
History of kimchi
Kimchi was created after people began farming and producing grains as a staple of their diets. When vegetables, which couldn’t be preserved, were pickled in salt or mixed with soy sauce, bean paste or spices, new tastes and aromas were created and storage became possible. This is none other than kimchi.
The kimchi of the Goryeo Dynasty probably did not contain salted fish or meat because chili was not available yet. Although the term “kimchi” was used, it must have been different from today’s kimchi: vegetables sprinkled with salt, mixed with spices such as garlic and preserved. It would be in the form of dehydrated vegetables soaked in salty water or placed in ample salty water like dongchimi (watery radish kimchi). This was given the unique name of chimchae, which later evolved to become timchae, dimchae, and kimchae, and then finally “kimchi” as we know it today.
Ingredients of kimchi
Geographically, Korea stretches from south to north, and there is great variation between the foods of the southern and northern regions.
In the northern region, because of the lower temperatures, less salt was used and the spices were light and mild, which allowed the preservation of the freshness of vegetables. On the other hand, the food of the southern region is saltier. Simply adding a great deal of salt would not be very palatable, so salted fish was often used or meat stock was added. In particular, since salted fish was often used, sufficient garlic, ginger and chili powder were added to offset the smell of salted fish and to prevent the kimchi from becoming overly fermented by the salted fish. A paste made of glutinous rice was also mixed into kimchi to create the thick and rich taste of fermentation. In the Gyeongnam and Honam areas, salted anchovies are mostly used, while the central region favors salted croakers and shrimp. On the eastern coast, hairtail and mackerel are used in kimchi. Therefore, the kimchi of the northern region is watery, mild and fresh while that of the southern region has a reddish color, a stronger flavor and almost no liquid. The cabbage and juice of kimchi made in the central region is tinted with clear, pinkish red, like a bashful bride.
In spring, summer and fall, kimchi is made with the vegetables available in each season, such as young radish, young cabbage, cucumber and leek. Although radish and cabbage are the main ingredients of kimchi, various other greens and spices such as chili, scallions, garlic and ginger and salted fish are added. Whole cabbage kimchi is the most common, universal kimchi today.
Types of kimchi
Kimchi is relatively easily prepared without requiring a long fermentation period. There are a variety of kimchis: nabak kimchi(radish water kimchi), oi sobagi (stuffed cucumber kimchi), yeolmu kimchi (young summer radish kimchi), gat kimchi (leaf mustard kimchi), pa kimchi (green onion kimchi), yangbaechu kimchi (western cabbage kimchi), gul kkakdugi (diced radish kimchi mixed with oysters), and others.
In order to ensure a supply of vegetables in the cold winter, whole cabbage kimchi, bossam kimchi (wrapped kimchi), dongchimi (watery radish), godeulppaegi kimchi (Korean lettuce kimchi) and seokbakji, which can be preserved for a long period of time, are prepared. In addition, the ingredients and spices, recipes and preparation time vary greatly depending on the region, customs, preference and season, and accordingly, its flavors are tremendously diverse.
Although somewhat less common than regular cabbage kimchi, one of the main types of kimchi for gimjang was seokbakji. It was prepared by mixing slices of salted cabbage, radish and cucumber with salted fish.
In particular, in the royal court, jeotgukji, songsongi and dongchimi were always placed at the table of a king. Songsongi was called kkakdugi (diced radish kimchi) by commoners, but lady attendants in the palace didn’t pronounce fortes and spoke softly without opening their mouths very wide, so they called it songsongi. Jeotgukji is a watery cabbage kimchi that contains a lot of salted fish.
Among the various types of kimchi, there is jang kimchi, which is seasoned not with salt but with soy sauce. Radish and cabbage is cut into small chunks and pickled in soy sauce. They are then mixed with various spices, pear, chestnuts, pine nuts, manna lichens and shiitake mushrooms and ample water is added. This was prepared mostly by the royal court or wealthy families in the Joseon Dynasty. It was not a common food due to the luxurious ingredients, but it was served with a bowl of rice cake soup on New Year’s Day or at a formal banquet. Well-prepared gimjang was seokbakji. It was prepared by mixing slices of salted cabbage, radish and cucumber with salted fish.
In particular, in the royal court, jeotgukji, songsongi and dongchimi were always placed at the table of a king. Songsongi was called (diced radish kimchi) by commoners, but lady attendants in the palace didn’t pronounce fortes and spoke softly without opening their mouths very wide, so they called it songsongi. Jeotgukji is a watery cabbage kimchi that contains a lot of salted fish. Entre las diferentes clases de kimchi, elAmong the various types of kimchi, there is jang kimchi, which is seasoned not with salt but with soy sauce. Radish and cabbage is cut into small chunks and pickled in soy sauce. They are then mixed with various spices, pear, chestnuts, pine nuts, manna lichens and shiitake mushrooms and ample water is added. This was prepared mostly by the royal court or wealthy families in the Joseon Dynasty. It was not a common food due to the luxurious ingredients, but it was served with a bowl of rice cake soup on New Year’s Day or at a formal banquet. Well-prepared jang kimchi was a great delicacy as the color and flavor of soy sauce created a perfect harmony.
On a cold winter day, it is a great joy to sit in a warm room heated by ondol traditional Korean room) and enjoy a bowl of dongchimi with crushed ice floating on top. There is a proverb that says “nobody is willing to offer a piece of rice cake, but you are already sipping kimchi juice” (similar to “don’t count your chickens before they hatch”). Watery dongchimi is a perfect accompaniment to rice cake. Although dongchimi is a simple kimchi made of radish fermented in salty water, various spices, fruits such as pear and citron, leaf mustard and seaweed are added to enhance its flavor and smell. In order to prepare dongchimi, small and nicely-shaped radishes must first be selected. Then, their stems are removed and the radishes are carefully washed. After salting them evenly by rolling the radishes in salt, they are neatly placed in a jar and stored overnight. The white part and roots of a green onion and ginger and garlic are sliced thinly and combined in a small sack before placing it in the jar. Then, salted water is poured into the jar and fermented chili is added. It is ready to eat after about ten days. When pear, citron, seaweed or leaf mustard is added, it smells better and tastes particularly refreshing.
Koreans don’t just eat kimchi on its own; there are also various dishes that can be prepared with kimchi, such as kimchi-jjigae(kimchi stew) and pan-fried kimchi. Kimchi stew, made of overly fermented kimchi and pork, and kimchi pancakes, which is made by mixing slices of kimchi with a flour dough and pan-frying it, have also become major dishes of Korea.
As a naturally fermented food, kimchi is rich in vitamins and minerals. Supplementary ingredients such as garlic, ginger and chili also provide various nutrients. Kimchi also has a high dietary fiber content and stimulates the bowels. It also helps lower sugar and cholesterol levels in the human body. Kimchi is a healthy food that helps promote the body’s physiological functions and that can prevent geriatric diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity.
Recently, many Asians in Japan and Taiwan have been enjoying Korean kimchi. We all hope kimchi, which is a good representative of Korea’s profound culture and is highly nutritious, will continue to spread around the world.
For more information about Korean food and Korean culture, visit the Official Korea Tourism Organization Website.
Related Korean Culture Articles
Koreans against influenza virus in the body has natural advantages? South Korea, “Chosun Ilbo,” 28, discusses this issue, the newspaper article said that on the 27th of influenza H1N1 in South Korea increased to 29 the number of influenza infections. The number of infections in Japan of 350 people, is South Korea’s 10 times. Korea’s only 6 of 29 infected people are Koreans and other foreigners 23.
Infection in the six South Koreans who really belong to only 2 of infection. In addition, six infected persons have been four were discharged.
The article said that 1.3 million people infected worldwide, 95 people died. In contrast, South Koreans against influenza A H1N1 influenza virus, the capacity is simply incredible. Recalling the years 2002 to 2003, “SARS” and the 2005 avian flu outbreak, South Korea’s per capita through the crisis unscathed. Therefore it was speculated that the Korean people against influenza A H1N1 virus also has a striking immunity.
In fact, many people suggest eating kimchi Koreans can enhance human immunity to influenza virus. Dr Jin Rongzhen Korea Food Research Institute, said: “Recent research shows that consumption of kimchi on the H1N1 type of influenza virus must resist the effects. Influenza H1N1 influenza virus is H1N1 type, so it should have effect.” Jinrong Zhen’s team said , 2006 and 2008 in chicken and rat was chosen as a test for avian influenza virus found in kimchi significant inhibitory effect.
King, said: “kimchi is not effective against specific viruses, but can enhance the body’s defense force and immunity.” Kimchi Research Institute Pusan National University, said Professor Pu Jianrong, “intestinal membrane damage, then the virus can take the opportunity to invade, and Kimchi is rich in lactic acid bacteria can be well protected so strong gut. ”
On the contrary, the medical profession that this that there is no scientific basis. Influenza A H1N1 Influenza Strategy Committee, Pu Chengzhe (voice) said: “Some people say, kimchi, garlic, vinegar can enhance immunity, but the argument that there was no medicine. Kimchi ingredients play any role in what has not been confirmed.”
Part related to disease management, said: “Koreans and Westerners are different hug, kiss and so relatively few contacts, so the spread of influenza A H1N1 influenza is relatively less.” But the way with regards to Korea, Japan has a lot less patient, more than no analysis can explain the problem.
Infectious disease experts say, South Korea confirmed cases were small because the early onset of influenza H1N1 in swine, but not for other reasons. Korea University Guro Hospital of Infectious Diseases, Professor Kim Woo-chu said: “In general, the early external infectious diseases occurred in the first foreigners to Korea or the people who returned from abroad.” He added: “seasonal influenza epidemic at home and almost foreign to know that logic is irrational. ”
Disease Management Division, said South Korea’s seasonal influenza infection rate of about 10% of the national total, with foreign countries each year, almost. Disease Management Disease Management Division, head of the right of the town of Asahi (voice): “The only so far we have only paid a fortune, should consider influenza H1N1 influenza spread to places only a matter of time.” Pucheng Zhe, said: “South Korea will also appear in the future more number of influenza patients, there may be deaths. But influenza is spreading rapidly fatal human Quedui very low, so do not be too sensitive. ”
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