"kimchi" news and stories

This week, the Inquirer is all about Korean food, especially in Philly's burgeoning "Koreatown" (their moniker, not mine). And in the wake of the 10-day revelry that was Beer Week, it's probably best that we load up on some home cooking to soak up all that alcohol.

• Foods like kimchi, shabu shabu and bibimbap are holding gaining in popularity as the Korean food craze continues
• Echoing the above article, Craig LeBan shares his favorite Korean dishes, especially the marinated beef ribs
  
• Shira Kamm joins the growing number of Pennsylvania's women farmers
• It's official: Philly residents are alkies
• Inquirer Columnist officially runs out of things to write about; goes on weird rant/rave about eggs
• Newbie restaurant Osteria was nominated for a James Beard Best New Restaurant Award
  

Right about now, everyone is in the final throes of their Thanksgiving prep. Maybe you've got a pie to bake tonight or you have to hit the grocery store one last time on the way home from work, but basically, you're there. You don't need our help with recipes for tasty side dishes or tips on how wedge all your leftovers into the fridge anymore.

So here's my question for all of you. What's that one food item without which your Thanksgiving is not complete? Your staple food that has to be on the table or the meal just can't go forward. It doesn't have to be traditional or even cohesive with the meal, but somehow brings everything together for you. Me, it doesn't feel like Thanksgiving until I've had a little nibble of crispy turkey skin and a glass of sparkling apple cider. Over at the Epi Log, Esther Sung writes about how there needs to be a dish of kimchi on the table for Thanksgiving to feel rounded and satisfying for her.

Share your favorites, your quirky side dishes and things that make your holiday feel special.

Source

If yesterday's post on canning piqued your interest in food preservation, then you might want to check out this post over at Farm to Philly. Nicole took some of the Daikon radish that came in her CSA box, mixed it with ginger, garlic, Korean ground chile paste, salt, sugar and Swiss Chard and turned it into Kimchi. She skips out on the step in which you bury the jars underground for the Winter and instead just tucks them into a cool, dark place until the fermentation process is complete.

Photo link

Health magazine has picked the five healthiest foods that you can get from five different countries. The list isn't complete, of course (I'm not even sure if these are the healthiest foods in the world), but it's a quick guide to the healthy foods that a few different countries have given us.

Spain has given us olive oil, Japan soy, Greece has given us yogurt, and lentils come from India. I've never had kimchi, from Korea, but that's on the list too. You can get recipes for each food at the link above as well.

So readers, what about the United States? What healthy foods have we contributed to the world? And no, Ring Dings don't count.

The other day I found this fish-based treat in the snack aisle of a Japanese market that just opened in my neighborhood. Gotta love the packaging. It might look like a bad-ass gang tattoo related to murdering someone, but I'm pretty sure the teardrop coming from the pepper-person's eye is supposed to indicate that the dried slices of kawahagi, or file fish, are so coated with red pepper that they cause watery eyes and spontaneous combustion.

Tonight I dug it out of the cupboard for a midnight snack. The package bears an English transliteration at the top edge, "Kimuchi-kawahagi." This I take to mean kimchi-flavored file fish. I didn't find it homicidally spicy. The translucent slices of chewy fish had just enough red pepper flakes to cause a pleasant tingle. Each bite had a perfect balance of fishiness, heat, sweetness and saltiness: all of which spells drinking snack. Add to this a sprinkling of sesame seeds and soon I found myself with a half empty bag. I think I'll save the rest for another night.