cuisine – Learning to be 한국인

As mentioned in a previous blog post (“Korean Food: My Love Love Relationship”), I am a fan of Korean food. I like eating it, I like talking about it, and I like making it. I find that all of the above are especially meaningful to me as a way to explore and grow my connection to my Korean roots.

Spicy, fermented napa cabbage (commonly referred to as “kimchi” 김치) is arguably as Korean of a food as you can find. It is the national dish of both South and North Korea. It’s a staple of the Korean diet, coming in many varieties, and eaten numerous ways including by itself or as an essential ingredient in many soups and stews. Traditionally, kimchi was stored in large, earthenware, lidded pots (called “ong-gi” 옹기), often buried underground to prevent being frozen during cold months or to slow down the fermentation during warm months. Outside of the common napa cabbage version (actually “baechu-kimchi” 배추김치), there are hundreds of varieties of kimchi (the term itself referring to fermented vegetables). You could theoretically make kimchi out of just about any vegetable! The flavors and textures of each vary, and even the same variations of kimchi can look, smell, and taste differently depending on the maker, ingredients, age, and a number of other factors.

For this post, I’m going to specifically focus on sharing one of my experiences making baechu-kimchi. If you desire to make your own, there are numerous recipes online and in print. You could even find your own Korean friend (typically women were expected to make kimchi and many women over 50 continue this practice) and ask to join them in making kimchi. For ease, I’m going to include a few recommendations of recipes that I personally like for making napa cabbage kimchi (baechu-kimchi 배추김치) below. However, there are many recipes out there, so please explore on your own and find some that you like!

List of Napa Cabbage Kimchi Recipes (in no particular order):
1) https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/tongbaechu-kimchi
2) https://www.koreanbapsang.com/baechu-kimchi-napa-cabbage-kimchi/
3) http://crazykoreancooking.com/recipe/kimchi-spicy-pickled-cabbage

As a note, before you start making your own kimchi I highly suggest putting your hair up/back if you have long hair and wearing a pair of good rubber gloves!

Early Stage: Halving and salting napa cabbage!

Early Stage: Napa cabbage in the process of brining

Early Stage: Chopping and slicing additional fresh ingredients (pictured here: radish, green onion, scallion, carrot)

Medium Stage: Additional vegetables and chili paste complete

Medium Stage: Rinse, and drain your brined napa cabbage

End Stage: Apply the extra ingredients to your napa cabbage

End Stage: Stack your baechu-kimchi rolls in a container (pictured here: my onggi)

End Stage: Cover and let the fermentation process begin

As a little added bonus to this post, there is a specific event in the winter called Gimjang (김장). Gimjang is the traditional process of preparing and storing kimchi for the winter. Gimjang yields large quantities of kimchi as it was meant to provide food throughout the winter. Often it is a highly labor-intensive task that communities participate in, families, extended relatives, neighbors. This past winter, my 엄마 (eom-ma meaning mom, in this case my birth/bio mom) sent me photos of my bio-family’s gimjang.

They ate pork suyuk, kimchi, and drank makgeolli during gimjang! Delicious!

Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this post about making traditional, napa cabbage kimchi! I love 배추 김치 and highly recommend giving it a try if you have never eaten it before. Additional points if you decide you’d like to try making it yourself! It’s an interesting process, yields delicious results, and, to me anyway, helps me to feel closer to Korea and being Korean.

사랑해요! (I love you)! ❤

I remember being introduced to Korean food very early as a KAD living in Minnesota, USA. My parents sent me to Korean Culture Camp (https://kccmn.org/) every year for a number of years. While it was only a week-long opportunity to absorb Korean culture, being surrounded by KADs and Koreans, I distinctly recall my love of Korean food. Korean snacks were always on display and available for purchase, we talked about Korean food, and were served Korean meals every day.

I remember the amazing smells of Korean food wafting throughout the campus. Kimchi, japchae, bulgogi, and steamed rice were among my favorites.

When not in camp, my parents found ways to make sure that I got Korean food, on occasion, at home. In life, I’d sometimes come across Korean friends or acquaintances, even befriending and dating a Korean-American with a traditional Korean family. These occasional meetings often resulted in families automatically identifying me as a Korean and would usually lead to their giving me home-cooked Korean meals.

When I moved to Seattle, as a young adult, I suddenly had an increase in Korean options with numerous Korean shops, bars, 노래방 (Korean karaoke), restaurants, and 고기집 (Korean bbq) nearby. Eating Korean food became standard. Inspired, and already a regular cook and baker, I started making Korean food for myself.

When I moved away from Seattle, after over 11 years of living there, I lost my community of friends. Something I’d not realized I’d also lose was the community of Koreans and Korean culture I’d had, in some way, as a mainstay throughout my life. This was a startling and difficult loss for me. It felt very much like I had a part of my identity cut-off, with nobody around who recognized my Korean-ness or that Korean-ness in general was a thing.

Aside from personally loving Korean food, and associating it with my identity, my experiences up until that point had also shown me how important food is to Koreans as a major part of their, our, culture. Korean meals are a communal and social experience. You eat meals with friends, family, business partners, peers. You often drink, and when you drink you eat. In my love, comfort, and enjoyment of Korean food I had been unknowingly doing a very Korean thing. As a Korean-adoptee, I highly recommend finding ways to experience Korean food if you can. Even better, if you can experience it with good company.

Fast forward a little bit, I’m 4.5 years out of living in Seattle. I now live in California, with more Koreans (and Korean restaurants, 노래방, and even an H-Mart) around. My Korean community and a sense of being a part of the Korean culture is still missing. Especially as a KAD, it’s hard to find, and be accepted into, Korean communities and culture without “an in”. However, my love of Korean food and cooking has not diminished. If anything, I am more invested now than I used to be in making Korean food a normal, even daily, part of my life.

I’ll be writing future blog postings about my Korean cooking adventures, as well as sharing pics of Korean foods and drinks that I enjoy on my Instagram account (@learningtobekorean). This post, however, is just a little personal overview of my relationship (a 100% love love one) with Korean food.

Enjoying some home-made Makgeolli (막걸리 – raw rice wine)

For anyone new to Korean food, here are some dishes that I suggest trying out that seem like a nice place to start. Of course, there are numerous dishes to seek out once you get started! Don’t forget to get steamed white rice (밥 – bap), fermented napa cabbage (배추김치 – kimchi), and plenty of side dishes (반찬 – banchan) with every meal.

Bulgogi (불고기) – This literally means “fire meat”, but is not at all spicy. Bulgogi is thin, marinated slices of meat (usually beef) grilled over fire. It became popular in Seoul after refugees from Pyongan moved there after liberation from Japanese forced occupation in 1945. I find this dish to be comforting, filling, and a little sweet/savory.
Japchae (잡채) – This means “mixed vegetable” and is a sweet/savory stir-fried dish. It is not spicy. It consists of glass noodles, vegetables, and optional meat. It is most commonly a side dish, but can easily serve as a meal. It used to be a royal dish, but is now a highly popular celebration dish, usually served during holidays or other special occasions.
Bibimbap (비빔밥) – This means “mixed rice” and is a popular meal. Bibimbap is a very customizable dish, but typically includes rice, egg, seaweed, vegetables, and gochujang (chili pepper paste). Meat is optional. It is not spicy, but can be depending on your customizations and amount of added gochujang. It stems from early, rural Koreans mixing rice with leftover vegetables in a bowl. At it’s root, bibimap is a very accessible dish.
Chikin (치킨) – This is a Korean reference to American fried “chicken”. It comes in a wide variety of styles and flavors, including highly spicy versions. It is often a meal, but can be an appetizer, anju (안주 – bar food), or even a snack. Korean fried chicken began to become prevalent during the Korean war when Americans occupied the area and began placing stalls that sold it, as well as other soul/comfort foods. The Korean style of frying chicken differs from the American style in that it employs a different frying technique that renders out much of the fat from the skin, creating a thin, crackly crust. I personally find it delicious and enjoy it as a treat, sometimes with a crisp Korean beer and banchan.
Samgyeopsal-gui (삼겹살구이) – This means “three layer flesh – grilled”. It is essentially grilled pork belly and is often served with sauce, garlic, onions, scallions, pickled vegetables, and wrapped in a lettuce or perilla leaf. It is highly popular in Korea and is commonly eaten along with shots of soju. It can be its own meal. This is a fantastic group meal to enjoy with friends or family.

I hope that you try out some Korean cuisine if you have not yet had the chance. I personally find it comforting and delicious. If nothing else, though, it’s a nice way to bring Korean culture into your life.

사랑해요, KADs! (I love you, KADs), ❤