I was saying to Lady Magnon "I cannot possibly die without having eaten some Kimchi".
Kimchi must have been the trendiest food of 2020/21. Here in Brighton there are Kimchi restaurants all over the place, and even my nearby small Sainsbury's now sells it in tins.
As far as I have always understood, it is a Korean delicacy made from Chinese Cabbage mixed with Radish, which is sliced, salted and laced with Chilli. It is then buried in huge pots and left to ferment. Sounds inviting doesn't it!
The one above is the Sainsbury's one. It was reasonably spicy hot, very red, and very tasty.
Lady Magnon didn't like it, but she only tasted a tiny amount; I shall insist that she tries some more. To me it tasted of wilted Chinese Cabbage, in a thin Harissa sauce. I rather liked it. In fact I shall go back to Sainsbury's to buy several more tins. Rather like the Chinese Mustard Greens in fragrant soy sauce that I mentioned previously, it will be good to have a plentiful stock of these in case of emergencies. I give it 9/10.
This (above) is what my conserves cupboard contains now (amongst many other exotic delights).
Another tick on the bucket list.
Taste is a funny thing. Apparently you need to taste something ten times (not in the same session) to, possibly, be converted. So do persevere with Lady M though, considering she has Northern/Eastern European blood in her veins, she should be familiar with the fermented. Maybe it's the back note of Harissa that she doesn't like in Kimchi.
ReplyDeleteTalking of home, then there is pickled Herring, and Rollmops including gherkin and onion. An acquired taste unless you grew up with it. And vital on the morning after, say, New Year's Eve.
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My dear wife tells a story of when she was at school, and someone in the kitchens decided to give the girls Rollmops for their evening meal. Not a single girl would eat them, and they all went back to the kitchens. The headmistress was FURIOUS!!!
DeleteI should add that I love rollmops, but always add plenty of brown sugar, and a pinch of 5 spice powder, to the jar before eating them. After a few days they are almost like Swedish Sill.
DeleteI am going to die before ever buying some fresh fruit juice at very intimidating juice bars, full of young people and staffed by bopping to music teenagers. I should try and meekly ask for an orange juice while surveying the juice combination menu for future reference. I may well like beetroot and wheat grass juice, with Kiwi fruit pulp.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't recommend drinking Grass juice; Cows may have peed on it. Stick with Orange. How about Orange and Beetroot? That sounds nice.
DeleteI like an apple, pineapple, watermelon combination.
DeleteBilly looks so excited! I rather expect he was somewhat let down by the dog-friendliness, or not, of today's experiment.
ReplyDeleteHe cheekily snuck into the photo!
DeleteI'm glad you bought some and tried it. Now I have the lowdown and don't have to try it myself.
ReplyDeleteDoubt we would find it in our supermarket so that's a good excuse. I'm certainly not going to attempt to make it.
I always thought that If I tried to make some, it would either end-up tasting foul; or would KILL ME.
DeleteNow for kimchi pizza.... yes they really do make kimchi pizza in Korea (not great). Northern Europeans do have fermented vegetables preserves (most reknowned outside those language groups perhaps being sauerkraut), they just don't necessarily add chili. Tell Lady M to persevere or find kimchi with different spices. For every household in Korea there are possibly 2 or 3 ideas about what constitutes a perfect kimchi. Or, make your own. You have proven adept, if your blog is any indication, at food prep and preservation.
ReplyDeleteWe do eat Choucroute regularly in Winter; I love it. re making my own Kimchi: See my reply above.
DeleteI think I may pass on that one. All the more for you to enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about the IOM, but over here it's amazingly popular. Maybe.....
DeleteI love kimchi! Luckily there is enough of a Korean community here now that I don't need to try and make it any longer (the one I buy is made in Melbourne).
ReplyDeleteI just checked; the one I have is made in Korea. I'd imagined it was. If it's home produced it SHOULD be cheaper than imported. The little tins I bought were quite expensive!
DeleteI too love kimchi - it is surprisingly easy to make and, given it is basically fermented Napa cabbage, is very cheap to make.
ReplyDeleteWhile you are exploring Korean food try gochugaru and gochujang, Korean chili flakes and fermented chili paste. The latter is wonderful stuff, and what you thought was harissa in the kimchi.
I shall visit one of our local Korean food stores. I like the sound of Fermented Chilli Paste. I just hope I can pronounce it correctly!
DeleteSounds like you are quickly developing a kimchi addiction. You should consider counselling.
ReplyDeleteMore of a fermented foods fad! I shall try to control myself.
DeleteI bought some recently from Waitrose. It reminded me of my own clear pickle that I make just as my mother did. As my pickle is much cheaper to make I decided to stick to doing it that way. One cabbage and green bits and pieces of vegetables laying around in the kitchen make good kimchi.
ReplyDeleteDid you add lots of Chilli?
DeleteThe next lot will have the chillis go give it the Kimchi kick.
DeleteI always thought that I did not like kimchi. The smell of it was so offputting. But there are so many different kinds of kimchi. I discovered that I really loved cucumber kimchi quite a bit.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this post, I wandered for a bit in google land. It's been 30 years since I've had kimchi, but I think that I will try making some.
I might do the same. I shall have to look at a few videos first.
DeleteMy new little blender specially for hummus has arrived and I now await my tahini and lemon juice before attempting to make it.
ReplyDeleteI made some yesterday; it worked perfectly.
DeleteCro, like Pat I also was inspired to make my own hummus after reading your post. All of the necessary ingredients have been purchased and are now sitting on my kitchen counter.
DeleteI've never heard of Kimchi. I'd love to try a spoonful but I doubt an entire container would be consumed in my household.
ReplyDeleteI ate a whole tin for my lunch yesterday. I didn't think I'd manage it, but I did!
DeleteThere seems to be a wide variety of Kimchi in the stores. I've made a basic pickled cabbage and enjoyed it. I like spicy but not over-the-top, clear the sinuses hot.
ReplyDeleteThe one above is just about right, it doesn't burn; just warms.
DeleteYou have a whole cupboard dedicated to conserves?
ReplyDeleteI'm not an adventurous eater so I won't be trying Kimchi. I don't even like sauerkraut. I prefer plain cabbage lightly steamed.
I like to try everything. I've been like that since I was very young, it must have been my mother's influence.
DeleteWhen I said that had never eaten Kimchi my Grandson sent me some through the post, he lives and works in London. I'm sorry to say that it wasn't to my taste, I guess its' one of those things you either like or hate.
ReplyDeleteBriony
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I do like kimchi, but my husband doesn’t…..it depends on whether you like vinegar or not. I like the tang of it, but I understand why others don’t.
ReplyDeleteKimchi is really easy to make at home and you can make it as spicy as you can stand! Google it.
ReplyDelete