Eat Like A K-Pop Star: The Kimchi Edition

Welcome to this week's 'Eat Like a K-pop Star.' It's the weekly series where we showcase a delicious Korean specialty or something we've seen a K-pop star chowing down on lately and show you how to get or create some food of your own.

We can't write too many of these without dedicating one to kimchi, the end all, be all of Korean food. If you're a non-Korean visiting the country, one of the first questions you'll get from anyone and everyone is, "Do you like kimchi?"

There are nearly 200 types of kimchi to try, so it's likely you'll find at least one you can give a thumbs up. Versions of the dish date back centuries, and it has its own museum dedicated to it in Seoul.

Many Koreans eat at least one type of the cool, crunchy side dish with breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and many believe the powers of fermentation contribute to an overall sense of wellbeing and works as a preventive measure against diseases like cancer. The science might not be there to support the claims, but eat up anyway - kimchi is still healthy, refreshing, and most importantly, delicious.

Making your own kimchi is a lot of work a little too much work to justify for the average person, since traditional kimchi-making takes hours and hours of work and results in batches large enough to feed families for months. It wasn't too much for 2NE1's Minzy, though, who once Tweeted a photo of her getting her hands dirty while helping her family make a batch: 

If you're up for the challenge (and have enough kimchi-loving mouths to feed), Korean YouTube chef Maangchi has a great step-by-step video for traditional tongbaechu-kimchi, or Napa cabbage kimchi, the most popular kind. It details breaking down the cabbages, coating them with the mixture of sweet, tangy, super spicy seasonings that give tongbaechu it's explosive flavor, and then the fermentation process in a traditional onggi, or kimchi pot, just like you'll see all around Korea.

If you don't have the time or need to make tongbaechu-kimchi, check our your local Korean restaurant, market, or shop online for some of these other delicious types of kimchi:

Ggakdugi Kimchi, or Chopped Radish Cube Kimchi

Behind Napa cabbage, this is probably one of the most popular types of kimchi in Korea. This is made by chopping up the white daikon radish that's a popular vegetable (and cartoon!) in many parts of East Asia and coating it in kimchi spices and a bit of chili powder. This one is known for its crunch and also as a "beginniners kimchi" since it doesn't pack the same spicy punch that many other varieties do. This one is Park Yoo Chun's favorite.

Mother In Law's Kimchi is a popular brand that's tasty and available for purchase online.

Pakimchi, or Green Onion Kimchi

Calling all flavor lovers: this is your kimchi. You get one good POW! from the onion and another swift whack of flavor from the hot pepper paste that coats this delicious kimchi. It's crisp, powerful, refreshing, and will force you to do an extra Listerine swish afterwards.

Oi Sobagi, or Cucumber Kimchi

Cucumber kimchi is, you guessed it, cucumber-based and, since cucumbers ferment quicker than other more starchy vegetables, isn't quite as sour as some of the more popular types. It's super refreshing paired with some spicy, salty meat in the spring and summer when cucumbers are in season. It's also great for the amateur cooks out there - cucumber kimchi is one of the types that can be easy, quick, and affordable to make as a summer side salad. Chef David Chang published his fantastic recipe in Food & Wine.

Nabak kimchi, or White Kimchi

People who want the fermentation experience without the spice should try white kimchi. This is served in a bowl of chicken broth that makes it look more like a thin white soup than kimchi. Although it doesn't have the red pepper spice to it, nabak kimchi holds a whole lot of flavor in its cabbage and radish-based base. This one is best with other incredibly spicy Korean meals, for a bit of a tangy, soothing refresher in between the heat.

Have you tried any of these kimchis, or do you have a different favorite? Let us know in the comments!

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Eat Like A K-Pop Star
kimchi
Recipes
food
korean food
korean food
Minzy
park yoo chun
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