Food journalist (and former Gourmet magazine Editor in Chief), Ruth Reichl, says that in 2012, “Korean flavors will make a giant surge, and kimchi may push Sriracha off its perch.” She and The New York Daily News are in agreement. Believe it or not, we still have a lot of people ask us, “What’s kimchi?” Is the day coming when kimchi will become a household staple across America? We’ll keep our fingers crossed.

“Vanity Googling” can be mildly entertaining… you know, typing your own name into a search engine and seeing what comes up.  We hadn’t VG-ed ourselves in a while (although, we mostly do it for “important research purposes” and only a little because we’re bored/vain), so we gave it a shot and were pleasantly surprised to find our kimchi over at popular cooking blog, The Kitchn.

The article is a comparison of making vs. buying kimchi. And while you might think that we, as professional kimchimongers, would try to discourage the good people of America from making their own kimchi, we actually agree with the article- If you love kimchi, we think you should try making your own! It’s pretty messy and time-consuming, but it’s fun (especially if you recruit a kimchi-loving friend) and the chili-infused experience makes for interesting dinner party conversation. The trickiest ingredient to find (unless you have a Korean grocery store near you) is gochugaru (Korean chili pepper flakes). You can’t use red pepper flakes or cayenne… we tried this once just for kicks (Waste of time). But the article says you can buy gochugaru on Amazon. Not sure of the quality, but gotta love the internet for giving you options!

Also, we love the opening, “Kimchi is just about the hottest thing, both literally and figuratively, to hit American cuisine since Sriracha.” To read the full story: Make or Buy: Kimchi.

LA Weekly says Granny Choe’s Kimchi “is the best store-bought kimchi we’ve ever tasted.” Many thanks to them for the kind words and…. woohoo!

Read the full review here.

Craftcation: March 22-25 in Ventura, CA. It’s a cross between the words “craft” and “vacation” and it will be a bunch of brilliant, creative folks convening in one of our very favorite cities. In their words:

craftcation is a three day indie business & diy workshop conference. it’s a retreat to inspire, network and build upon the independent craft business community. our objective is to ignite the entrepenurerial business spirit, strengthen skills and abilities of both seasoned business owners and newcomers to indie craft business. this is an opportunity to network, communicate and share with your peers.

incorporating both business and fun craftcation features industry professionals leading attendees in diy and indie business workshops, panel discussions and q & a sessions.

Interested in starting the crafty food business of your dreams? Mama Choe will be there doing one-on-one consultations so bring your ideas and let’s talk. Hope to see you there!

According to recent article in the Chicago Tribune, kimchi’s popularity is on the rise. In the article, one chef says, “Kimchee is becoming more mainstream… The idea of fermenting things and creating more umami flavors seems to be something resonating on the American palate.” He adds, ”Korean flavors are big flavors.” We would have to agree.

Read the whole article here: Kimchee’s New Chapter: Korea’s Traditional Condiment Blurring Culinary Borders

PS: Thanks to Sister Choe’s friend, “Ms. Sparklehooter,” for this wonderful dinner pic We love to see others loving on Granny Choe’s kimchi!

Hurrah! Kimchi’s come uppance has finally arrived… according to an article in The New York Daily News, anyway. This makes us kimchimongers very happy. Here’s a snippet:

“Could kimchi, the fiery, spicy fermented cabbage native to Korea become the food item of 2012?

According to international restaurant consultancy group Baum + Whiteman in New York, Korean cuisine is predicted to emerge as a robust, influential global food trend in 2012, with its distinctive, punchy flavors penetrating mainstream menus…”

You can read the rest of the story here.

Maybe one day in the not-too-distant future it will actually be cool (okay, at least acceptable) to walk around reeking of chili pepper and garlic. There is hope for us yet…

Good news for our local friends: Granny Choe’s kimchi has just hit the shelves at 9 more Southern California Whole Foods locations, so go get your kimchi on! Typically you can find us in the dairy section near the pickles, but occasionally we are in the raw case or near produce… and sometimes, we can’t even find our stuff, so don’t be afraid to ask the nice Whole Foods team members to point you in the right direction.

PS: Posing by our product on shelves in the photo above is Little E, the smallest kimchimonger at kimchi headquarters. We don’t know why she looks so angry. Maybe because she can’t reach Granny Choe’s kimchi.

Brentwood

Whole Foods Market • Brentwood
11737 San Vicente Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90049
310.826.4433
7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily

Los Angeles

Whole Foods Market • Fairfax
6350 West 3rd St,
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323.964.6800
7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily

Encinitas

Whole Foods Market
687 S. Coast Highway 101
Encinitas, CA 92024
760.274.1580
7:00 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily

Laguna Beach

Whole Foods Market
283 Broadway St.,
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
949.376.7888
7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily

Los Angeles

Whole Foods Market • West Los Angeles
11666 National Blvd,
Los Angeles, CA 90064
310.996.8840
310.996.9510 fax
7am – 10pm seven days a week.

Pasadena

Whole Foods Market
3751 E. Foothill Blvd,
Pasadena, CA 91107
626.351.5994
7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily

Santa Barbara

Whole Foods Market
3761 State Street,
Santa Barbara, CA 93105
805-837-6959
8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily

Sherman Oaks

Whole Foods Market • Sherman Oaks West
4520 N. Sepulveda Blvd,
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
818.382.3700
7am to 10pm Monday to Friday
8am to 10pm Saturday and Sunday

West Hollywood

Whole Foods Market
7871 Santa Monica Blvd,
West Hollywood, CA 90046
323.848.4200
7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily

Happy Halloween, kimchifans! Here’s a little treat for you… a coupon code usually only available to our regular customers good for $2.00 off every purchase from Granny Choe’s online kimchi shop through the end of the year- Just enter HOTSTUFF1211 at checkout. Enjoy!

We love this picture above. It’s a guy dressed as Kogi BBQ truck (known for their delicious Korean/Mexican fusion foods like kimchi quesdillas) at last year’s uberfabulous West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval.

Speaking of West Hollywood… we weren’t on the shelves for a while at the West Hollywood Whole Foods Market, but they’re bringing us back there, and to a handful of new Southern California locations including Santa Barbara and Sherman Oaks, so keep an eye on our store list.

Kimchi Donuts: Low-End

Kimchi Donuts: High-End

This Kimchi Donut thing happened a couple years back, but we were just reminded of it. It was one of the globally inspired varieties of donut that Dunkin’ Donuts South Korea launched… and they probably weren’t expecting the resounding “Ewww!” that they got from most of America. We have to admit, it did sound pretty terrible at first (“Oh, those silly Koreans putting kimchi in everything again.”), but then we saw the picture, and it looks just like the tasty, savory buns filled with meat/veggies that Grandpa Choe gets from the Korean Market every week. Not so weird after all. But we’d prefer the fancypants gourmet version of the Kimchi Donut by Dirt Candy, one of NYC’s best vegetarian restaurants, served with watermelon radish kimchi.

And hey, if we can combine our beloved bacon with donuts (Bacon Maple Bar) and the classic hamburger with donuts (Luther Burger), can we really get that grossed out over what the rest of the world chooses to put in their fried dough?

Now that Autumn in nearly upon us, we are seeing more squash at the farmer’s market… and we were never quite sure what to do with it until recently when a foodie friend told us that he had grilled up some squash, topped it with our kimchi, and eaten it just like that… and that it was delicious. Mama Choe was skeptical  because it looked a bit alien (as kimchi dishes so often do), but Granny Choe tried it and loved it. Here are the somewhat cryptic directions he gave us:

“… the grilled squash thing i mentioned the other day. i sliced the squash (1/2″ or so), baking sheet, salt and pepper and a drizzle of öl (as they’d say in germany), 375F i think, 15min, flip, more salt and pepper, and 10min more i think, and then i ate it, with original gck [Granny Choe's Kimchi]. it was really good. your customers are idiots for never having done this before.”

He’s a hoot. And he makes great food. So try it out and let us know what you think!