If you have a big jar of Napa cabbage kimchi in the fridge, you can always make a terrific dish in very quick order.  Whether it is kimchi rice, kimchi soup, kimchi hot pot or braised pork and kimchi the sour, spicy fermented cabbage adds depth and character to anything it is paired with. Do you have a favorite recipe that you make with kimchi?

Here is one recipe for a Kimchi Hot Pot

Kimchi Hot Pot – Kimchi Chigae

Meaty pork ribs are scored and stir-fried with sesame oil and garlic for an aromatic start to this hot pot. Kimchi plays the main role in spicing and seasoning this dish. Thick pieces of tofu are simmered in the stock. This dish is most often served during cold winter months but is sometimes served during the summer to rejuvenate the appetite. It is even better the next day, so if you like left-overs double the recipe. The meaty country-style cut of pork ribs also works well in this hot pot.

Serves 4

4 pork ribs (about 1 lb/500 g total)
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
2 teaspoons garlic paste
1 1/2 cup (300 g) ready-made Chinese cabbage (Napa) kimchi, cut into 2 in. (5 cm) pieces
2 1/2  cups beef or  vegetable stock or water
1 block (450 g) firm tofu, cut into 8 pieces
1 green onion (scallion), cut into 2 in. (5 cm) pieces

With a sharp knife, make several cuts along the meaty side of the ribs.
In a large pot, add the sesame oil and place over low heat.
Add the ribs, garlic and kimchi and stir-fry for 10 minutes.
Add the stock and tofu and simmer for 20 minutes.
Sprinkle on the green onion.
Serve in large soup bowls.

The Korean Table by Taekyung Chung and Debra Samuels

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Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jae_yong

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Three Important Korean Seasonings

Gan jang: Gan jang is the term for one of the most important (and easy to find) Korean food ingredients: Korean soy sauce. Soy sauce is widely used for salt and flavor throughout Korean cuisine.

Gochujang: If you like your Korean food spicy, that means you love Gochujang. A kind of heavy hot sauce, gochujang is generally made from red chili powder, glutinous rice powder, powdered fermented soybeans, and salt. It’s used as an ingredient in many dishes, as well as a condiment. One of this Korean food ingredient’s most famous uses is as a condiment for bibimbap.

Doenjang (or Dwen jang): This is a fermented soybean paste, and is considered essential to Korean cuisine. It is used in a huge variety of dishes, including on its own as a condiment, mixed to create another condiment (called ssamjang) or to flavor stews, broths, and other dishes.

The Main Korean Food Ingredients

Ssal: Ssal is simply rice… but there’s really nothing simple about it. Unlike in many cultures, Koreans don’t prefer soft and fluffy rice. In Korean cooking, a short-grained, sticky rice is used, instead.

Baechu: Baechu, or Napa cabbage, is one of the most important Korean food ingredients you can find. It is often used in soups, or eaten raw as a wrap. Most importantly, though, baechu is used in baechu kimchi, the most popular type of Korean kimchi (see below).

Kimchi (or Gimchi): Kimchi is a vegetable dish eaten in Korea with just about every meal. Though it can be made differently each time, it is generally made with various vegetables and is fermented and highly spiced. It is both used as a side dish (called a banchan), as well as an ingredient in other Korean dishes.

Biji (or Kongbiji): When soybeans are blended in order to create soy milk, a fibouous pulp is left behind. This is biji, and is used throughout Korea and the rest of Asia as an ingredient in stews and soups, as well as bread products.

Other Korean Seasonings and Sauces

Ggaet nip: Ggaet nip, called sesame leaf, is a member of the mint family, and is used both as a spice for stews and other dishes, and a wrap for meats and seafood.

Ssamjang: When the Korean food ingredients gochujang and doenjang are combined with sesame oil, onion, garlic, and scallions as a condiment, the result is ssamjang. Ssamjang is a spicy sauce used as an addition to grilled dishes such as samgyeopsal.

Red bean paste: Red bean paste is used throughout Asian cooking. In Korea, it is used in snacks and desserts, such as bungeoppang and hotteok. It’s also traditional in Korea to eat red bean paste at the winter solstice in order to warm the body and keep you healthy through the winter.

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As a culture, Koreans are very proud of their rich and varied cuisine. And they’re healthier for it, as well.  They very rarely use the deep-fry methods found in China, and as part of their national cuisine, they eat plenty of vegetables, grains (such as rice), soups, meats, seafood, tofu, and other soy products. But the sheer variety of foods isn’t the only exciting Korean food nutritional information you’ll find. Because despite Korean food’s variety, vegetables and soy products are served with practically every meal in Korean cuisine… and this makes Korean food incredible healthy in the long term.

Korean Health Foods

There’s more to evaluating Korean food nutritional information than simply saying “lean protein and lots of vegetables? Sounds great!”  Because there are a lot of hidden benefits to some of Korea’s most popular foods.

Doenjang: Doenjang is more than just a popular Korean ingredient or flavoring.  This fermented soybean paste has started receiving attention in the Western world as a health food.  For one, soybeans are made of superior proteins which help the body to digest.  Even better, however, is what the fermentation process does to this product. During fermentation, substances are developed in doenjang that reduce the risk of developing cancer and blood-vessel-related illnesses, as well as encourage healthy intestines.

kimchi: Kimchi is another hugely popular Korean dish which is beginning to gain a lot of popularity as a health food.  The Korean food nutritional information behind this tasty dish is enough to make you want to eat it every day. For one, kimchi has antibiotic properties, as the bacteria that are made during fermentation restrain harmful bacteria from growing in the intestines. This helps to eliminate or reduce the severity of intestinal disorders, as well as treat diabetes and gastrointestinal cancers. Substances found in kimchi also help prevent heart-burn and other conditions caused by too much acid in the system.

As far as general health goes, you can’t get much healthier than the ingredients found in kimchi. Kimchi is rich in plenty of important vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron. Plus, most of the ingredients in kimchi are quite low in calories and have very little sugar… but are filled with plenty of fiber. The fibers found in the cabbage used in kimchi, for instance, help to aid in digestion and elimination.

All of this is great news if you’re worried about Korean food nutritional information when you head over to your favorite Korean restaurant. So stuff yourself with all of the kimchi and doenjang jjigae stew you want… and know that you’re not just having something great for your taste buds. You’re also doing something great for your health.  Eat up!

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Many people think of the use of hot red pepper powder when they hear about Kimchi, but at first it was just salted vegetables. In the 18th century, hot red pepper became one of the major spices used for Kimchi and with the introduction of Baechu (Chinese cabbage) in the 19th century, people are now seeing the type of Kimchi that we know today. As you know there are only few fermented vegetable food worldwide, and there are several possible reasons why Kimchi was developed. First, Korean people’s main industry was agriculture, so that vegetables were popular for them. In addition, Koreans had prominent technology for slating fish, which was usually used as a seasoning and introduction of Baechu was suitable for making Kimchi.

There are many characteristics and beneficial effects of Kimchi. It develops a unique taste that differs from ingredients and condiments, and it becomes more palatable as it ferments. This fermentation is caused by bacteria which are contained in the ingredients of Kimchi and it is controlled by the temperature and the amount of salt. In the late period of this process, an enzyme decomposes pectin and as a result, it softens Kimchi fiber. When this process goes well and properly matured, Kimchi has a good taste, but it is easily acidified when it is left in high temperature and it becomes inedible in two days.

Due to the beneficial effects of Kimchi, it is still widely eaten by people and becoming a popular worldwide food. It has antibacterial effect, prevents acid toxicosis, and prevents the development of disease such as obesity and cancer. Moreover, it can help the recovery, delays the aging process, promote digestion and strengthen the immune system. Kimchi is also a food full of nutrition. By eating it, it keeps the balance of nutrition and it is low calorie and good for our body. It provides lots of vitamins and calcium instead of providing calorie.

Currently, Kimchi is being paid attention by Japan and many other countries worldwide. It is because of these characteristics and beneficial effects. People are now recognizing Kimchi not just as a simple food but as a healthy food.

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