A Hot and Spicy Love Story: Kimchi

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Towards the end of my senior year in high school, I had an extraordinary opportunity to spend a weekend at a college I was accepted to with other perspective students.  With my parents almost 2000 miles away and my ever-present inhibitions on hiatus, I proceeded to flirt with every hot-blooded, hormone thumping, perspective male student available to me that weekend.

One such male took the bait.

We made out.  Sparks flew.  Spit was swapped.  It was phenomenal.

Despite the cultural, racial, religious, and possibly more critical, gastronomical differences that defined us, that tantalizing, gorgeous young man and I got married. We have been passionately in love since that dorm room love fest (13 years total, 6 of those legally binding) and in retrospect, I believe we have our mutual obsession with all things spicy, hot and garlicky to thank.

For most, kimchi, a flavorful and spicy pickled side dish made of cabbage (or other vegetable), is an acquired taste.  But my husband, whose east African upbringing does not include anything pickled, embraced kimchi with the same vigor as an infant pig suckling its mother’s nipple.  Okay, we’ll maybe not that vigorous….

My husband’s favorite kimchi dish involves cucumber.   If you are feeling bold, try the following recipe with a bowl of sticky white rice.

Zomppa’s Kimchi

Kimchi

Ingredients:

2 organic cucumbers, sliced
3 tablespoons of salt
1 medium organic carrot, thinly sliced
3 organic scallions, sliced, include green and white parts
1/3 cup of red pepper powder (can find at Korean market), plus more to taste
2 cloves organic garlic, minced
½ inch of grated organic ginger
1 tablespoons of fish sauce (can find at grocery store in Asian section)
Juice of half a lemon
1 tablespoon of honey
1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil

Directions:

1. Peel skin off of cucumbers.  
2. Slice the cucumbers in ¼ of inch slices.  
3. Place cumbers in a bowl with salt.  Let sit for 15 minutes. 
4. With hands, squeeze liquid out of the cucumbers.  
5. Place cucumbers back in bowl.  Add the garlic, ginger, red pepper powder, fish sauce, lemon juice, sesame oil and honey. 
6. With hands, mush all ingredients together.  Taste. 
7. Add more hot pepper, fish sauce or honey to adjust the taste to your liking. 
8. Place in airtight container and let refrigerate for 3 hours before enjoying.

Tags: cucumber kimchi, fish sauce, hot pepper powder, Korean Food, korean pickled vegetables, pickled side dish, recipe, Recipe Vault

Category: Asia Pacific, Recipe Vault, Sides, Sauces, and Breads, Travel & Culture