Poor- 2. Kimchi

Basic Info:

Whoever doesn’t know Kimchi (even if they are not Koreans) are no human who live in this planet. Kimchi is the food that represents Korea and had been famous for many years. Its spiciness not only attract Koreans but also foreigners. The most famous type of kimchi is the one made with cabbage but there are hundreds of others such as the ones made with radish, cucumber, even the ones without the spice. Kimchi is year-long side dish and goes along with almost anything- even with carbonara. :)))   

History:

According to the history, people began to eat kimchi since the era of Sinla. In order to ㄴstore the vegetables longer people preserved them with salt. During Koryo Era, more vegetables were preserved with more spices were added to improve the scent and taste. That was only a beginning. The real red, spicy kimchi that we know today was created when Japanese invasion of Korea occurred. That was when red pepper had dispersed to Korea from the Columbian Exchange. Red pepper reduced the amount of salt that was used to make kimchi and fishlike smell. Peasant women in same village or neihborhood used to gather around and make kimchi before winter came. 

CCOT:

The spice that came from Columbian Exchange and passed to us through Japan seem to have changed the recipe and view of others of our food. The spice added more interesting and addicting flavor that kimchi was now popular food all around the globe. Korea used to be unknown to the foreign countries but with kimchi many tourists visit Korea and always compliment how good kimchi is. However from the past to present nothing really changed about kimchi. People of Korea seem to have been conservative about the recipe that our ancestors had passed on to us.

Experience:

As Korean I LOVE eating Kimchi. Its quite good even if there is only kimchi and hot cooked rice. With chopstick I would wrap the red cabbage around white steaming rice grains and pop it into my mouth. As I chew on the food, spicy and salty flavor would balance with flavorless rice and it would be neither hot nor cold. I also have tried old kimchi (it’s called Mu Geun Ji) which is kimchi that has been preserved for very long time and been washed in clean water. Salty and spiciness were could be detected still and when you eat it with beef or pork you will feel like you are in heaven. 

Mu Geun Ji wrapped around rice and pork