|
KIM
CHI
|
|
New
Facts About an Old Myth
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kimchi
is a uniquely pungent mixture of fermented
vegetables and its variations amounted to roughly 80
kinds of dishes during the Choson period. For
spring, summer and fall consumption, kimchi
was cured in a small quantity, but for the winter
months, large quantities were made so that it could
be eaten over three or four months. The kimchi-curing
for the winter season was called, "kimjang"
and was usually done in late November.
In
ancient times, kimchi was made of greens
picked and salt or a salt and alcohol mixture. By
the end of Unified Shillan ad the beginning of Koryo,
sliced-radish kimchi pickled in brine became
popular. Soon thereafter chili was introduced
to Korea around 1500 and it was added to make kimchi
as well. During the late Choson era, powdered
chili, together with chotkal (fish or
shellfish paste), bcame the favored ingredients in kimchi.
In the southern regions, the chotkal was amde
of anchovies, while in the northern regions, croaker
and shrimp chotkal were more popular.
The climatic differences of each region affected the
taste of kimchi as well. In warm
places, chotkal andchili poweder were used in
abundance so that kimchi could be prevented
from going bad. On the other hand, kimchi
made in colder areas was less salty and pungent.
Today, many firms are mass-producing kimchi.
Back
to Top
|
Kimchi
Tangy
and hot, it's the accent and counterpoint to
a traditional meal of rice and soup, but
nowadays, kimchi is turning up in
pizzas and burgers, making it a most
versatile ingredient, not to mention the
test of a good cook. Even bachelors
who can hardly cook to survive know how to
transform leftover kimchi and rice
into sizzling fried rice or bubbling kimchi
stew.
The
process of making kimchi is an
excellent example of how Korean women
approach cooking. (Most men never
enter the kitchen, and most women learn how
to cook only after marrying and under the
tutelage of their mothers-in-law.)
Measurements?
A handful of this, a pinch of that.
Food processors? Bare hands rigorously
pound, mash or rub. Fingers are dipped
into the sauce for a taste. Seasonings
are adjusted drop by drop. The best
makers of kimchi are "old
hands," literally, because Korean
cooking is very much a manual-intensive
labor and the best cooks are said to have a
magic touch.
No
recipe book can substitute for the year of
trial and error necessary to develop
tastebuds to detect subtle variations of
flavor and the intuition to season
accordingly. in the past, all the
women who married into one family learned to
make kimchi in the same kitchen with
their mothers-in-law. The family's
distinctive flavor of kimchi has been
handed down through generations.
These
days, fewer women have the time or space to
make kimchi in the traditional way.
With nuclear families now the rule, urban
households living in apartments are unable
to join together for Gimjang, the
annual winter kimchi making during
which enough batches are made to last
several households all winter. Kimchi
used to be stored underground in earthenware
jars that aided the fermentation process,
but nowadays, special containers and even
refrigerators are being developed to allow
modern women to make smaller batches all
year round.
The
easiest and quickest kimchi to make
is mul kimchi, or water-kimchi.
Slightly sweet and very refreshing, it's the
perfect comlement to heavy, rich dishes.
Unlike most other forms of kimchi,
this one does not require fermented salt
shrimp paste (jeotgal), and is
fermented within days.
|
Becoming
an International Favorite
|
|
Kimchi
is a "great cultural myth from
the old dynasty era of ancient
Korea..." There is a superbly
palate-pleasing kimchi to delight
every taste. A global favorite,
kimchi is a food that adds zest to all
kinds of meals and its appeal cuts
across all social, economic, ethnic
and geographical boundaries.
Kimchi is an exotic, super spicy side
dish. While no one is quite sure
whether kimchi is a pickle or a salad,
its wide range of flavors, types and
styles make it a palatable part of an
irresistible side-dish, a great
appetizer, and a naturally cultured
healthy raw vegetable. Kimchi
has been served daily with every meal
throughout generations of Korea for
thousands of years. Kimchi
sparkles with the flavor of garlic,
ginger, scallions and chilies.
Kimchi adds zest to all goods.
Kimchi is an excellent contributor to
the human body. Unlike other
similar foods, kimchi has its own
unique nutritional value of promoting
health and preventing disease, there
is "none better" and it is
"well worth" to the human
diet.
A
study of kimchi history reveals that
people were enjoying kimchi's unique
goodness more than 4,000 years ago.
In about 2030 B.C. the inhabitants of
northern India brought seeds of this
vegetable to Mongolia, and the
preservation of greens with other
vegetables soon became common as
cultured raw vegetables. Kimchi
is the most versatile food. In
Japan and Korea it is served as a side
dish. An impressive range of all
kinds of kimchi is becoming very
popular in America, Hawaii, Asia, the
Middle East, Europe, and way down
under in Australia. Indeed, it
is found and enjoyed almost everywhere
nowadays. Kimchi is never fickle
where flavor is concerned. Its
tantalizing taste attracts particular
eaters.
In
Japan, Korea, and both northwest and
southeast Asia, each person munches an
average of ten to fifteen kilograms of
kimchi a year. In South Korea
alone, that is about four hundred tons
per year or more of kimchi consumed
than any other vegetable.
Currently,
kimchi has become a popular health
food in the "New World" ever
since the first immigrant settled in
the Hawaiian Islands and North America
from many Asian countries. The
kimchi patch provided great emotional
comfort to those under exiled
conditions far away from their
homeland. Kimchi touched and
appealed to many ethnic settlers who
started making kimchi and spoke
enthusiastically its zesty flavors.
Back
to Top
|
|
Believe
in Beauty
|
| In
both Eastern and Western history, the
most famous femme fatales, Cleopatra
and Yang Gyuibee, were devoted eaters
of cultured raw vegetables, and
believed that cultured raw vegetables
had made them more beautiful.
Queen Elizabeth was another royal
cultured raw vegetable fancier.
The Emperor of the Han Dynasty enjoyed
this vegetable everyday, and fighting
men from the days of Julius Caesar's
troops through the time of Napoleon on
up until today have found them a
delicious addition to drab soldiers'
meals. During both the Korean
and Vietnam wars, the Korean
government drafted kimchi into the
Korean armed forces diet and earmarked
almost 90% of shelf-stable (canned)
kimchi production for the Army, Navy
and Marines. Going even further back,
there is a reference to a sailor's
salted and cultured raw vegetables in
the eleventh book of the
"Odyssey."
Kimchi is
popular and is becoming more popular.
For thousands of years in various
forms "the famous and the
not-so-famous" have enjoyed its
unique ability to please the palate
for cultured raw vegetables.
Whether or not Cleopatra and Yang
Gyuibee were right and this type of
vegetable actually made them more
beautiful, millions of cultured raw
vegetable eaters for countless
centuries agree that it has limitless
appetite appeal. Everybody's
favorite, it adds sparkle and zest to
any food: a sandwich, a salad, a
banquet, a snack.... or is delicious
when accompanied with rice, noodles
and eaten with every main dish as a
great functional appetizer or a
perfect side dish.
Back
to Top
|
|
The
Humor in Kimchi
|
|
Kimchi
is a happy and cheerful food and more
than a hundred different types of
kimchi offer something to appeal to
every personality and taste. The
Koreans build kimchi awareness with
humor, for example, they say
"smile with kimchiiiii's
sound!", instead of
"cheese!" when they are
taking photographs.
The
fine autumnal harvest season is the
right time for kimchi making for the
long winter months. Every
household is customarily and
consistently serious in their efforts
to preserve the best possible product
for the family and other
kimchi-fanciers, eaters or adorers in
every neighborhood. At the same
time, they recognize the nearly
unlimited opportunities in keeping
people's awareness of the role of the
cheerful kimchi in brightening a meal
or a day. Koreans say that the
surest way to get an honest laugh is
to talk about kimchi. Throughout
the nation, many cities, counties, and
villages traditionally have their
customary events like
new-kimchi-festivals, kimchi-fairs and
or kimchi making contests, mostly in
autumn, when new crops are harvested
to celebrate the abundant blessings
from God in their happy and healthy
lives.
It
is believed that a woman's
housekeeping skill or quality is
mainly evaluated by "how to make
and preserve kimchi best" in
their home throughout all generations
from ancestors until now. Kimchi
is also used as a raw material or an
ingredient for a variety of other
delicious dishes. Thus, making,
preserving, and eating kimchi is a
naturally healthy, wealthy food
pattern Koreans have cherished and
inherited. 'How to make Kimchi'
for the Korean diet is not merely a
proud, but an unavoidable mission to
the people and the nation.
Now,
kimchi makers are planning to organize
an international event, "the
World Kimchi Fair" with
cooperation between the North &
South Korean Ministries of Culture to
explore their ancestors' mythic wisdom
of unique food culture in the year
2002 in Seoul, Korea.
Back
to Top
|
|
Beyond
an Exotic Dish
|
|
Kimchi
is naturally cultured raw vegetable
that originated in ancient Korea.
Kimchi has been served daily in every
household at every meal throughout
generations of the nation for
thousands of years. Kimchi
sparkles with the flavors of garlic,
ginger, scallions and chilies.
Kimchi adds zest to all foods. Kimchi
is an excellent contributor to the
human body. Unlike other similar
foods, kimchi has its own unique
nutritional value of promoting health
and preventing disease; there is
"none better" and it is
"well worth" for the human
diet. It adds spice, flavor, and
an appetite to meals and joy to
living. Cheerful and bright, the
flavor-packed kimchi is a friendly
favorite that enlivens a meal and
lifts the spirits.
The
power of kimchi is the power of
peaceful, prosperous people who smile
while working, instead of laughing at
work. Because theirs is an
ancient wisdom, Koreans have had an
immense opportunity to note what is
sound and what is likely to be of
enduring value. In addition,
since their is the food that has
historically brought mankind a chuckle
as well as refreshment, they are
perhaps a little closer to the well
springs of honesty and good cheer.
They know that the ability to smile at
oneself is a compliment to one's
accomplishments, the reward of
reasonable men, and the sign the
humanity is in a happy condition.
Back
to Top
|
|
Kimchi's
Potential
|
|
Although
kimchi is similar to sauerkraut and
other pickled products in its method
of fermentation, it differs from them
because of the mixed spices and salt
concentration that are used. In
Korea, kimchi is served as a staple
food and many "cooking with
kimchi" recipes have appeared
during recent years. Kimchi is
served in Japan as a "health
food." Thousands of
professional scientists are working in
kimchi research teams with an industry
team functioning along side them.
There
is the Kimchi museum, the Kimchi
Foundation, the Kimchi Research
Institute as well as Kimchi science
departments in colleges in Korea.
All of these institutions and
programs' approach to research means
that overlapping disciplines develop a
comprehensive method of coping with
research problems.
As
many as 500 or more agricultural
co-operations, academic institutions,
science and technical programs, and
big or small private industrial firms
throughout the nation co-operate in
devising ways to improve the product.
Working through state institutions,
the research program co-ordinates
activities concerned with such aspects
as horticultural breeding for better
raw materials, quality controls,
improving ideal flavor, ensuring shelf
stability, culturing and preservation
studies, packaging required,
postproduction handling, and controls.
Changing food patterns created the
need for conveniently packed kimchi
products. This in turn, required
new types of products and completely
different packing techniques.
|
|
|
Kimchi (김치;
pronounced /ˈkɪmtʃɪ/,
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. There are
hundreds of varieties of kimchi, made with a main
vegetable ingredient such as napa cabbage, radish, green
onion or cucumber. 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. 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. 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.
Main
ingredients
Chili peppers drying
for kimchi
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. 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 myeolchijeot 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 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
This regional classification
dates back to 1960s and contains plenty of historical
facts, but the current kimchi-making trends in Korea are
generally different from those mentioned below.
- Hamgyeong-do (Upper
Northeast)
Due to its proximity to the
ocean, people in this particular region use fresh fish
and oysters to season their kimchi.
The taste of kimchi in
Hwanghae-do can be best described as
"moderate" — not bland but not overly spicy.
Most kimchi from this region has less color since red
chili flakes are not used. The typical kimchi for
Hwanghae-do is called pumpkin kimchi (bundi).
- Gyeonggi-do (Lower
Midwest of Hwanghae-do) Gyeonggi-do kimchi is known
for its eye-catching decorations.
- Chungcheong-do
(Between Gyeonggi-do and Jeolla-do)
Instead of using fermented
fish, people in the region rely on salt and fermentation
to make savory kimchi. Chungcheong-do is known for the
greatest varieties of kimchi.
- Gangwon-do (South
Korea)/Kangwon-do (North Korea) (Mideast)
In Gangwon-do, kimchi is stored
for longer periods of time. Unlike other coastal regions
in Korea, kimchi in this area does not contain much
salted fish.
- Jeolla-do (Lower
Southwest)
Salted yellow corvine and
salted butterfish are used in this region to create
different seasonings for kimchi.
- Gyeongsang-do (Lower
Southeast)
This region is famous for salty
and spicy flavors in its dishes and their kimchi is no
exception. The most common seasoning components includes
myeolchijeot (멸치젓) which produce a
briny and savory flavor.
In some places of the world
where Baechu also known as Napa cabbage is not
available, people sometimes make kimchi with western
cabbage. The taste can be sweeter and less spicy than
the original.
By
season
Different types of kimchi were
traditionally made at different times of year, based on
when various vegetable were in season and also to take
advantage of hot and cold seasons before the era of
refrigeration. Although the advent of modern
refrigeration —- including kimchi refrigerators
specifically designed with precise controls to keep
different varieties of kimchi at optimal temperatures at
various stages of fermentation —- has made this
seasonality unnecessary, Koreans continue to consume
kimchi according to traditional seasonal preferences.
Chonggak
kimchi
Dongchimi (동치미)
is largely served during winter.
Traditionally, after a long
period of consuming gimjang kimchi (hangul:
김장김치) during the winter,
fresh potherbs and vegetables were popular for making
kimchi. These kinds of kimchi were not fermented or even
stored for long periods of time but were consumed fresh.
Young summer radishes and
cucumbers are popular summer vegetables made into
kimchi, yeolmu kimchi (hangul:
열무김치) which is eaten in
several bites. Brined fish or shellfish can be added and
freshly ground dried chili peppers are often used.
Baechu kimchi is the
most common type of kimchi in the fall. It is prepared
by inserting blended stuffing materials, called sok
(literally meaning inside), between layers of
salted leaves of uncut, whole Napa cabbage. The
ingredients of sok (hangul: 속) can vary,
depending on the different regions and weather
conditions. Generally, baechoo kimchi used to
have a strong salty flavor until the late 1960s when a
large amount of myeolchijeot or saeujeot
had been used. Since the advent of aekjeot (액젓,
Korean fish sauce) in the early 1970s, however,
low-sodium kimchi is preferably made both at homes and
at factories.
Traditionally, the greatest
varieties of kimchi were available during the winter. In
preparation for the long winter months, many types of
kimjang kimchi (hangul: 김장
김치) were prepared in early winter and
stored in the ground in large kimchi pots. Today, modern
kimchi refrigerators offering precise temperature
controls are used to store kimjang kimchi. November and
December are traditionally when people begin to make
kimchi; women often gather together in each others'
homes to help with winter kimchi preparations. White
kimchi (baek kimchi) is a popular kimchi to make
during the wintertime. "Baechu kimchi" is made
with salted baechu filled with thin strips of radish,
parsley, pine nuts, pears, chestnuts, shredded red
pepper, manna lichen (석이버섯),
garlic, and ginger.
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. 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, and contains a number of lactic acid
bacteria, among those the typical species Lactobacillus
kimchii.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.
Kimchi jjigae.
A popular stew made with kimchi, it is commonly cooked
with kimchi, fresh vegetables and pork or tuna although
countless variants exist.
On the other hand, some
research suggests that consumption of kimchi and other
related fermented vegetable foods contributes to Korea's
relatively high rates of gastric cancer.
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. 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.
Nutritional
composition of typical kimchi
| 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 |
* Per 100 g of edible portion.
1996
Kimchi dispute
In 1996, Korea argued that
Japanese kimchi was substantially different from
traditional kimchi (in particular, that it was not
fermented), and that it therefore should not be labeled
kimchi. Korea lobbied for an international standard from
the Codex Alimentarius, an organization associated with
the World Health Organization that defines voluntary
standards for food preparation. A non-binding standard
was published in 2001 that described production methods
similar to those traditionally used in Korea.
2010
Kimchi ingredient price crisis
Due to heavy rainfall
shortening the harvesting time for cabbage and other
main ingredients for kimchi in 2010, a major spike
occurred in the price of kimchi ingredients and kimchi
itself. Korean newspapers have labeled this a national
tragedy. In response to the Kimchi price crisis, the
South Korean government announced the temporary reducing
of tariffs on imported cabbage to coincide with the
Kimjang season.
Gallery
