Kimchi is a product that is fermented through lactic acid production at low temperatures to ensure proper ripening and preservation.
Kimchi is a fermented food that mixes pickled Korean cabbage or radish with spicy vegetables and various condiments such as salted fish and red pepper powder. The term ‘kimchi’ was derived from 'chimchae' which means soaking vegetables in salty water and storing them. To be prepared for the coldest season of Korea - 3 or 4 months in winter - when food was scarce, vegetables were pickled and stored beforehand, which was later developed into kimchi. Kimchi is not a simple fermented vegetable but a complex and indigenous food of Korea involving diverse condiments and spices
Ever since human beings began cultivation, they have enjoyed vegetables that are rich in vitamins and minerals. However, during the cold winter season, cultivation was practically impossible, which naturally led to the development of a storage method: pickling. As a kind of pickled (salted) vegetable, kimchi was born in Korea around the 7th century. Use of Hot Red Pepper Powder
At the earliest stage, kimchi was just salted vegetables, but during the 12th century people saw the appearance of a new type of kimchi that included some spices and seasonings. In the 18th century, hot red pepper finally became one of the major spices used for making kimchi. Thanks to the introduction of Baechu(English name: Chinese cabbages) in the 19th century, people of that time witnessed the same type of kimchi we know today. The origin of the name Kimchi
It is suspected that the name kimchi originated from shimchae (salting of vegetable) before going through some phonetic changes (shimchae to dimchae to kimchae to kimchi). Reasons why Kimchi Was Developed in Korea
Few fermented vegetable foods are found worldwide. Some possible reasons why kimchi was developed as a fermented food in Korea are as follows:
(1) vegetables were popular to the ancient people of Korea whose main industry was agriculture;
(2) Koreans had remarkable technology for slating fish that was frequently used as a seasoning;
(3) Baechu(English name: Chinese cabbages) appropriate for making kimchi were widely grown.
Kimchi is a food in which various vegetables such as salted cabbage, radish and cucumber are mixed with pickled fish, condiments and spices. By taking kimchi, we can absorb diverse inorganic elements such as calcium, copper, phosphorus, iron and salt as well as rich dietary fibers that are hidden in the vegetable. We can also obtain amino acid and calcium from pickled fish. In addition, we can absorb vitamins such as carotene, vitamin B complex and vitamin C which are either contained in the vegetables or created by microbes during fermentation. Kimchi is a low calorie food retaining very little sugar and fat, so it will be particularly helpful to the people of today who are eager to keep fit.
Kimchi is a natural and fermented food, producing lactic acid in the fermentation process. It is rich in live lactic acid bacteria. From matured kimchi we can absorb 10~100 times more lactic acid bacteria than from milk fermentation products. Various organic acids which have been generated from these lactic acid bacteria facilitate metabolism of inorganic contents such as calcium and iron inside human body.
Kimchi possesses many physiologic functions beneficial to human body, thanks to its ingredient (vegetable) and fermentation. Elements contained in kimchi such as dietary fiber, vitamin C and carotene as well as special substances in hot pepper and garlic prevent growing of carcinogen and mutagen, while suppressing mutagenicity. In particular, dietary fibers which are abundant in vegetable not only prevent constipation but also help improve intestinal microflora. Also, lactic acid bacteria restrain growing of harmful microbes within the intestines, thereby contributing to improved intestinal microflora. Some cellular elements of the lactic acid bacteria are presumed to have anti-cancer and immunity buildup effect. Kimchi’s unique flavor comes from its nutritious components as well as from capsaicin that is hot taste element contained in red pepper, which does the function of stimulating appetite.
This instant type of Kimchi is usually prepared when you are running out of stored Kimchi or are fed up with sour Kimchi. It has a refreshing and cool taste. For saltiness, add a little bit of fermented shrimp instead of other types of strong fermented fish. The seasoning itself should not be too thick. Marinate the inner part of a whole cabbage slightly, tear it into strips by hand before adding all the ingredients, and mix well. It will increase your appetite with its cool, crisp taste.
Although radishes are available year-round, they are sweeter and firmer in the winter. That is why many preserved side dishes are made of radishes. When you add green radish leaves, green onions, or the outer leaves of Baechu(English name: Chinese cabbages) to Kkadugi, it will be all the more delicious. Fermented shrimp is recommended instead of anchovy paste, which will give Kkakdugi a darker color and stronger scent. Oysters are great when added to Kkadugi, but be sure to consume it as soon as possible because it will easily go bad.
Although they are thin and small, young summer radishes are one of the most common vegetables used for making kimchi during the spring and summer season. Yolmu Kimchi is prepared either with or without fermented fish. Mixed rice with Yolmu Kimchi and cold noodles with Yolmu Kimchi is a unique delicacy on a hot summer day.
- Nabak Kimchi
Use chinese radishes and Baechu(English name: Chinese cabbages), and pour a great deal of kimchi stock. The less spicy, the better the taste. It is a year-round kimchi available in all seasons. Fermented fish is not recommended. Try to sprinkle salt on the cabbage and radish evenly, otherwise it will be too salty and too late to fix. Other seasoning should be shredded in order to prevent thick and sticky stock. Do not use the green part of green onions, but use the washed white part, since the green part has a sticky resin of its own. The starch from the radish, sugar, and seasoning make the stock thicker and stickier. When preparing stock, use a thin cloth as a filter. Do not put hot pepper flakes directly into the stock. Minari (dropwort) can be mixed together, but for better color, put it into the Kimchi one night before serving. If you want to save time, boil the stock and cool it and then add 2 tablespoons of sugar.
Oi Sobagi(Stuffed Oi Kimchi)
The most popular Kimchi during the spring and summer time. The crunchy texture and refreshing juice will make you feel wonderful. Oi Sobagi, fermented cucumber with other vegetables, easily goes sour, so prepare it in small quantities. Be careful when you put the cucumbers in the brine in order to maintain their firm texture. It will be more convenient for you to make three knife incisions so that the stuffing will not fall out. If you are preparing a large quantity of cucumber, just cut off the ends and cut the cucumber into quarters lengthwise. For a refreshing taste, do not use fermented fish. If you put some young radish between the layers, it will give you a better taste and more volume. Chopped Chinese chives are the most popular stuffing, but in the past they used waste pieces of cucumber at the King's Palace.
Puchu Kimchi(Chiness Chives Kimchi)
Puchu Kimchi is a common type of summer Kimchi in the Kyong-san Province, and it is usually prepared with plenty of fermented anchovy paste to be served right after preparation. Try not to mix all the ingredients too thoroughly, since Puchu has a strong grassy smell. Do not marinate puchu, and use only the anchovy paste to provide saltiness. Do not mix too well, but toss gently. Puchu Kimchi gets sour very easily, so prepare it in small quantities. During the summer season, puchu Kimchi is ready to be served within one or two days.
Kkaennip Kimchi(Sesame Leaf Kimchi)
A unique type of kimchi with extraordinary flavor. Put sesame the leaves in the brine for 2 - 3 days and put prepared seasoning between the layers. Serve when the leaves turn brown. It will be perfect for your appetite. Use fermented anchovy sauce in order to kill the strong scent of the leaves.
Baechu Kimchi is the most popular winter kimchi made by packing blended stuffing materials, called 'so', between layers of salted leaves of uncut, whole cabbage. It varies by region, as there are cold northern areas and warm southern areas in Korea. In the north, kimchi tastes neither spicy nor hot, but rather insipid. On the other hand, in the south, it is salty, hot, and juicy. In the middle area, it is properly salty and juicy. In the north, the 'so', is not used much, but spices and seasonings are added to finely shredded radish and put sparsely between the hearts of white cabbage. Meanwhile, in the middle area, a large amount of 'so' is made to be put between every layer of cabbage leaves. In the southern area, it is common to plaster the 'so' mixed with strong salted seafood juice and glutinous rice paste over the whole cabbage.
Got Kimchi is a side dish kimchi, most famous in Jeolla-do. Its hot taste is caused by adding a large amount of red pepper powder, and its unique bitter taste and aroma, which makes you feel refreshed, increases the appetite. Strong Myolchijot and glutinous rice paste reduces its hot and bitter taste. Select got that has strong flavor and aroma and a sharp tint. Adding young green onion is optional. About a month after preparing, is it ready to eat. Sprinkle enough salt over it, and it can be preserved until spring and summer.
The hot spicy pa kimchi, most popular in Jeolla-do, is made of medium-thick young green onions. The native kind of young green onion with a large white part is proper for making this kimchi due to its sweet taste. When it is ripened for a long time like got kimchi, you can enjoy its best flavor. Add as many myolchijot(salted anchovies) as possible to make a strong hot and salty taste.
Paek kimchi is originated in Pyongan province and cold northern area. Pickled Korean cabbage with a little bit salt, filled in each trunk with thin striped radish, parley, pine nuts, pears, chestnuts, shredded red pepper, manna lichen, garlic, ginger, is put into salted water. This is very clean and not spicy since they don't use red pepper to make paek kimchi. In northern area rice or noodles with paek kimchi is loved as midnight snack. Because it is not hot like other kimchi, this is good as side dishes for old people and children.
The cool tastes of pear with high saccharinity and radish combine to make the exellent taste of dongchimi. The pear should be matured for better storage. At this point, saccharinity accounts for 7-10 percent, with more fructose than glucose. Since it has a less sour taste, it is good for dongchimi.
This kimchi originates in Jeolla-do, particularly in Junju. It has a somewhat bitter taste, and the aroma is extraordinarily enjoyable. It is named 'ginseng kimchi' for its ginseng-like chewy texture. After its bitterness taste is extracted, its taste is adjusted with light myochijot juice(salted anchovy juice). If the myolchijot juice is too thick and tasteless, the godlebbaegi will lose its color and flavor. A variety of essential ingredients are necessary, such as green onion, garlic, red pepper powder, and ginger. Optional ingredients include shredded nut, pine nut, carrot, and pear. It is usually eaten after 'Lunar New Years Day' as a delicacy. If made at 'kimjang season' and then set aside, it can be occasionally served as an appetizing kimchi throughout the entire winter. Fermented green pepper can be added to increase its pleasant aroma.
Garlic, ginger, and Chiness cabbage provide dietary fiber, which is vital for human sustenance.
Dietary fiber helps digestive enzymes to mix well with food in the stomach and the intestines.It also facilitates peristalsis, improving food digestion and absorption as well as preventing constipation. In addition,kimchi eliminates sources of disease and toxic chemicals within blood vessels, and protects against cancer. Kimchi seasonings not only add flavors and tastes, but also contain various healthy substances iber helps digestive enzymes to mix well with food in the stomach and the intestines.It also facilitates peristalsis, improving food digestion and absorption as well as preventing constipation. In addition,kimchi eliminates sources of disease and toxic chemicals within blood vessels, and protects against cancer.
Kimchi seasonings not only add flavors and tastes, but also contain various healthy substances.
Baechu(English name: Chinese cabbages) suitable for kimchi look clean and fresh, with many green leaves and thin skin. Inner leaves should be tightly held so that few outer leaves have to be cut out. In the case of preserved cabbages, good ones look fresh and have green leaves. In the case of newly harvested cabbages, bigger ones are better. For autumn cabbages, middle-sized but heavy ones are prefered. Baechu(English name: Chinese cabbages) is full of vitamins and minerals,and has a lot of medicinal properties. Methylmethionine,a biologically activated form of methionine found in Baechu(English name: Chinese cabbages), helps treat Atherosclerosis. It is also reported that methylsysteinsulfoxid in Baechu(English name: Chinese cabbages) helps remove cholesterol.
Mostly composed of water, radishes are rich in vitamin C and contain diastase, a digestive enzyme. Therefore, eating rare radish is good for digestion. Since the skin contains twice as much vitamin C as the inner part, it is better to clean radishes with water instead of peeling their skin. A good radish is big and looks clean and fresh. Sweet radishes that are dense but soft are also recommended for making kimchi.
Red pepper contains carotenoid, vitamin C, and other healthy ingredients. The capsycine in red pepper has sterilizing effects, and helps digestion by promoting the secretion of saliva and gastric juice. In general, red pepper also promotes metabolism. Thick and clean sun-dried red pepper with shiny skin is good for making gimjang kimchi (kimchi prepared for the winter).
Garlic, N.O. Liiaceae Allium sativum, is presumed to be native to Central Asia. Garlic has bulbs that grow underground. Each bulb of garlic is wrapped with a light brown skin and divided into five to six cloves. The most common species of garlic grown in Korea are soinpyeon (with 3~4 cloves), dainpyeon (with many cloves), and jangson. Dainpyeon is very hot and is used for making gimjang kimchi. In the case of jangson garlic,the stems or leaves are used rather than the bulbs. Allyl sulfide, a very pungent substance contained in garlic, is 15 times more germicidal than carbonic acid. This chemical has many other efficacies: helping metabolism, easing pain, preventing constipation, and detoxifying the body.
Unlike usual vegetables, which are alkaline, green onion contains a considerable amount of sulfur, and thus it is acidic. Green onion has a limited storage life, since water accounts for some 80% of its contents. The green part is very rich in vitamin A and C. Green onion contains a sulfide of the radical allyl, a stimulant substance with sterilizing effects. When choosing thick green onions, the freshness of their stems is important. In the case of thin ones, their leaves must be short and fresh. In general, the root should look rather white, and the stems should have an even thickness.
In combination with other seasonings such as vinegar, soy sauce, salt, and honey, ginger preserves the taste of foods. Ginger is rich in water, some 80%, and other inorganic substances. It is gingerone that gives ginger its unique flavor and hot taste. This chemical is good for the stomach and promotes perspiration. It also helps people lose weight. Large ginger with and thin skin is watery, soft, and mild.
A type of green marine algae growing on rocks in shallow seawater, the glue plant has a green and slippery surface. It is rich in calcium and phosphorus, and is used for various types of kimchi including gimjang kimchi.
Salt is the first and most important seasoning for mankind. It gives flavor to foods and is an irreplaceable source of vital nutrients and materials. Once ingested, salt is dissolved into sodium and chlorine. It affects osmotic pressure in the blood, digestive juices, and tissue fluids. It also controls acidity and regulates nerve and muscle excitability.
Salted fish includes a variety of long-preserved fermented foods. During the fermentation period, protein is hydrolyzed into amino acid, resulting in a unique flavor. The bones of the fish turn into calcium, easily absorbed, and the fat turns into volatile fatty acid, providing taste. As a good source of protein, calcium, and fat, salted fish is rich in nutrients. It neutralizes body fluids, a very important function. Salted shrimps, the most commonly used type of salted fish, tastes particularly good because of its relatively small amount of fat. Salted anchovy, another popular salted fish used for kimchi, contains the highest percentage of fat, essential amino acids, and calories among salted fish.
10 heads (30kg) Cabbage, 19 cups (3kg) Coarse salt, 15ℓ Water. 3 pcs. (4.5kg) Radish, 1 bunch (400g) of Young green onion, 1 bunch (1kg) of Got (Indian mustard leaves), 2 bunches (600g) of Minari (Korean watercress), 1/2 a bunch (400g) of Big Green Onion , 10 bundles (400g) of Garlic, 3 grains (100g) of Ginger, 10 cups (800g) of Red pepper powder, 2 cups of Warm Water , 1 cup (250g) of Pickled shrimp juice, 1 cup ( 200g) of Myolchikot (Pickled anchovies), 1 cup (200g) of raw oyster, 2 cups (300g) of raw shrimp, Salt and Sugar.
① Select fresh cabbage, trim and discard discolored outer leaves. Cut the trimmed big cabbage heads into 4 sections and the small heads into 2 sections.
② Prepare the brine. Dissolve the salt in the water, setting aside some of it for later use. Soak the cut cabbage in the brine water and then drain. Pile the cut cabbage upright
in a big container or bowl covered in brine, sprinkling salt around their stems. Make sure that all cabbage is salted by turning it upside down about 5 hours later.
③ Rinse the salted cabbage well using cool water and drain well by placing on a bamboo basket. Cut the big cabbage heads into 2 sections again, and neatly cut out the thick part of the root .
④ Select hard and sleek radishes, cut off thread roots, rinse and wash cleanly cut 2㎜ in width, and shred.
⑤ Trim and wash young green onion, got, and minari. cut them into 4㎝ long pieces. Cut white part of big green onion diagonally.
⑥ Peel and wash ginger and garlic. Dry them and pound in a mortar. Chop salted shrimp into big pieces and set aside its liquid.
⑦ Pick out shells of raw oysters. Wash them in weak brine water and drain.
⑧ Remove shellsand reins from raw shrimp. Wash, drain, and grind them in a grinder.
⑨ Soak red pepper powder in warm water and add salted shrimp juice and myolchijot juice, Let sit for a while.
① Toss shredded radish with soaked red pepper powder (described in Preparation # 9) to dye the radish red. Adjust its taste with salt.
② Mix radish with chopped garlic, ginger, pickled shrimp, and ground raw shrimp. Add minari, got, young green onion, and big green onion. Toss gently.
③ Adjust its taste with salt and sugar, if necessary, and toss it with oyster for the last step.
④ Set aside the 'so' in a broad bowl. Pack the 'so', or stuffing material, between the layers of cabbage leaves, holding back the leaves and placing the stuffing undermeath them.
Wrap the stuffed cabbage with the outer leaves and pile in a crock with the inner leaves of cut cabbage facing up.
⑤ Pile the stuffed cabbage up to 4/5 of the crock's height. Cover it with preliminary outer leaves, and press down hard. Sprinkle salt sufficiently over the completed kimchi for long-term storage.
① Select fresh cabbage and discard discolored outer leaves. Cut the cabbage in half, starting knife at the base and geing 1/3 of the way down.
② Hold each part of the cabbage firmly and pull it in half by hand.
③ Prepare the brine. Soak the cabbage in brine water.
④ Season to taste by sprinkling salt over and around the cabbage heads.
⑤ Pile the cabbages covered with brine in a container.
⑥ Cut radishes in a round shape 2㎜ in width and shred them.
⑦ Trim and wash young green onion, got, and minari. Cut them into 4cm long pieces. Cut only white part of big green onion diagonally.
⑧ Prepare the kimchi 'so', or blended stuffing materials: put shredded radishes into thick red pepper powder and mix until peppery red color is set.
⑨ Add chopped garlic, ginger, pickled shrimp, minari, got, young green onion and green onion to the mixed shredded radish and toss together.
⑩ Pack the 'so' between the layers of salted cdbbage leaves, holding back the leaves and placing the stuffing underneath them, all starting from the outer leaves.
⑪ Wrap the stuffed cabbages with the outer leaves and pile them in a crock.
⑫ Cover the stuffed cabbages with the preliminary outer leaves and then sprinkle salt over them.
