Napa Cabbage and the History of Kimchi
Let me just get something off my chest: I love stinky foods.
Some of my favorite smelly foods include garlic, brie cheese, pickles,
sauerkraut, and kimchi. I also love making pickles so it wouldn’t have been too
long before a recipe like this ended up on this blog. Before we make kimchi, I
think we should look into the history of kimchi and how it has changed in
Korean history over time.
Winter
in Korea is where our food journey starts. Jars of clay are baked in a special
kiln to produce pots that are waterproof yet still able to “breathe”. For most,
these pots are filled with a variety of different pickles, fermenting
vegetables, or salted fish. Some may even have home-brewed sauces or pastes
(jangs). The pots are then well preserved and cared for over the course of
years, either in a layered rock bed or buried in the ground.
Originally,
kimchi was used as a means of survival. Farmers would preserve vegetables in
salt to aid in the digestion of grains and keep vegetables through the harsh
winters. During the Koryeo period Chinese cabbage was introduced along with
radishes, cucumbers, and wild leeks. Soon after garlic was added to the pot and
in the Joseon Period people stopped using salt as the main ingredient to preserve
pickles. Soy sauce and soybean paste
were being used instead and not long after chili peppers were added to the mix.
Red chili peppers are a New World food that was introduced to Korea through the
Japanese invasions and colonization period between 1592-1598. The red chili
pepper was adapted into kimchi and it has caused the food to become Korea’s
National Dish.
Kimchi
is the soul of Korean cooking. Hundreds of recipes have spawned from this
famous fermented side dish that has been used for centuries. There are a
million ways to make kimchi, but I will show you the most basic method. The
recipe calls for a variety of ingredients that can be substituted, but
unfortunately the taste won’t be the same. If you’d like you can replace the
fish sauce with soy sauce to make this vegetarian-friendly.
