The Kimchimonger News Blog

Yes, we’ve said it before, but we here at Kimchi HQ really enjoy reading notes from satisfied kimchi consumers. It totally makes our day. We’ve collected some of our favorites and have added them to our new Fanmail tab on the official Granny Choe’s Kimchi Co. Facebook page. Now you can see what other rabid kimchifans are saying about our goods. Even though you are already devout converts, right? Right.

Here’s the latest from Lisa S. of Clifton, NJ:

“WOWW!!!! I’ve always loved kimchi, and I have many Korean restaurants near me, but I’ve never tasted kimchi like this! I found your website and ordered the 3-pack. I JUST received them yesterday and already I’m finished with a whole jar, plus a little of a second…”

Awww, thanks, Lisa!

Somehow the topic of karaoke came up over the weekend, and we found ourselves reminiscing. Not about karaoke-bar karaoke, but noraebang–the Korean/Asian style karaoke where you rent a little room and belt it out with a group of friends. It’s all the fun of a spontaneous car singalong, but with microphones and booze.

So today when we stumbled across this somewhat crass webcomic “Night out in K-town,” We thought to ourselves, “What a happy coincidence!” Imagine our joy when we realized the starring characters in this comic (In the Kimchi Jar by Han Kim) are actually kimchi ingredients. Awesome.

PS: Speaking of webcomics, we highly recommend hooking up with the smart, funny and handsome XKCD. You could use a good laugh.

Aloha- Granny Choe & Co. are on winter break! We will be back in the office on January 15th. Orders placed now through January 14th will be shipped at that time.

Thanksgiving is officially over, but here at Kimchi HQ we are still giving humble thanks, for today Granny Choe’s kimchi is featured on Mouthing Off (the Food & Wine magazine blog). Writer, Kelly Snowden, says Granny Choe’s is the next best thing to homemade kimchi and we are inclined to agree (humbly again, of course).

Check out the latest issue of Audrey magazine and you will find great feature on second generation Koreans’ food business ventures, featuring an interview with Mama Choe. Perhaps even more importantly, you will find a fan-freakin-tastic image of Granny Choe’s original / cabbage kimchi. Two words: Money. Shot.

No, but seriously, we’re calling it the money shot because there are gigantic dollar signs behind the kimchi jar.

Aloha- Granny Choe & Co. are on summer break! We will be back in the office on July 15th. Orders placed now through July 14th will be shipped at that time

Napa cabbage before being hacked to bits as an offering for the kimchi gods.

Not long ago there was a class provided by The Sustainable Living Arts School in Vancouver, BC that was devoted entirely to the art and culture of kimchi. For those who aren’t exactly sure what sustainable living is, it involves doing anything possible to reduce our impact on the available natural resources. This translates to everything from reducing one’s carbon footprint to altering your diet. Basically the idea is that once you’ve kicked the bucket, there should be as little trace that you were ever here as possible. No garbage left behind, and no reduction in the resources that were available when you first arrived.

Natural kimchi (which can be tricky to find nowadays) is an excellent addition to any sustainable living diet because it is a fermented product (fermentation is a sustainable practice), and because it consists of all vegetables/spices with no commercially processed food products. Additionally, to quote from the Sustainable Living Arts School, “It’s spicy, delicious, and very, very good for you!” If you don’t know how to make it yourself, Granny Choe is happy to provide you with some… in a highly recyclable glass jar.

Little bubbly cartoon space characters love kimchi too

Ok, so this is from last April, but shoot… I’d say it’s worth mentioning again.

Korean researchers apprarently spent millions developing a space-friendly variety of kimchi to send up to the International Space Station last year (along with Korea’s first astronaut, Ko San). In order to be space friendly, the kimchi actually had to undergo radiation to kill the bacteria. According to PopSci.com…

“The problem with taking traditional kimchi into space is the presence of all those bacteria. While they may be “good” on Earth, they’re likely to cause trouble in the harsh environment of low-Earth orbit. Cosmic rays could cause them to mutate. The extreme temperature fluctuations could cause early spoilage. The fermentation process could unexpectedly go into overdrive and bubble out of control.”

Anyone else think that this is prime material for another end-of-the-world type movie starring Will Smith?? I mean, Ebola Virus has been done… and no one would take Mad Cow Disease seriously. But mutated kimchi bacteria? That, my friends, has “summer blockbuster” written all over it.

Kimchi connosieur, Randy Stewart, loves Granny Choe’s Kimchi Co. So much so, in fact, that he has (out of the goodness of his heart) devoted an entire page to us on his popular kimchi fansite, LoveThatKimchi.com. In a YouTube video about Granny Choe’s, he remarks, “When I tasted this kimchi it was… ‘Eureka! Nirvana!’ I had found the flavor I left back in Korea so many years ago.” We thank you for your kindness, Randy, and are so glad you love this kimchi.