Kimchi

South Korea

About Kimchi

Kimchi is Korea's famous fermented vegetable dish, most often made from napa cabbage seasoned with chili, garlic, ginger, scallions and salted seafood. It is spicy, sour and full of umami, and is eaten with almost every Korean meal.

The cabbage is salted to soften it, then coated in a paste of gochugaru (Korean chili flakes), garlic, ginger, fish sauce or salted shrimp. It is left to ferment, which gives kimchi its tangy, slightly fizzy flavor.

There are hundreds of types, including radish kimchi (kkakdugi) and white kimchi without chili. Families traditionally make large batches together in late autumn in a custom called kimjang, recognized by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage.

Ingredients

• napa cabbage
• radish
• garlic
• ginger
• chili pepper
• fish sauce