Kimchi
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kimchi is a traditional Korean food made from chilli and vegetables. It often contains things like Chinese cabbage, radish, garlic, red pepper, spring onion, shrimp, ginger, salt, and sugar.
Kimchi is usually very strong for non-Koreans. There are many different types and Koreans typically eat Kimchi in every meal and is a staple of Korean food. Kimchi can be stored for a long time and it will not go bad. In Korea Kimchi Pots are a common site. They are large terra cotta pots where the kimchi is stored until it can be eaten or until it ferments. A typical batch kimchi takes about 2 weeks to ferment but some varieties can be eaten right away. Some must be stored for over a year to be finished.
The fermentation gives the kimchi a pickle-like quality and generally soggy or limp kimchi is not good.
[edit] Preparation
The most common variety of Kimchi is made from cabbage, radish, garlic, red pepper, salt and sugar. The cabbage is soaked in salt water for a few hours. Course rock salt is then rubbed in between the leaves of the cabbage. Red peppers are also rubbed in and most kimchi has a lot of pepper in it.
The radish is usually cut into long thin strips and added to the mix. A little sugar is added to help the fermentation process along much in the same way beer is made.
The amounts of each ingredient vary between the type of kimchi you are making and the personal taste of the maker. Most kimchi is also flavoured with shrimp or fish.
The kimchi is allowed to ferment for a period of time, usually outdoors in a large kimchi pot. It is also quite common for these pots to be buried under ground. Kimchi can be kept for a long time and will not go bad.
