Here’s one Samyang Foods sent me recently – thank you! It sounds good to me, but I know one person who would not like this. My son Andy really doesn’t like kimchi. Oh yeah – my friend Matt B. doesn’t like it either – in fact, I opened a big jar of it and tried to get him to taste it, but when he smelled it when opened. He recoiled and started yelling. I dunno why; I think its good! Here’s a little about it from Wikipedia –
Kimchi (English pronunciation: /ˈkɪmtʃi/, from Korean: 김치; gimchi [kim.tɕʰi]), a staple in Korean cuisine, is a traditional banchan (side dish) made from salted and fermented vegetables, most commonly napa cabbages and Korean radishes, with a variety of seasonings including gochutgaru (chili powder), scallions, garlics, ginger, and jeotgal (salted seafood) among others.[1][2] There are hundreds of varieties made with different vegetables as the main ingredients.[3][4] In traditional preparations, it was stored underground in jars to keep cool, and unfrozen during the winter months.[2] These days, refrigerators are used instead.
The origin of kimchi dates back at least to the early period of the Three Kingdoms (37 BCE‒7 CE).[19] Fermented foods were widely available, as the Records of the Three Kingdoms, a Chinese historical text published in 289 AD, mentions that “The Goguryeo people [referring to the Korean people] are skilled in making fermented foods such as wine, soybean paste and salted and fermented fish” in the section named Dongyi in the Book of Wei.[20][21] Samguk Sagi, a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, also mentions the pickle jar used to ferment vegetables, which indicates that fermented vegetables were commonly eaten during this time.[20][22]
A poem on Korean radish written by Yi Gyubo, a 13th century literatus, shows that radish kimchi was a commonplace in Goryeo (918–1392).[4][23][24]
Pickled radish slices make a good summer side-dish,
Radish preserved in salt is a winter side-dish from start to end.
The roots in the earth grow plumper everyday,
Harvesting after the frost, a slice ct by a knife tastes like a pear.— Yi Gyubo, Dongguk isanggukjip (translated by Michael J. Pettid, in Korean cuisine: An Illustrated History)
However, early records of kimchi do not mention garlic or chili peppers.[25] Kimchi was not red until the late 16th century, when chili peppers were introduced to Korea by Portuguese traders based in Nagasaki, Japan.[25][26][27] The first mention of chili pepper is found in Jibong yuseol, an encyclopedia published in 1614.[20][28] Sallim gyeongje, a 17‒18th century book on farm management, wrote on kimchi with chili peppers.[20][29] However, it was not until the 19th century that the use of chili peppers in kimchi was widespread.[30]The recipes from early 19th century closely resemble today’s kimchi.[31][32]
A 1766 book, Jeungbo sallim gyeongje, reports kimchi varieties made with myriad of ingredients, including chonggak-kimchi (kimchi made with chonggak raddish), oi-sobagi (with cucumber), seokbak-ji (with jogi-jeot), and dongchimi.[20][33] However, napa cabbage was only introduced to Korea at the end of 19th century,[30] and whole-cabbage kimchi similar to its current form is described in Siuijeonseo, a cookbook published around that time.[34]
Kimchi is a national dish of both North and South Korea. During South Korea’s involvement in the Vietnam War its government requested American help to ensure that South Korean troops, reportedly “desperate” for the food, could obtain it in the field;[35] South Korean president Park Chung-hee told U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson that kimchi was “vitally important to the morale of Korean troops”.
Okay so now that you know a lot more about kimchi than you did a couple minutes ago, here’s a bowl of ramyun from South Korea!
Samyang Foods Kimchi Stew Ramyun – South Korea
Detail of the side panels (click to enlarge). Unsure whether this one contains meat – check for yourself. To prepare, add sachet contents and boiling water to fill line. Let steep for 4 minutes. Finally, stir and enjoy!
Detail of the lid (click to enlarge).
The noodle block.
Loose bits from inside the bowl.
A soup base sachet.
A powder base.
Finished (click to enlarge). Added Salad Cosmo mung bean sprouts, beef and spring onion. The noodles are decently thick and with a very nice character. The broth has a very bright vegetable flavor to it with a nice spiciness. The broth has a little thickness to it. Moreover, the included vegetables and kimchi hydrate well and a nice combination. 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. EAN bar code 8801073211070.
