Things You Didn't Know About Kimchi

1. Kimchi was sent into space

Wherever there are Koreans, there is kimchi. When South Korean troops were sent to fight in Vietnam, the South Korean government sent kimchi to the front lines. Not surprisingly, when South Korea prepared its first space mission in 2008, kimchi tagged along. Scientists were interested in how the bacteria in kimchi would react to the radiation and cosmic rays in space. They were also intrigued by how fellow astronauts would respond to the smell in the confined spaces of the International Space Station. As a result, the South Korean government spent millions to reduce the bacteria levels and smell by as much as 50%. As a result, Korean scientists uncovered new truths about the fermentation process, and learned how to slow down the fermentation process--  which in turn allowed kimchi to be shipped worldwide for us to enjoy.
  

2. Many Koreans have a special, separate kimchi fridge

Koreans have such a fondness for kimchi that they have special kimchi refrigerators. Traditionally kimchi was prepared and stored in large clay pots that were buried in the ground. As archaic as it sounds, this process yielded extremely consistent temperatures and an environment ripe for fermentation and preservation. Koreans today now employ technology to  do the same. Kimchi refrigerators (often going for $1500+) hold a consistent temperature that emulates a clay pot being buried in the ground. They also prevent the funky smell from cross-contaminating other goods in the fridge. Anyone who has drank milk stored in same refrigerator as kimchi will tell you how necessary a kimchi fridge truly is.
  
3. Kimchi can help cure diseases like SARS and the bird flu

Kimchi is a super food chock full of antioxidants, vitamins A, B, and C and most importantly healthy probiotic bacteria. Research has shown that the particular strain, lactobillus kimchi (aptly named), may even have anti-cancer properties. It has also been suggested to boost resistance to the H1N1 Avian Flu in birds and humans. Some go as far as to suggest it can prevent Ebola! Research has also shown that kimchi can prevent heart disease and diabetes, as well as boost overall physiological function.

4. There's a time and a place for each kimchi

Kimchi is both a seasonal and regional food. Koreans consume different types of kimchi throughout the different seasons of the year. For example, pa kimchi (green onions) in the spring, oi sobagi (cucumber) in the summer, napa cabbage in the fall and dongchimi (raddish water kimchi) in the winter. Each region of Korea also has it's own version of kimchi - for example in the food capital of Korea, Jeonju, the kimchis tend to have stronger flavors due to the heavy use of fish sauce and seafood. Bossam kimchi's are usually reserved for special occasions, whereas napa cabbage kimchi can be found on the dinner table every night. Certain kimchis also pair better with certain foods, like kkakdugi with seol lung tang.

5. Kimchi is not always made with cabbage

When most people hear the word kimchi, they think of spicy, red-orange shards of napa cabbage, packed in a jar that smells like your roommate's gym socks. Contrary to popular belief, napa cabbage is only one of many different kinds of kimchi. There are over 100 known varieties, but the most common ones include kkakduki (spicy radish), oi sobagi (cucumber), bossam (rolled kimchi) and chonggak (young radish). Kimchi also refers to a process of fermenting vegetables (similar to the pickling process in the States).

Jajangmyeon Recipe (HALAL)

Serving size: 5

Ingredients:

1  (37oz./1050g) premium fresh noodle or jajangmyeon noodle

1 large boneless and skinless chicken breast, cut into small cubes (marinate it with salt, white pepper and cornstarch)

1/2 large yellow onion, chopped

1/2 zucchini (if large), 1 zucchini (if small), cut into cubes

1 small carrot, cut into cubes

3 heap Tbsp. Korean black bean sauce

1 cup water

2 tsp. sugar

2 Tbsp. cornstarch mixed with 2 Tbsp. water

Oil for cooking

Method:

1.  Cook noodle per package direction.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  If not it will stick together and create clumps.  Unless you eat it right away.

2.  Heat wok over high heat and when heated, add in some cooking oil.  When hot, add in the chicken and stir-fry until no longer pink.

3.  Add in the cubes onion, carrot and then zucchini and stir-fry until soften. 

4.  Add in the black bean sauce.  Stir to mix well.  Add in water and sugar.  Stir well.  Lastly thicken with cornstarch water.

5.  Pour on top of the noodle to serve.

P.s; You can use Spaghetti or instant noodle instead jajangmyeon noodle, just boil it for 2 minutes and serve it with the sauce.   

Futomaki Recipe

INGREDIENTS

3 sheets Nori (Seaweed)

15 -20 large shrimp, cooked

3 imitation crab sticks

1⁄3 cup carrot, finely grated

1 small cucumber (preferably Lebanese or Japanese)

1 avocado

2 leaves romaine lettuce

4 cups cooked rice, seasoned with sushi vinegar (see #315511 Easy Sushi Rice)

1⁄4 cup rice vinegar

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut sea sticks in half lengthwise.
2. Cut cucumber lengthwise into narrow strips.
3. Halve avocado, remove pit and slice into strips. Remove center ribs and shred lettuce.
4. Mix one cup of water with the rice vinegar in a small bowl and set aside to use as hand vinegar, to rinse your hands and keep the rice from sticking to them.
5. Place a piece of plastic wrap on a bamboo rolling mat. Place a piece of nori, rough side up on the plastic wrap.
6. Take a handful of rice and spread it over half of the nori, leaving 1" on the far side of the nori clear. Repeat to cover the other half of the seaweed sheet.
7.  Arrange 5-6 shrimp in a row about 2" from the close edge.
8. Add a row of sea sticks, then a row of shredded lettuce.
9.  On top of the shrimp, place slices of avocado and shredded carrots so the ingredients are piled like logs of wood. One third of each of the filling ingredients should be used for each roll.
10. Pick up the mat from the near side and roll it up, pressing gently. Remove from rolling mat. Repeat steps to make two more rolls.
11. Cut each roll into 8 slices. Serve with soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger.

Chicken Shu Mai (Siu Mai) Recipe

Prep Time: 20 Mins | Cook Time: 5 Mins

Ingredients:

1/2 lb boneless and skinless chicken thigh, ground

8 peeled and deveined medium shrimp, diced into small pieces

2 black fungus, soaked in hot water and cut into thin threads, or fresh shiitake mushrooms

1/2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger

1/2 tablespoon finely chopped scallion, white part only

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

3 dashes ground white pepper

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

Pinch of salt

Wonton wrapper

Green peas and tobiko (fish roes), for garnishing

Method:

1. Using a mini food processor, ground the chicken but make sure that it’s coarsely ground. You can also chop with a knife. Mix the chicken with all the ingredients together, set aside in the fridge for 20 minutes.
2. Place about a tablespoon of the filling on each wrapper, gather up the sides and leave the center open. You might cut off the uneven edges with a pair of scissors if you like the shu mai to look prettier. Garnish the top with a green pea and some tobiko. Steam in a bamboo steamer for about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Gluten-Free Strawberry & Raspberry Crumble

Number Of Serves : 4 Persons

Time To Prepared : 45 Minutes

Level Of Difficulty : Super Easy

Ingredients

300 g strawberries, hulled and halved

300 g raspberries

1 orange

1/2 vanilla pod, the seeds of

30 g sugar

1 tsp cornflour

ice cream, to serve

For the crumble:

100 g sugar

100 g buckwheat flour

100 g ground almonds

100 g butter, cold and diced

Method

1.  Preheat the oven to 180 C/356 F
2. Toss the berries, orange zest and a squeeze of juice, vanilla seeds, sugar and cornflour in a large bowl.
3. Spoon into small, ovenproof dishes. For the crumble, mix sugar, buckwheat and ground almonds in a bowl.
4. Use your fingers to rub in the butter, until large crumbs form. Sprinkle the fruit with the crumble and bake for 30 mins.
5. Serve with ice cream.

Grilled Steak Ratatouille & Saffron Rice

Number Of  Serves : 4 Persons

Time To Serves : 15 Minutes

Level Of Difficulty : Super Easy

Ingredients

For the ratatouille

1 courgette (Zucchini)

1 small Eggplant

2 mixed-color peppers

1 Red Onion

1 heaped teaspoon Harissa

2 Anchovy Fillets

2-4 cloves of Garlic

700 g Passata (Tomato Puree)

1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar

½ bunch Fresh Basil

2 tablespoons Fat-Free Natural Yogurt

For the rice

1 Mug (300 g) 10-minute wholegrain or Basmati rice

1 Good Pinch Saffron

½ Lemon

For the steak

2 x 250 g quality Sirloin Steaks (fat removed)

1 teaspoon Sweet Paprika Olive Oil

½ bunch fresh flat-leaf Parsley

1 heaped teaspoon Dijon Mustard

1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

½ Lemon

Method

Before start cooking ngredients out

• Kettle boiled

• Griddle pan, high heat

• Small lidded pan, medium heat

• Shallow lidded casserole pan, medium heat

START COOKING

• Halve the courgette length ways, slice the eggplant 1 cm thick and place both on the griddle pan, turning when charred
• Put 1 mug of rice, 2 mugs of boiling water, the saffron, lemon half and a pinch of salt into the small pan, cover and cook until fluffy, stirring occasionally
• Tear the seeds and stalks out of the peppers, then roughly chop with the peeled red onion and put into the casserole pan with the harissa, anchovies and 1 teaspoon of their oil
• Squash in the unpeeled garlic through a garlic crusher and stir regularly
• Remove the charred courgette and aubergine from the griddle pan, leaving it on the heat, and roughly chop them on a board
• Add them to the casserole pan along with the passata and vinegar, and boil with the lid on
• Rub the steaks with salt, the paprika and 1 teaspoon of olive oil and place on the hot griddle pan, turning every minute until cooked to your liking
• On a board, finely slice the parsley stalks and roughly chop the leaves
• Add the mustard and extra virgin olive oil, season with salt and pepper and squeeze over the lemon juice, then mix together and spread over the board
• When the steaks are done, transfer them to the board, turn in the dressing, then slice
• Tear the top leafy half of the basil into the ratatouille, season to taste, and serve with yogurt and saffron rice

Superfood Salad With Quinoa & Roasted Sweet Potato

Serves : 6 Persons

Time Served : 40 Minutes (plus cooling)

Level of Difficulty :  Not too tricky

Ingredients

700 g sweet potatoes

1 pinch of dried chill flakes

1 pinch of ground coriander

1 small pinch of ground cinnamon

olive oil

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

200 g Quinoa

320 g broccoli

35 g mixed nuts, such as walnuts, almonds and Brazil nuts

1 pomegranate

extra virgin olive oil

juice of 2 limes

1 splash of balsamic vinegar

40 g mixed sprouts

1 punnet cress, (use a mixture of varieties if possible)

1 fresh red chill

1 bunch of fresh coriander

1 ripe avocado

To serve:

1 punnet of salad cress

20 g feta cheese

Method

Preheat the oven to 200ºC or 400ºF. Scrub and chop the sweet potatoes into 2.5cm chunks. Place into a roasting tray with the chill flakes, ground coriander and cinnamon, a drizzle of olive oil and a little salt and pepper, then toss well. Spread out into an even layer and place in the hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp.

Meanwhile, cook the quinoa according to the packet instructions in a medium pan of boiling salted water. Click off and slice the broccoli into small florets, then halve and finely slice the stalk. Place into a heatproof colander and rest it over the quinoa pan. Cover and steam for 3 minutes, or until just tender. Once cooked, drain and rinse the quinoa under cold running water, then leave to cool along with the broccoli. Remove the sweet potato from the oven and leave it to cool, too.

Meanwhile, toast the nuts in a dry frying pan over a medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a pestle and mortar and crush lightly. Halve the pomegranate and squeeze the juice from one half into a large bowl. Add 3 times as much extra virgin olive oil, the lime juice and balsamic vinegar. Whisk well and season to taste.

Add the cooled broccoli and sprouts to the dressing, then snip in the cress. Roughly chop the coriander (stalks and all), finely slice the chill and add to the bowl along with the quinoa and sweet potato. Toss well, spread out on a serving platter, then scoop out and dot over the avocado flesh. Bash the reserved pomegranate half with a wooden spoon so the seeds come tumbling out and scatter these over the platter along with the nuts, snip the cress on top, then serve with a crumbling of feta cheese.

p.s. : Quinoa is a grain crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, as it is not a member of the true grass family. As a chenopod, quinoa is closely related to species such as beetroots, spinach and tumbleweeds.