Kimchi

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Typically a spicy dish of fermented firm leafy cabbage and other vegetables, this mild version omits chilies. 

Bugak is the ideal light beer snack: It’s crunchy, salty, and the fresher it’s made, the better. Thin sheets of kimchi add an extra spicy savory layer.

Turn any vegetable into a flavorful, spicy pickle with this simple kimchi technique.

I love kimchi. To me, the world is a better place when we all enjoy kimchi. Fiery and fun, it gives a kick to all food.

Kimchi, the world’s best-known Korean ingredient, generally describes pickled vegetables, though cabbage is the most common choice. Originally a basic salt pickle, chiles were introduced in the sixteenth century, followed soon thereafter by fish or shrimp paste. Regional influences determine the level of pungency, with warmer regions producing kimchi heavily seasoned with chile powder and anchovy paste. Some take to kimchi immediately; for others it is an acquired taste. For information on nam pla (Thai fish sauce), see page 500. If you love kimchi, you’ll enjoy making this version. Even though it’s quick, the results will be as good as that found at most restaurants and better than almost any version you’ve bought in jars. Kept refrigerated, it will last for about a week. Dried salted shrimp are inexpensive and keep forever; you’ll find them at most Asian markets.

A staple on the Korean table, kimchi is a pickled cabbage (and sometimes radish) side dish that is pungent and spicy. Traditionally, it has lots of spices and takes months to make, carefully buried in the ground to ferment. Forget all about that . . . this is a kinder, gentler version. The first thing you need to do is buy a bottle of Momoya Kimchi Base, a sweet and slightly spicy red sauce that has everything in it already. Look for it at your local Asian grocer or online. Once you have it in the fridge, you’re set for a while—a little goes a long way. This recipe couldn’t be easier to make but the kimchi needs at least a couple of hours to do its work, so plan ahead. I use the kimchi in practically everything from a topping on burgers to a filling for quesadillas (page 23). Spoon the kimchi into butter lettuce leaves and sprinkle with chopped peanuts for an incredibly tasty and healthy snack.

A popular kimchi enjoyed in the summer, this dish is a good example of the ying and the yang in Korean cuisine. The coolness of the cucumbers is balanced with the spiciness of the chile powder. Even in the fermentation process, the cucumbers stay nice and crisp. You'll need a 1/2-gallon glass jar to hold the cucumbers.

No Korean meal is complete without kimchi, a piquant condiment of fermented vegetables (most popularly cabbage) seasoned with ginger, garlic, chile, and all manner of fresh or preserved seafood. Fermenting the ingredients over several days gives the dish its distinctive tang, but this easy version, which takes advantage of the funky depth of Asian fish sauce, offers relatively instant gratification.

Baechu Kimchi _ Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Eating Korean by Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee and are part of our story on Lunar New Year. This is the mother of all kimchi. When Koreans say "kimchi," this is the kind that comes to everyone's minds. Good either fresh or fermented, it goes with everything from meats to noodles. You will need a one-gallon glass jar or four 1-quart jars. _

The recipe below is excerpted from restaurateur Jenny Kwak's book, Dok Suni: Recipes from My Mother's Korean Kitchen.