Kimchi (김치; pronounced /ˈkɪmtʃi/, Korean pronunciation: [kimtɕʰi]), also spelled gimchi, kimchee, or kim chee, is a traditional fermented Korean dish, made of vegetables with varied seasonings. Kimchi may also refer to unfermented vegetable dishes.[1][2][3] There are hundreds of varieties of kimchi, made with a main vegetable ingredient such as napa cabbage, radish, green onion or cucumber.[4] Kimchi is the most common banchan, or side dish, in Korean cuisine. Kimchi is also a main ingredient for many popular Korean dishes such as kimchi stew (김치찌개; kimchi jjigae), kimchi soup (김칫국; kimchiguk), and kimchi fried rice (김치볶음밥; kimchi bokkeumbap).
HISTORY
The oldest references to kimchi can be found from 2600 to 3000 years ago.[5] The first text-written evidence of its existence can be found in the first Chinese poetry book, Shi Jing (詩經). In this book, kimchi was referred to as jeo (菹). The term ji was used until the pre-modern terms chimchae (hanja: 沈菜, lit. soaked vegetables), dimchae, and timchae were adopted in the period of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.[6] The word then was modified into jimchi, and is currently kimchi. Early kimchi was made of cabbage and beef stock only. Red chili, a New World vegetable not found in Korea before European contact with the Americas, was added to kimchi recipes some time after 1500. Red chili pepper flakes are now used as the main ingredient for spice and source of heat for many varieties of kimchi. In the twelfth century other spices, creating flavors such as sweet and sour, and colors, such as white and orange, were added.[7]
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Kimchi varieties are determined by the main vegetable ingredients and the mix of seasonings used to flavor the kimchi. The most popular type of kimchi is the baechu variety but there are many regional and seasonal varieties. Popular variants include ggakdugi which is a kimchi made with cubed radish, pa-kimchi (made with scallions), chonggak-kimchi and oisobagi (hangul: 오이소박이), a cucumber kimchi with hot and spicy seasoning; gat-kimchi (hangul: 갓김치), boochoo-kimchi (hangul: 부추김치), Kkaennip (hangul: 깻잎) kimchi features layers of perilla and other spices.
The Kimchi Field Museum in Seoul has documented 187 historic and current varieties of kimchi. Although the most common seasonings include brine, scallions and spices, ingredients can be replaced or added depending on the type of kimchi being made. Common seasonings also include ginger, chopped radish, garlic, saeujeot (hangul: 새우젓), and aekjeot (hangul: 액젓, fish sauce).
KIMCHI VARIETIES
Kimchi can be categorized by main ingredients, regions or seasons. Korea's northern and southern sections have a considerable temperature difference.[8] Northern regions tend to have longer winters compared to the southern regions of Korea.
Kimchi from the northern parts of Korea tend to have less salt as well as less red chilli and usually do not have brined seafood for seasoning. Northern kimchi often has a watery consistency. Kimchi made in the southern parts of Korea, such as Jeolla-do and Gyeongsang-do, uses salt, chili peppers and myeolchijeot (hangul: 멸치젓, brined anchovy allowed to ferment) or saeujeot (hangul: 새우젓, brined shrimp allowed to ferment), myeolchiaekjeot (Hangul: 멸치액젓, "kkanariaekjeot" 까나리액젓, liquid anchovy jeot, similar to fish sauce used in Southeast Asia, but thicker). In the Seoul area saeujeot is preferred.
Saeujeot (hangul: 새우젓) or meyolchijeot is not added to the kimchi spice-seasoning mixture, but is simmered to reduce odors, eliminate tannic flavor and fats, and then is mixed with a thickener made of rice or wheat starch (Hangul: 풀). This technique has been falling into disuse for the past forty years.
Other brined jeot can be used, but are no longer common as modern commercialization has made aekjeot (액젓; either myeolchijeot or saeujeot) more affordable and convenient.
White kimchi (baek kimchi) is baechu seasoned without chili pepper and is neither red in color nor spicy. White radish kimchi (dongchimi) is another example of a popular kimchi that is not spicy. The watery white kimchi varieties are a popular ingredient in a number of dishes such as cold noodles in dongchimi brine (dongchimi guksu) and are eaten widely during the summer months.
HOW TO MAKE KIMCHI
Of the countless varieties of kim chi that are made in Korea, by far the most common and celebrated version is made with Napa cabbage.
Kim chi that's made with cabbage is loaded with indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a compound that is well recognized as a powerful cancer-fighting compound. Numerous studies indicate that I3C can offer protection against many different types of cancer and may even stop the growth of existing tumors.
You could hop on over to a local Korean market to buy a bottle of kim chi, but it may not be as healthy as you'd like, since most commercially prepared varieties are made with white sugar and shrimp.
To make healthy kim chi that still has lots of flavor and health-promoting compounds, start with a whole head of fresh Napa cabbage:
Separate the leaves and chop them up into bite-size pieces. These shreds of cabbage will shrink about 25% during processing, so no need to make them too small. And no need to clean them yet, as we'll be giving them a good rinse in a bit.
And add it to a small bowl of warm water.
Give it a gentle stir until the salt is dissolved.
Now a bit of waiting time. The salted cabbage needs to sit at room temperature for about four hours. The salt will help draw moisture out of the cabbage, and will also act as a natural preservative.
Here's what the cabbage should look like after about four hours:
If you look closely, you'll see a small pool of salt brine at the bottom of the bowl.
Now grease up your elbows and wash and strain the cabbage two or three times. You want to rinse off the salt water and return the cabbage to a large bowl.
Congratulations - this is the base for your kim chi.
Measure out a quarter cup of ko choo kah rhoo, also known as fine red chili flakes/powder. If you don't have easy access to a local Korean grocery store, you can order ko choo kah rhoo from the following site:
Crushed red pepper flakes
And now for the secret ingredient that sets this kim chi apart from most commercially prepared varieties: a concoction of half a ripe apple, half a ripe pear, and half a yellow onion, all blended up with one cup of water.
This apple/pear/onion blend adds a hint of natural sweetness to the kim chi - most commercial varieties simply add a cup of sugar.
Now put on a pair of gloves so that you can get right in there and give everything a solid toss and rubdown. Gloves are necessary, as the red chili flakes/powder will make your bare hands burn.
You want to bottle the kim chi up in glass bottles, cap them, and leave them out at room temperature for 24 hours before refrigerating.
One word of warning: don't fill the jars right up to their tops, as the contents will expand a bit as the kim chi ferments, and filling the jars to their rims will likely result in leakage.
Here's a look from up top:
NUTRITION AND HEALTH
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.[citation needed] Most types of kimchi contain onions, garlic, and peppers, all of which are salutary. The vegetables being made into kimchi also contribute to the overall nutritional value. Kimchi is rich in vitamin A, thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), calcium, and iron,[10][11] and contains a number of lactic acid bacteria, among those the typical species Lactobacillus kimchii.[12][13][14] 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.[15]
One study conducted 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. 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.[17][18] 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 theory that it boosts chickens' immunity to the virus.[19]
| Nutrients | per 100 g * | Nutrients | per 100 g |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food energy | 32 kcal | Moisture | 88.4 g |
| Crude protein | 2.0 g | Crude Lipid | 0.6 g |
| Total sugar | 1.3 g | Crude fiber | 1.2 g |
| Crude ash | 0.5 g | Calcium | 45 mg |
| Phosphorus | 28 mg | Vitamin A | 492 IU |
| Vitamin B1 | 0.03 mg | Vitamin B2 | 0.06 mg |
| Niacin | 2.1 mg | Vitamin C | 21 mg |
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