Ask any native or transplanted Koreans about kimchi and you will be told that it is the very backbone of Korean cuisine. It is a cultural necessity, eaten enthusiastically at every meal, and daily life is unimaginable without it.
For the uninitiated, kimchi is a tangy, pungent preserved vegetable preparation, like sauerkraut. To describe it only as a fermented vegetable mixture or a pickle, though, is hardly fair. This is Korean soul food.
It’s commonly used in traditional cuisine as a condiment or side dish with grilled foods (Korean barbecue), served with steamed rice for a humble meal or as an accompaniment to ramyun (Korean noodles), nibbled between slurps or added to the bowl for extra zest. Indeed, kimchi can perk up just about anything, even a plate of bacon and eggs.
But to think of it merely as a condiment is a mistake. Kimchi is also a magic ingredient with many possibilities, and home cooks would do well to explore them. Adding it to soups, stews, noodles or rice dishes gives them more dimension. It’s like adding a layer of very flavorful vegetables.
Lauryn Chun, who owns Mother-in-Law’s, a company that makes kimchi, is adamant on the subject.
“I want people to know that cooking with kimchi is incredible,” she said. “Especially older or aged kimchi. Cooking it releases kimchi’s sweetness, allowing deep, mellow umami flavors to shine.”
The best example is kimchi jigae (or chigae), a hearty traditional stew-like soup in which pork belly and kimchi simmer together until the whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts. Ms. Chun, who is also the author of the “The Kimchi Cookbook,” makes a vegetarian version that uses butter and olive oil instead of pork to enhance the flavor, producing what she described as a “great vegetal complexity.” She also sautés kimchi with brown butter and capers, for a twist on the French classic sole meunière. (...)
At home you can do something as simple as topping a hot dog with kimchi, or layering it into a Reuben or a grilled cheese sandwich. Tuck it into a baguette to make a cross-cultural banh mi. Cooking it more thoroughly, though, is eminently worthwhile, and the results are utterly delicious.
It’s commonly used in traditional cuisine as a condiment or side dish with grilled foods (Korean barbecue), served with steamed rice for a humble meal or as an accompaniment to ramyun (Korean noodles), nibbled between slurps or added to the bowl for extra zest. Indeed, kimchi can perk up just about anything, even a plate of bacon and eggs.
But to think of it merely as a condiment is a mistake. Kimchi is also a magic ingredient with many possibilities, and home cooks would do well to explore them. Adding it to soups, stews, noodles or rice dishes gives them more dimension. It’s like adding a layer of very flavorful vegetables.
Lauryn Chun, who owns Mother-in-Law’s, a company that makes kimchi, is adamant on the subject.
“I want people to know that cooking with kimchi is incredible,” she said. “Especially older or aged kimchi. Cooking it releases kimchi’s sweetness, allowing deep, mellow umami flavors to shine.”
The best example is kimchi jigae (or chigae), a hearty traditional stew-like soup in which pork belly and kimchi simmer together until the whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts. Ms. Chun, who is also the author of the “The Kimchi Cookbook,” makes a vegetarian version that uses butter and olive oil instead of pork to enhance the flavor, producing what she described as a “great vegetal complexity.” She also sautés kimchi with brown butter and capers, for a twist on the French classic sole meunière. (...)
At home you can do something as simple as topping a hot dog with kimchi, or layering it into a Reuben or a grilled cheese sandwich. Tuck it into a baguette to make a cross-cultural banh mi. Cooking it more thoroughly, though, is eminently worthwhile, and the results are utterly delicious.
by David Tanis, NY Times | Read more:
Image: Karsten Moran
Recipes: Kimchi Soup (Jigae), Kimchi Noodle Cake, Kimchi With Greens and Bean Sprouts
Recipes: Kimchi Soup (Jigae), Kimchi Noodle Cake, Kimchi With Greens and Bean Sprouts
