Kimchi, Info 2

Kimchi, Info 2

Zubereitung:
Tongduchon, Korea - ''You...Like...Kim...Chee?'' Well, up until a few
seconds earlier, when I looked behind the scenes at this assembly line
on the floor of a freezing Tongduchon alley, I could say I had
thoroughly enjoyed the Korean national dish.
Kimchi stands on the threshhold of fast-food acceptance with such
multinational fare as hamburgers, tacos, chow mein, ramen, sushi, hot
dogs and goulash. The variations are infinite, but kimchi (sometimes
spelled kimchee or kimch'i) consists of basic elements of fermented
Chinese cabbage and ground red chiles.
Here in this alley of the icy Korean outback I managed to put aside my
Western inhibitions against streetside food preparation and learn what
makes those kimchi barrels tick, bubble, fizz, whatever. My instructor,
without doubt, had never had a Western tourist stop to assess the steps
up the kimchi food chain. She was the lead player in a drama starring
five persons. With the limited English at her command, she spoke her
lines well. ''Wash first, '' she said while dipping half-stalks of
cabbage in a plastic bathtub. One of the women split heads of chinese
cabbage (in appearance, a cross between cabbage and celery stalks). The
pavement was the cutting board. In an earlier stage, two women were
taking stalks off a mountain that reached nearly to the roofline of a
small restaurant. They peeled off the dead leaves and generally
inspected the product. Nothing was discarded. The outer leaves were
hung aside with some unexplained purpose in mind. The restaurant had
closed for the night but no matter its entrance was blocked by a
mountain of cabbage. Using the half stalk as a scoop, my instructor
took up a bit of water with each and carefully arranged them flat in a
plastic garbage can. The circles, leaves to the outside, spiraled up
from the bottom.

''Now salt,'' she continüd, sprinkling rock salt on each level.
''Tomorrow we wash,'' she said, capping the container and wrestling it
aside in the afternoon gloom. Korean villages often lie within the
folds of steep mountains. The winter sun must rise high in the sky to
cross the eastern ridgeline. It disappears early behind the western
peaks.

''Tomorrow we repack with pepper where salt was.'' When would it be
ready to eat? I asked the question casually, conversationally.
Instantly I sensed a mixup of translation. The women looked at each
other and giggled as my instructor reached into the garbage can and
offered me a dripping, salty leaf. What else could I do? I took the
leaf that I had only recently seen prepared in this very alley, and
paid my düs. I hoped my smile was not too forced and my nibble was not
too small. Finally the communication link connected enough for me to
understand that by day after tomorrow this ''summer'' kimchi would be
ready. These vats - stored with only their tops sticking out of the
snow would probably last the restaurant several weeks rather than all
winter. From bulgogi - barbequed strips seasoned with garlic to
bulkalbi, akin to spare ribs, every Korean main dish is served with
kimchi. ''Everybody in Korea has a favorite kimchi recipe, '' commented
one Old Asia Hand. ''Some people add garlic or onion. I haven't seen
any with pine nuts or alfalfa shoots yet, but that may come.'' A
catalog distributed by export-minded Korea advertises canned kimchi
with differing labels of Chinese cabbage, radish, cucumber, white
cabbage and pickled seafood.
Coastal kimchi in Korea includes anchovies. ''I usually ask them to
hold the anchovies,'' said the Old Asia Hand. It's interesting to be in
Korea during the major cabbage harvests. A "cord" of cabbage stacked
like firewood will be dumped on every block, and the residents will
come out and fill their earthenware kimchi pots. Kimchi is a major
source of Vitamin C for Koreans. And they are a very healthy race.

Some other Korean dishes:

Kalbitang: a rich soup with boiled beef ribs. Pibimbap: rice topped
with assorted vegetables and a boiled egg. Nängmyon: a bowl of cold
buckwheat noodles served with vegetables, boiled egg and pieces of
meat. This is a summer dish. Mäuntang: hot fish soup with plenty of
vegetables. Kungjungchongol: often called the royal dish, this is a
rich variety of shellfish, fish, meat and vetetables cooked in a soup
broth. Mandukuk: soup with meatballs wrapped in dough. Hanjong-shik:
This is the home cooking you would order while staying at a Korean inn.
It is eaten in your room and consists of vegetables, eggs, fish and
numerous kimchi dishes with rice and soup. Unlike Japan - where one is
expected to indicate satisfaction with food by slurping and other
sounds often offensive to Westerners - Koreans are quiet eaters. Even
excess conversation is considered impolite during a meal. George Ridge
has written a Sunday travel column for the "Arizona Daily Star" in
Tucson, Ariz., for 14 years. He is a professor emeritus at th e
University of Arizona. Be sure to also read: "Seoul Food - Dining In
Korea".

http://kimchi.kfri.re.kr/2-1.htm



Durchschnittliche Gesamtbewertung: 0.67 Stern(e)

Unser Rezepte Vorschlag für Sie:

Aktuelle Magazin Beiträge:

Meist gelesene Magazin Beiträge: