My daughter really likes kimchi. We have an Asian store just down the road; so today I bought some to go along with my sushi. I am just really NOT impressed with the kimchi ! The lady at the store said that if I didn't like it raw that I could cook it and make some soup with it. She said many people like it with tuna fish, but my brain just will not wrap around that concoction. I can see it with shrimp, maybe; but then again, I hate to waste some good shrimp making a soup that I might not like either. So, I thought that I would just ask on here, since we have a variety of nationalities and different tastes. I am so open to ideas from anyone who knows how to make this stuff taste good, or even just edible. It is supposed to be very healthy; so I would like to include it in my diet if I can discover a way to eat it that it does not taste like garlic-coated wilted cabbage. @Corie Henson, any suggestions ?
Here at home in Hawaii we love kimchee with spam and rice. Our rice is now a mix of brown, black & white rice with lentils. We have to watch our diet and sugar intake at our home. Kimchee is good with anything that you like it with. Some people locally add it to their ramen. Be careful because it's 2 different kinds of hot with kimchee and ramen. Kimchee is what we call a pupu or hors d' oeuvre with drinks. I know some people just eat kimchee with rice for a meal; not me though I like spam with rice and kimchee. Kimchee is like your mac salads that you add with your meal. I don't think it goes with breads though. If it's too hot just ask if they have a mild flavoring for kimchee. It's made with wombok or Chinese cabbage usually. I make my kimchee with cucumbers. The end pieces of cucumbers cleaned & cut into little triangles then just add your Chili Garlic Sauce by Huy Fong Foods Inc. is the one I use for the flavoring is delicate and not harsh. I let it soak overnight and I've my homemade kimchee. I like this cucumber kimchee with almost everything even sandwiches. You can find the sauce at any Walmart too!
@Yvonne Smith, I'm sorry if I have no suggestion about that kimchi. That garlicky taste is the secret of kimchi so if you would take away that garlic then it might not be delectable anymore. We have a salad similar to kimchi. It is an eggplant salad that is the perfect match for the dish called pochero - a sauteed beef and pork mixed with tomato sauce. It has no spices nor flavoring. What makes pochero a delicious dish is the salad. After the eggplant is broiled and peeled, crushed garlic will be mixed together with salt and a little vinegar. That is the salad that is best eaten with the pochero dish. Take away the garlic and the taste would be bland.
Okay, here it is almost a year later, and I am on the kimchi thread again. Now that the sauerkraut turned out to be edible, and I discovered that (even though I hate cooking) I like making fermented or pickled foods. So, now I am going to try a simple vegetarian kimchi recipe. Robin really likes kimchi, and if I can learn to make it, then it is something that I can make for her as well as for us. Another thing that I like abbout the idea of making it myself is being able to taste it as it ferments, and see when it is something that i want to eat. The one that I bought the store last fall, I had no idea what was in it, or how long it had fermented. This time, I can maybe tell what it is that I do not like, if I don't like it, and learn to correct that part. If this turns out okay, I might try your cucumber kimchi, @Krissttina Isobe ! I like cucumbers, and I also like that daikon radish that they sell at the Asian store. Last time I got some, I pickled it, and it was pretty good. Robin came over yesterday, and she tried the sauerkraut, too, and she liked it. Tomorrow will be just over a week, since I started the sauerkraut last Sunday. It tasted pretty good yesterday; so it is about ready to be eaten. As soon as I get the kimchi in jars, I will post a picture.
I love kimchi but it's so high sodium, probably a good thing cause I'd eat too much of it if it wasn't ....I could live on that!
I have some in the jars, one for Robin, and one for us to try. Here is the recipe that I followed. http://www.simple-veganista.com/2014/10/kimchi.html
I haven't had it in years but it's nice and spicy, I would say it's my favorite pickled thing. @Yvonne Smith , the kimchi in stores the liquid is redder in color, is that the hot pepper?
Yes, the hot pepper sauce makes it redder, @Chrissy Page . Plus, there are all sorts of fermented kimchi recipes; so a lot of defferent vegetables could be added, and that would change the color. This was a really basic recipe that just had napa cabbage as the main vegetable. I included the website link with the recipe, if you want to look at what all was in the kimchi and how it was prepared. The recipe said a certain kind of red pepper spice to use, and if I didn't have that to use one tsp each of paprika and cayenne, and that was what I did. I am not sure that I will like this one either, even though I like everything that was in the ingredients. There is just something about the taste that I don't care for. When you eat kimchi, Chrissy, what do you eat with it ? I noticed that @Krissttina Isobe said she eats hers with rice; but I know you said you don't eat rice, and generally, we don't eat it very often either. I think that some of the Chinese restaurants have kimchi, @Sheldon Scott , and even some grocery stores. I am pretty sure that the large Kroger stores carry it in their deli section, just not in the older store that we shop at. And you could try making some from the recipe I posted, or find a recipe that you like better online. There were a lot of different recipes; but I wanted something easy to try for my first attempt at kimchi-making.
I haven't had it in years, @Yvonne Smith so I can't recall what I ate it with. Just on its own when I bought a jar, I always saw it in jars in the veggie dept of supermarkets but again I'm talking ages ago. Didn't know apple was in the recipe but what I've had from the store was very spicy but basic. To me it was like eating olives ....just had it on its own or maybe a side like you would pickles.
When I lived in Chicago there was a Hungarian Deli, now he just does online I think but one of my favorite pickled things was Hungarian peppers stuffed with cabbage but it was more like sauerkraut. It's hard to find those pale yellow peppers in the US though, they are the best. This was always a side dish in Restaurants. You have to cut it in half and eat with fork and knife though.
@Yvonne Smith , I thought this looked good, at least it's healthy but quinoa calories add up quickly but I like the egg for some protein. I would do less quinoa and add another egg. http://www.simplyquinoa.com/spicy-kimchi-quinoa-bowls/