Of course, I had eaten lots of pickles. Fried pickles, pickles on salads, pickles on veggie burgers, pickles straight out of the jar. If you have read my Lemon Pepper Tofu post, you will know how much I love, love, love sour foods. I mean, I had definitely had my fill of fermented goods in the form of beer and liquor, but those are far from the healing fermented foods that Asian cultures created. One that has gained lots of popularity in the West since I moved here almost 9 years ago is kimchi!
My Korean friends are super proud of this national treasure, and I totally understand why. Seriously, as I write this and think about getting a whiff of the stuff my mouth is watering.
Way, way back in the day, before heaters and refrigerators, Koreans had to face the cold brutal winter by freezing their you-know-whats off.
Speaking of hot, kimchi originally was not spicy. It was only when the Portuguese brought red chili peppers to Asia that they became an essential ingredient of the version of kimchi we know and love today. Cabbage is the star ingredient of kimchi, which along with chili powder gochugaru in Korean , is mixed with ingredients like garlic, ginger, and salt. However, the combinations of different ingredients can vary a lot, and there are said to be versions of kimchi!
Many modern versions of kimchi contain fermented fish paste, so vegans need to be on the lookout. However, traditional kimchi used things apples and pears as the fermenting agent, as the sugars in these fruits provide the healthy bacteria all they need to survive and grow.
