Food that gets a dedicated museum to honour its importance should be approached with trepidation and no less awe. The Kimchi Museum in Seoul, South Korea, makes it difficult to say anything new about this ancient preserve while at the same time inspiring a devotion few foods can match.
'Kimchi!' is the word Korean's shout, instead of 'cheese!', when getting their picture snapped. The defining characteristic of all Kimchi, apart from the heat, is the sour notes that a few days fermintation brings on. It is commonly used as the centrepiece in an aray of banchan (side dishes) that accompany a main meal.
Ingredients
2 Chinese (Napa) Cabbage
1 small Korean radish
2 tablespoons of Korean chilli powder
1 tbls of Sugar
2 tbls of fresh Ginger
1 head of Garlic
half an Onion
Salt
6 Spring Onions
1 tbls Nam pla fish sauce or anchovy essence (optional)
Rub salt into the cabbage leaves. Leave in a bowl for a few hours till it shrinks to at least half its size. In the meantime make the spice mix. Put the peeled garlic, chopped ginger and onion into a blender with a little water to make a paste. Mix the paste in a bowl with the chilli powder, sugar and sliced spring onion. Thinly slice the radish and add to the chilli paste. Rinse the cabbage under cold water to get rid of the salt. At this stage rubber gloves might come in handy. Mix the paste and cabbage together making sure all the leaves are covered. Put in sterilized jars and press down. There should be enough liquid to cover, if not, add a little water. Leave about 2 inches at the top and seal. Leave to ferment for 3 days and then refrigerate. It will last about 3 weeks. Any longer and the fermination might be too strong for most tastes. Serve cold.
Ken Doherty is a chef and journalist
