Korean Kimchi: A Superb Health Food
[This article was originally published in Zomppa, the International food magazine.]
Korean food is amazing and Korean Kimchi epitomises it! Based at Hong Kong, I have eaten Korean food quite a number of times and every time I order a Korean main course, I get to taste some kimchi for sure. For those who are wondering about what kimchi is, I’ll tell you that it is a spicy, fermented pickle made with vegetables alone or with a mixture of vegetables, seafood and meat. For a Korean, it means a lot more than being just an indispensable part of the meal. It is a part of the Korean culture and the pride of Korean cuisine! In fact, a Korean woman’s culinary skills are judged by the kinds of kimchis she can make!
Why should you eat kimchi?
You must be wondering about why I am emphasising on kimchi, when there are so many different types of pickles available all over the world. After all, the Indians are happy with a spoonful of tangy achaar, the Chinese savour humchoy and the Japanese love zukemono: all being different kinds of pickles. So why kimchi?
I will tell you why. Kimchi has been regarded as one of the best health foods all over the world. This is because it is low in calories and cholesterol and is rich in healthy micro-organisms, vitamins (A, C and B-complex), calcium and other minerals. In Korea, during the harsh winters when snowfall occurs continuously, kimchi offers a handy and good source of nutrition. The healthy micro-organisms and enzymes (produced as a result of fermentation) present in kimchi aid in metabolism and bowel movement. Research has proved that kimchi has anti-cancer properties as well!
Sometimes, salted shrimps, salted anchovies, baby octopuses, oysters or other seafood are also added to the kimchi. These additionally provide proteins, amino acids, fats and extra calcium.
Common ingredients and kinds of kimchi
Kimchi is a harmony of different kinds of ingredients with the right kind of fermentation. There are more than 100 kinds of kimchis. Korean Napa cabbage kimchi (paech’u kimchi) is the most popular kimchi. In all kinds of kimchis, red chilli peppers actually help in speeding up the fermentation. Korean cabbage (nappa), spring onions, Indian mustard leaves, slender cucumbers, white radish, wild lettuce, watercress, wild leeks, Asian brown mushrooms (p’yogo), salted and fermented fish (chotkal), garlic, ginger and red chilli peppers are the common ingredients. The methods of making the same may vary from one kimchi expert to the other.
Popular kimchis found in Hong Kong are cabbage and radish kimchis. If you happen to visit Korea, don’t forget to taste one of these kimchis:
- South-East Korean kimchis (hot): sesame leaf kimchi, soybean leaf kimchi and garlic stalk kimchi
- South-West Korean kimchis: kat kimchi (Indian lettuce leaf kimchi), yuja tongch’imi (special radish kimchi flavoured with citron)
- West Korean kimchis: kosu kimchi, squash kimchi
- Seoul: Royal chang kimchi, susam nabakchi (kimchi with ginseng)
- Central Korea: eggplant kimchi, spinach kimchi, pumpkin kimchi
- Eastern Korea: kkaktugi kimchi using salted fish
- Buddhist temple kimchis: these are mild kimchis and do not use animal products
Here is a popular Korean fried rice recipe using kimchi. It is delicious and mildly spicy. However, you can make it more spicy by increasing the amount of black pepper powder in this recipe.
Korean Kimchi: A Superb Health Food
Ingredients:
- Rice, steamed: 1.5 cup
- Kimchi (I used a mixture of cabbage and radish kimchis): ¼ cup
- Beef or pork (cut into very small cubes): ½ cup
- Spring onion greens: ¼ cup
- Shallots (chopped): 2 tbsp
- Garlic (finely chopped): 3
- Toasted white sesame seeds: 1.5 tsp
- Soy sauce: 2 tbsp
- Black pepper powder: 1 tsp (or according to taste)
- Sesame oil: 1 tbsp
- Light oil: 5 tbsp
- Salt: ½ tsp
Method:
Marinate the pork with soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, chopped shallots, chopped spring onion greens and garlic for 30 min. Fry in 1.5 tbsp oil.
Finely chop the kimchi and squeeze extra juice. Reserve the juice for the final step. Fry this chopped kimchi in 1 tbsp oil.
Finally, fry the rice with the rest of the oil, adding the salt. Mix the fried kimchi, kimchi juice and the fried pork to this rice and stir well until dry.
Serve with chopped spring onion greens. You can add some fresh kimchi over the rice as well!
March 6, 2012 @ 4:24 pm
This looks awesome…bookmarked
Aarthi
http://www.yummytummyaarthi.com/
March 6, 2012 @ 4:33 pm
I love Korean food, bookmarking this recipe 🙂
March 6, 2012 @ 5:16 pm
This post was very informative, lots of information I was unaware of concerning kimchi! Your dish looks fairly easy to prepare and does have some tasty elements. Based on that I am sure I would enjoy this-well done Purabi!
March 6, 2012 @ 5:23 pm
looks awesome…
March 6, 2012 @ 6:17 pm
This looks fabulous, Purabi! As a Korean, I am very grateful for my country’s wonderful foods! Thanks for featuring it!
March 6, 2012 @ 6:36 pm
I have never had kimchi with pork and fried rice. Very cool tutorial on kimchi! And the health benifits are staggering indeed 🙂
chow! Devaki @ weavethousandflavors
March 6, 2012 @ 6:51 pm
As much as I love Korean food, I never knew there were more than one type of Kimchi! Thanks for the education!
March 6, 2012 @ 7:33 pm
We do get Kimchi in Korean market here but I never knew the health benefits of it. Thanks for sharing the info and the Khimchi fried rice recipe, really useful post 🙂
I loved all those beautiful pics especially the first one…
March 6, 2012 @ 8:02 pm
Never tried Korean food, if I could find vegetable kimchi, I wud love to try it..
March 6, 2012 @ 8:19 pm
wow…seriously it looks very very delicious dear !bookmarked !
March 6, 2012 @ 9:15 pm
I love kimchi…. radish is my favorite! This fried rice looks really good.
March 6, 2012 @ 9:16 pm
That looks awesome n yummy!!Never tasted this!!
Please contribute your entries (old or new )EP Series-Cilantro /Cumin Event
Erivum Puliyum
March 6, 2012 @ 9:40 pm
I miss Korean food! I just can’t find any good Korean restaurant here. If you happen to have a good kimchi recipe please share!
Although I haven’t had this kind of fried rice before I would be totally happy to have a bowl or 2.
March 6, 2012 @ 10:10 pm
Hi,
I watch many K-dramas and in many of the shows the mention of Kimchis.. and mouth watering to see how they enjoy eating these.. Must be a delicacy/dish sorta similar to Chutneys (fruit based)?
Must go to Kuala Lumpur and look for a Korean restaurant – to get the original taste hmmmm really tempting!
TQ for sharing!
March 6, 2012 @ 11:09 pm
ah…what a fabulous recipe!! Loved it 🙂
March 7, 2012 @ 2:21 am
This sounds incredible! I think I’ve only had the cabbage kimchi but my boyfriend and I love it! Nice and spicy. I could seriously eat fried rice all day long, I can’t even imagine how much better it is with kimchi in it. Really looks fantastic!
March 7, 2012 @ 2:23 am
A new name to me……sounds great
March 7, 2012 @ 2:41 am
Very colorful and tempting Korean kimchi. Excellent preparation.
Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi
March 7, 2012 @ 4:36 am
awesome!…………i didn’t know that such a huge variety of kimchi exsits..very informative post.and the fried rice looks super tasty.
March 7, 2012 @ 7:43 am
i have tasted cabbage kimchi, they serve it on the table at mainland china, & i really likes it. had no idea it was this easy to make, thanks for this recips 🙂
March 7, 2012 @ 12:56 pm
Thanks for the info on kimchi. Adding it to the fried rice sounds like a tasty way to incorporate this healthy food into any diet!
March 7, 2012 @ 3:35 pm
Yum! Now you’ve got me craving Kimchi. I never knew so much about it, though – thanks for all the great info!
March 7, 2012 @ 5:13 pm
Great post on Kimchi! I would love to taste your fried rice!
March 7, 2012 @ 8:32 pm
I’m not a huge fan of kimchi by itself, but love the idea of it mixed it with savory fried rice.
March 7, 2012 @ 8:49 pm
These looks so appetizing & colorful! Great post with lots of information about Kimchis! I only tasted the hot Kimchi -South-East Korean kimchis! Glad to know you & your blog via Foodbuzz. I’m delighted to be your follower. Hope to share more recipes together! Have a lovely day! :
March 8, 2012 @ 1:37 pm
Thank you, my new followers! Thank you, my bloggy friends, for liking this recipe so much! Korean food is scrumptious and spicy….so I love it!
This Korean fried rice is really a comfort dish. I hope you’ll try it and let me know how was it! Bye for now…
March 9, 2012 @ 1:44 am
I’ve never had Kimchi before, we cook a lot of Italian in my house and I’ve been really wanting to experiment lately, your fried rice dish looks delicious! I love all of the info 🙂 Need to mark this recipe!
March 12, 2012 @ 9:00 am
I’m fascinated by your post, Purabi. So much to learn about Kimchi – must try and find this. Not only does it look incredibly tasty but if it’s so healthy like this, we should all be converted to it!
March 12, 2012 @ 4:10 pm
Great discussion about the various kinds of Kimchi. I love Kimchi, but don’t cook with it enough. Time to change that! Thanks for a terrific post.
March 13, 2012 @ 12:38 am
I had heard the health benefits of kimchi. You’ve done a wonderful job on this post. So informative!
March 13, 2012 @ 1:40 am
looks very delicious..I glad that i discovered your blog..loved it..happy to follow u!! 🙂
Spicy-Aroma
March 13, 2012 @ 12:31 pm
Wow! My step-mom is Korean and she does kimchi all the time but I didn’t realize you could do a radish version! That’s well more up my alley 🙂
BUZZED!
March 20, 2012 @ 3:37 pm
I’ve been on a Korean kick recently (had it for dinner last night, actually) and I’m learning to really enjoy Kimchi. That radish version looks interesting!
March 20, 2012 @ 8:02 pm
Love the info on kimchi! This fried rice sounds amazing =)
March 26, 2012 @ 3:28 am
So much great info on kim chee! I love kim chee fried rice, its one of my favorites with a melty egg on it. YUM!!!