Two people had a dispute on an online community. One of them was Korean, and the other person made a comment trying to incite a racial attack, saying, “All you eat is kimchi every day, right?” Instead of feeling offended, the person who was attacked, along with all the other Korean users in the community, was puzzled. “Right, we eat kimchi every day!”
This probably happened because the commenter didn’t realize how special kimchi is in traditional Korean cuisine. Kimchi is a salted fermented food made by marinating vegetables like cabbage, daikon, and cucumber in salt then seasoning with chili, garlic, and scallions. There are countless types of kimchi in Korea! A variety of vegetables suited to each season is used to make kimchi because kimchi is a must in every Korean’s dining table. Nabak Kimchi and Oi Sobagi are enjoyed in the summer, while Baechu Kimchi, Kkakdugi, and Dongchimi are eaten in the winter. Seasonal delicacies such as Gat Kimchi, Kkaennip Kimchi, Pa Kimchi, Chonggak Kimchi, Baek Kimchi, and Buchu Kimchi are also becoming more popular by the day. Because kimchi is enjoyed all year long, households in Korea are equipped with a refrigerator specifically developed to store kimchi. There’s also a song, “Can’t Live without Kimchi, No I Can’t!”
In the wintertime, the entire family sets up a day to gather around and make kimchi for the year. This is called ‘gimjang,’ and on the day you do gimjang, one family unit will use anywhere from a few dozen to hundreds of cabbage heads. Although today the number of families that do gimjang has decreased, many people still take time off from work to go to their hometown to do it. The day you do gimjang is sort of a day of celebration in any household. It isn’t merely a day to make kimchi, but a day filled with warmth. It gives a chance for relatives to get together and unite. Families boil pork and hand-pick raw oysters to make and share fresh, piquant kimchi with neighbors. Sharing warm hearts with kimchi-making, gimjang, is so significant in Korean culture that it can’t be missed in wintertime charity events either. During the gimjang season, the number of people going to hospitals to treat hand, back, and neck pain from doing gimjang, called ‘gimjang syndrome,’ increases. This shows how much kimchi and gimjang are inseparable from the lives of Koreans!
Kimchi usually takes the role of a side dish in Korean cuisine, but sometimes it takes the spotlight as the main dish. Numerous Korean food recipes like kimchi pancake; kimchimari guksu, which are cold Korean noodles; kimchi jaeyook bokkeum, a spicy pork recipe; kimchi jjigae, or kimchi stew; and kimchi ramen have kimchi as their main ingredient. Not only is kimchi low in calories, but it’s also rich in healthy nutrients, including dietary fiber, minerals, amino acids, calcium, vitamins A, B, and C, making kimchi dishes the best choice for a healthy dinner menu option.
As you can see, kimchi is Korea’s most popular food, culture, and life itself! It’s not an exaggeration to say one can understand half of the Korean culture just by knowing the flavors of kimchi. We will share one of the more easy and healthy recipes of the numerous kimchi recipes. Why don’t you try doing gimjang for your family’s health during this pandemic?
