Kimchi!

Some time ago my Korean bro Jonathan asked me this: "Why are Koreans smarter than the Chinese?" Since this is such a baseless question, I'm going to ignore it and pretend he asked this:

"What is Kimchi and why do Koreans eat it?"

It's a funny that you would ask that question since you are Korean and all. It's ok though, you probably have been traumatized since birth by Kimchi and now have nightmares about fermented pickled cabbage.

For those who actually have no idea what Kimchi is, it is a traditional Korean dish of fermented chili peppers and vegetables. Though the most common kinds are based on cabbage, there are actually many different styles. According to most sources, the Koreans have the Portuguese to thank for their vastly popular side dish. It was the Portuguese traders that spread the use of chili peppers globally in the early 16th century. Once the Koreans got their hands on the peppers, they invented a unique method of food preservation using the chili peppers, cabbage, and fish.

When my Korean friends taught me how to make Kimchi, they told me that normally they would put the pickled cabbage in large vats and bury them into the ground and leave them for months. Obviously no one does that these days, everyone buys Kimchi from the supermarket now, most of which are prepared and packaged in China!

Other than for food preservation's sake, the Koreans started eating Kimchi back in the day because it's supposed to be very healthy. The combination of cabbage, onions, garlic, and chili peppers is believed to have great health benefits. Some even claim that Kimchi prevented Korea from being infected with SARs. While I don't know how true that is, all this Kimchi talk is making me very hungry.

Must sleep the craving away ... good night!

Quote of the Day
Ryan : darn chinese...us koreans are always livign under the fear that you guys will wipe us out