The Kimchimonger News Blog

We’re not talking about nuclear power here. In 2008, South Korea’s Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries launched a well-funded campaign to make Korean food (including kimchi) one of the top five cuisines in the world by the year 2017. As much as us folks here at Kimchi Headquarters adore Korean food, we scoffed at this “top-down” approach because most people squirm at the idea of a government organization telling us what we should like…

But we spoke recently with an anthropology researcher at Indiana University who informed us that Granny Choe’s Kimchi Co. is part of a small, but growing group of boutique kimchimongers (we would like to go ahead and take credit for coining that term), and she mentioned that the Korean food scene in New York City is booming…

Then we saw this Bon Appetit blog post about Los Angeles that says, “Skip Sushi, Eat Kimchi… Nobu and his sushi Nazi spawn have been relegated to the sidelines in the ‘What’s Your Favorite Ethnic Cuisine?’ game as Korean food takes the city by truck and by cook.”

We don’t believe everything the ministry says, but we do believe Bon Appetit. Could it be that Korea’s master plan to globalize their cuisine is actually working? Or is it just crazy random happenstance?

Just in case you were looking for another way to use your waffle iron and kimchi, try this quick and divine kimchi grilled cheese sandwich found on TasteSpotting, with a caption that reads “No panini grill? No problem!”. We tried this with what we had on hand- just a bit of dijon instead of oriental mustard, and no cilantro, and it was still SO GOOD. Plus, the prep was easy and it’s nice to not have to turn the oven on to cook during the summer Enjoy!

Here’s the full recipe from No Face Plate:

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Kimchi Grilled Cheese

two slices sourdough bread
1 tablespoon prepared oriental mustard
1/4 pound sharp cheddar cheese, sli ced thin
1/2 cup homemade kimchi, chopped
cilantro, minced (optional)

oil spray
waffle iron

Easiest recipe ever to appear on NFP, this one: spray your iron and let it warm (mine has a little light that shines “ready!” when it’s hot to trot). Spread mustard over both slices of bread. Layer cheese on one slice, scatter kimchi over the top, scatter cilantro over kimchi, place the other slice of mustarded bread atop. Press down to seal the fillings in place, then put carefully in the middle of the waffle iron. Close it as far as it will go, and use something heavy and non-flammable to keep the pressure on.

We headed out to the 3rd annual Korean BBQ Cookoff this past Saturday, just me (Mama Choe) and Little E, while Granny Choe got some well-deserved R&R at home. The disadvantage of going to this kind of food fest with a party of two fairly small people is that you have to choose your vendors carefully since there won’t be any sampling off of friends’ plates…

The longest line by far was for Park’s BBQ (last year’s Korean BBQ Cookoff winner), and although I know they have a great reputation and I did want to try the best food at the festival, I was not quite motivated enough to stand in their line in the mid-afternoon heat. I knew from last year that Seoul Sausage’s kimchi topped sausages were delicious, but I wanted to try something different and decided K-town newcomer Palsaik after we tasted one of the samples that they were passing out. For a mere $5 we got a little plate of rice, with some just-spicy-enough veggies and richly flavored “herb” marinated pork belly (just one of their eight flavors), of which Little E and I both approved.

Little E’s favorite parts were the free 3-D puzzle from the super nice folks at the Korean Cultural Center booth and paddle fans from BCD Tofu House. She was also a big fan of the Binggrae melon bars (Korean melon-flavored creamsicles)… and the crowds (she does like a good street festival). The Korean American Coalition did a great job on getting the word out and the turnout was great as expected. We’ll be back again next year! And maybe we’ll even wait in line for Park’s BBQ…

Our photographer pal, Patrick Taillon, brought our attention to a site called the Korean Food Gallery. It’s a bit like TasteSpotting, but it features Korean cuisine. There’s an entire section devoted to kimchi… and a separate one for kimchi bokkeumbap (fried rice)! One of our favorites is a featured submission called the Bibimbaffle (bibimbap, with the marinated veggies sandwiched between layers of rice, crisped in a waffle iron… with a side of kimchi). Not sure if it’ll catch on, but it sure does have a fun name. Here’s the full bibimbaffle recipe in case you want to try this at home.

We are doing a promotion with a new website for deals on all things Korean called KTownBuzz (for Southern California residents only). You can buy a jar of our original / cabbage kimchi with shipping and handling included for only $9.75 total (this is half what you would ordinarily pay). So if you a SoCal resident who’s been thinking about trying Granny Choe’s stinky, spicy, delicious kimchi, but needs that extra push, well, here you go! Just 2 more days left…

Visit KTownBuzz for details.

There aren’t many perks that come with being in the kimchi biz, but our affiliation did grant us entrance to last week’s Los Angeles premiere of the Kimchi Chronicles. In case you haven’t heard about it yet, Kimchi Chronicles is a new PBS documentary series all about Korean culture and cuisine. It’s hosted by Marja Vongerichten, a Korean-born hapa woman who lives in Manhattan and pals around with folks like Hugh Jackman (who appears on the first episode) and is married to three-star Michelin Chef, Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

As a side note, we adore Marja’s delightfully down-to-earth personality and have great respect her fearlessness. We hate to say it, but racism is (sadly) still pretty prevalent among older Koreans… but if anyone’s going to break down some walls there, it’s going to be this gorgeous, friendly, multi-ethnic, cosmopolitan woman who makes kick-ass Korean food. We hope her show is a hit!

Check out Granny Choe’s Facebook page for more photos from the event.

This winning photo above is of some Korean diplomats and industry leaders digging into a giant bowl of bibimbap together. On top of the rice it says, “BUY KOREAN FOOD.” This seems a little wacky out of context. It was taken last weekend at the subtly-titled trade event, Buy Korean Food 2011, a joint project between the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and aT Korea Agro- Fisheries Trade Corporation “to showcase Korean products globally.”

Granny Choe was not in on the brainstorming meeting, but we’re pretty sure it went something like this:

Mr. Kim: A giant bowl of kimchi? No, too smelly… Oh, I’ve got it! We can all toss a giant bowl of bibimbap together! It will symbolize the different cultures of the world joining together in their adoration of Korean food. I will bring the token white representative…

Ms. Song: Right! Nothing says “photo op” like a bowl of rice that’s big enough to bathe in. I am especially excited to wear our matching aprons again!

If you have a chance today, check out the KBBQ Cookoff wall and post about your favorite way to eat kimchi. Our top 5 favorite answers will win a free trio of all-natural, award-winning kimchi from Granny Choe’s Kimchi Co.!

PS: The date has been set for the 3rd annual Korean BBQ Cookoff in downtown LA, so mark your calendars for Saturday, August 6th, 2011. More details to come soon…

In our last post about chef, Rina Oh, we mentioned that we were sending her a sample of Granny Choe’s kimchi in the hopes that she would make something wildly unexpected with it… and you know what she did? She fried it into little kimchi crisps and put it on a chilled adzuki bean soup!

We grew up eating cold noodle soups and adzuki bean popsicles (AKA: “Red Bean Ice Bar”) in the summer, so this is not totally out of our comfort zone, but it is every bit as unexpected as we had hoped. We have a big bag of adzuki beans in the pantry and a whole fridge full o’ kimchi, so we are especially excited to try this. And, we might be biased, but we suspect that kimchi crisps would be great on pretty much anything. Plus, it’s vegan. What’s not to love?

Happy first day of summer, everybody!

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Posted by Rina Oh on Food2.com

Kimchi is a common side dish in Korea, served with just about every meal. The most traditional variety is made with Napa cabbage. In this recipe, it’s fried with immune-boosting enoki mushrooms and purslane, and used to garnish the soup and give it a spicy kick. Kimchi is widely available in supermarkets, but you might have to hit an Asian market to find enoki mushrooms and purslane. White or oyster mushrooms make good substitutes for the enokis, and radish sprouts or watercress can replace the purslane.

Chilled Adzuki Bean Soup with Fried Kimchi
Serves 12

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup dried adzuki beans
1 cup dried oats
8 cups water
Vegetable oil, for frying
1/2 cup Napa cabbage kimchi, drained and dried with paper towels
1/2 cup enoki mushrooms, roots trimmed
1 cup zucchini, diced
3 tablespoons salt for boiling zucchini
1/4 cup purslane greens
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons sesame oil

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large stock pot, and cook onions over medium-high heat until translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Add water, adzuki beans and oats, and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium-low, and cook until beans are tender, about 45 minutes to an hour. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside and cool for about an hour, and then for an additional two hours in the refrigerator.

2. Blend chilled soup in batches until smooth.

3. Pour vegetable oil into a wok or deep skillet, about 2 inches deep. Heat to 350 degrees. Fry kimchi until kimchi is crispy and translucent, about 30 seconds. Repeat with mushrooms. Drain on paper towels.

4. In a medium-sized pot, bring salted water to a boil. Cook zucchini until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.

5. To assemble: Pour adzuki bean base into a bowl and mix in zucchini. Garnish with fried kimchi, mushrooms and greens. Drizzle sesame oil on top.

You might be asking yourself what kind of tasty dessert this is. It is albacore tuna carpaccio with kimchi gelee over wasabi shaved ice. We love it when chefs get all mad scientist in the kitchen… especially when it involves kimchi.

Practical? No. Cost-effective? No. Fun? YES!!

This creation is by Rina Oh and was featured on Eat Life FCI. According to the article, she was actually looking for Granny Choe’s kimchi, but they didn’t carry it in her Whole Foods store Don’t worry, we just sent her a sample in the hopes that she will make something wild with it!