First attempt at Kimchi

**mctmatt** · 06-02-2012, 08:12 AM

There was a great Saturday Morning Travel and Cooking show on PBS called the Kimchee Chronicles which explored the different foods and areas of South Korea. It was hosted by a woman who as a young child was given up for adoption by her Korean family and brought to the United States. She wanted to know more about her Korean culture thus she begin to explore her heritage.

**Shamejedi** · 06-05-2012, 07:20 AM

Originally Posted by Sullybob

I've been trying to find the Korean chili powder locally to get a more authentic flavor.

Shawn, I live not far from a large Korean grocery store called Lotte. I'd be happy to send you some if you can't find it out your way. PM me if interested.

Someone also mentioned rice powder--definitely recommend. Dried shrimp--definitely recommend. One recipe I have also calls for grated Asian pears (can be had at Trader Joe's for about $.88 each here in NoVa right now). It adds a touch of fruity sweetness to the heat. Lovely.

I spent two weeks in Seoul and the South Korean countryside as a guest of the Korea Foundation a couple of years ago (awesome trip for history teachers from the US), and managed to sweet talk one of the presenters into giving me a couple of cookbooks because I promised, in the spirit of cultural exchange, that I would not only cook for my friends out of these books, but also share the recipes and extol the virtues of the Korean diet whenever possible.

The books are in a box that has yet to be unpacked since my last move (SWMBO has a strict "No Kimchi Making" policy now that we don't have a second fridge anymore), but I'll dig them out and post a couple of recipes.

Interesting note: Apparently South Korea has the lowest incident of bowel cancer in the developed world. Some scientists suggest that the high quantity of fermented foods in their diet may account for this. (There, I kept my word!)

**Sullybob** · 06-07-2012, 08:17 PM

Thanks for the offer shame, if I can't find it locally maybe we can work out a trade.

I'm looking forward to seeing your recipes.

**drocu** · 06-09-2012, 07:24 PM

A great thread for sure. I've never tried to make my own kimchi but have thought about it multiple times. Maybe I'll give it a whirl soon.

**Sullybob** · 12-20-2012, 03:20 PM

I made my third batch of kimchi today. This one has a little fish sauce to give it a little extra funkiness.

**saf** · 12-20-2012, 04:20 PM

Well color me inspired I see a five gallon bucket of cabbage and spice roting in my basement after the new year. Thanks for getting me off my tukus once again everybody.

**Luc** · 04-14-2013, 07:14 AM

Originally Posted by Kentos

I use this lady's recipes for my Korean food.

http://www.maangchi.com/

And this Kim chee recipe with success. The hard part is figuring out how much salt to rinse off.

http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/easy-kimchi

Might be a little too authentic for some ;).

It's funny because I exactly did this yesterday. However, mine did not turn as good I'm sure. Mine doesn't have a good chili powder (I ran out of time and did not buy a bright red one). I got what my local grocery store had instead of visiting my Asian grocer. Regardless, I will eat my kimchi, it's pretty awesome and the "rice porridge" really help to cover the cabbage evenly.

I found that recipe in Itunes and downloaded it (podcast). It would be legendary if my chili would be the right one or a good one. I did not know when I picked it up.

So bump!