Kim chi, miracle food

There was a time in my life I didn't know that kim chi (kim chee) existed. Later there was a time I eyed it suspiciously when it was served in little appetizer bowls (banchan) at our favorite Korean restaurant in the Bronx, to which you had to walk through some streets that I found particularly nasty. I always made sure I had company when I walked there. But the food was fantastic, the waitresses didn't know English, and we were often the only Westerners in there. But the kim chi I didn't really eat much of.

Then I moved to New Jersey, and the kim chi at the local Korean restaurant suddenly looked more appetizing, no doubt after being fed lots of spicy chile pepper dishes by PP. Kim chi after all is fermented cabbage infused with chiles. Kind of like sauerkraut (surkål), but made from Chinese (Napa) cabbage instead of regular cabbage and with lots of red chile stuff in it.

And today I saw a jar in the local Korean fruit market where I buy cheap limes and lemons and got a whole liter (pint) of it. Brought it home and opened it, and it was heavenly. Not to spicy, just right, and both PP and I said we could live on this if we had to. A fourth of the jar is already gone, so I better buy more. Do you have kim chi in Sweden? The Swedish food stores have become so internationalized since I moved from Sweden nearly 15 years ago, so I wouldn't be surprised if the kim chi is right next to the fermented herring (surströmming) on the shelf.

So, don't be afraid of kim chi. It is healthy too, it has lots of good bacteria that will help your stomach, just like living yogurt. Long live kim chi! It was invented 3000 years ago, so it is a long-lived food already.

Some facts: Koreans eat 40 lbs of kimchi per year (about 20 kg) per person. Kim chi has been called one of the 5 most healthiest food ever. And here is how it looks and how to make it.