Portfolio (Rough Draft)

Kimchi, also spelled gimchi or kimchee, is a traditional Korean fermented dish made of vegetables with varied seasonings, most commonly referring to the spicy cabbage variety. Kimchi is the most common Korean banchan(side dish) eaten with rice along with other banchan dishes. Kimchi is also a common ingredient and cooked with other ingredients to make dishes such as kimchi stew (kimchi jjigae) and kimchi fried rice (kimchi bokkeumbap).

The history of kimchi can be traced back to ancient times. References to kimchi can be found as early as 2600-3000 years ago. The first text-written evidence of its existence can be found in the first Chinese poetry book, Sikyeong. In this book, kimchi was referred to as “Ji”, the term used before it was known as “Chimchae”.
The earliest form of kimchi was made of only cabbage, and it was in the 12th century when people began to include other spices to create different flavors, such as sweet and sour flavors, and colors of kimchi, such as white and orange.
Chili peppers, now a major ingredient in most forms of kimchi, were unknown in Korea until the early 17th century. Chili peppers originated from the New World and were introduced to East Asia by Western traders. specifically, the Portuguese trading in Nagasaki. This particular style of kimchi made with chili peppers and baechu, a variety of Chinese cabbage, gained popularity in the 19th century and this baechu kimchi continues to be the most common and popular form of kimchi today.

Kimchi is made of various vegetables and contains a high concentration of dietary fiber, while being low in calories. One serving also provides up to 80% of the daily required amount of vitamin C and carotene. Most types of kimchi contain onions, garlic and peppers all of which are salutary. The vegetables being made into kimchi also contribute to the overall nutritional value. Kimchi is rich in vitamin A, thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), calcium and iron and contains a number of lactic acid bacteria. In 2000, a novel bacteriocin-producing lactic acid bacterium (strain MT-1077T) was isolated from Kimchi and was named Lactobacillus kimchi.

Kimchi has a reputation of being a healthy food. The US magazine Health named kimchi in its list of top five "World's Healthiest Foods" for being rich in vitamins, aiding digestion, and even possibly retarding cancer growth. However, some research focused on high-sodium dietary dependence has found overconsumption of kimchi and soybean paste (similar to miso) to be a risk factor in gastric cancer (most likely due to nitrates and salt) while unfermented alliums and unfermented seafood were found to be protective factors. One oncological study found one type of kimchi to be a protective factor against gastric cancer while two other types of such high-sodium kimchi as dongchimi were risk factors.

Kimchi jjigae (stew). A popular stew made with kimchi, it is commonly cooked with kimchi, fresh vegetables and pork or tuna although countless variants exist.

Spring
Traditionally, after a long period of consuming gimjang kimchi during the winter, fresh potherbs and vegetables were popular for making kimchi. These kinds of kimchi were not fermented or even stored for long periods of time but were freshly consumed.
Summer
Young summer radishes and cucumbers are popular summer vegetables made into kimchi, yeolmu kimchi which is eaten in several bites. Brined fish or shellfish can be added and freshly ground dried chili peppers are often used.
Autumn
Baechu kimchi is the most common type of kimchi in the fall. It is prepared by inserting blended stuffing materials, called sok (literally meaning inside), between layers of salted leaves of uncut, whole Napa cabbage (also widely called Chinese cabbage). The ingredients of sok can vary, depending on the different regions and weather conditions. Generally, baechoo kimchi used to have a strong salty flavor until late 1960s when a large amount of myeolchijeot or saeujeot had been used. Since the advent of aekjeot (Korean fish sauce) in the early 1970s, however, low-sodium kimchi is preferably made both at homes and at factories.
Winter
Traditionally, the greatest varieties of kimchi were available during the winter. In preparation for the long winter months, many types of kimjang kimchi were prepared in early winter and stored in the ground in large kimchi pots. These days, kimchi refrigerators offering precise temperature controls are used to store gimjang kimchi. It is often November or December when people begin to make kimchi; women often gather together in each others' homes to help with winter kimchi preparations. White kimchi, is a common and popular kimchi to make during the wintertime. "Baechu kimchi" is made with salted baechu (a type of Chinese cabbage) filled with thin strips of radish, parsley, pine nuts, pears, chestnuts, shredded red pepper, manna lichen, garlic, and ginger.

Memories

I remember as a child living in Korea, all the food would include kimchi as a side dish. Up to grade school, my mom packed with lunch (bento style) every day and besides the obvious rice, there would always be kimchi. Some people may think that rice is all the people eat but rice is nothing without its side dish. For some people all they need is rice and kimchi as a meal and nothing else. Basically it made no sense to have a meal without kimchi. Now days, American food have become popular all over the world but the funny thing is that Korean people still eat kimchi with those foods. For example, my parents used to for the longest time eat kimchi with their pizza. Because there is different kind of kimchi, you will never get bored with one kind. What people need to know is that when you think of Koreans and their food, it's not just rice that should come to mind, it's kimchi.

Ingredients
1 head napp cabbage (baechu, Chinese cabbage, wombok)
½ onion, thin sliced
¼ carrot, thin julienne
¼ radish, thin julienne
4 green onions (spring onions), cut into 2 inch pieces
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
½ cup go choo ga roo (Korean chili powder)
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
½ cup sea salt (or any coarse salt)
1 cup water
¼ cup jeot gal (Korean fish sauce)

Instructions
Quarter the nappa cabbage, wash and drain.
Mix ½ cup sea salt (or any coarse salt) and 1 cup water.
Put cabbages in a salted water and take out one at a time to get salt down.
In a container, add cabbages and pour salted water, set aside for at least 6-8 hours. (Overnight will be great.)
The cabbage should be soft enough to bend.
Wash, drain well.
Mix together ½ cup go choo ga roo (Korean chili powder), 2 tsp salt, 1 tbsp sugar, ¼ cup jeot gal (Korean fish sauce), 2 tbsp minced garlic, and 1 tsp minced ginger.
Mix in vegetables to the chili powder mixture.
Take one cabbage, stuff in above mixture to an every layer. Try to fold in half
With 2 outer leaves, wrap the whole thing securely.
Put it in a air tight container.
Let it sit on a kitchen counter for overnight.
Put in a refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Serve with rice.