Day 152: Ode To Kimchi

I have to say it, and I have to say it loud and clear!  I want the whole world to know that,

I LOVE KIMCHI!!!

Wow, never did I ever imagine the day that I'd say that would come!  When I first arrived in Korea I thought that kimchi was the most disgusting thing that I had ever seen!  For those of you who aren't familiar with it, kimchi is fermented cabbage (although it also comes in a variety of other vegetables too.)  It's soaked in spices and is fermented in giant jars FOREVER before it's taken out and eaten.  It's cold and wet and looks gross and soggy.  Red goopy sauce drips off of it and it has a smell that could knock a sailor to the floor!  And it's *definitely* an acquired taste!

I wouldn't touch the stuff for months when I first arrived.  I just looked at it and turned up my nose.  But then one day I was feeling brave and decided to taste a bit.  It certainly wasn't a love at first bite, but I was suprised that it didn't taste all that bad.  And somewhere inbetween then and now I've been transformed into a Kimchi-lovin' Canadian Boy in Korea!  I just can't get enough of the stuff!  And luckily for me kimchi is served with *every* Korean meal so I get to have it often.  Kimchi is Korea's most popular and most famous food (it's just a side-dish, not a meal in itself) and I'm head over heels! 

Not only that, I have to say that I think I've become a bit of a kimchi connosseur! (sp?)  I've had so much of it that I feel that I can now easily tell the difference between good, mediocre, and bad kimchi.  Texture, degree of spiciness, size of pieces, amount of sauce, how long it's been fermented, crispness...all are all various kimchi qualities that can make it or break it and I've gotten really good at judging all of them.  And trust me, there really are subtle but significant differences in the kind of kimchi that you get served when you're out and about in Korea!  I know my kimchi!  Yum yum yum!

God, what's gonna happen when I leave Korea?  I'm totally gonna go thru Kimchi Withdrawal!!!  Egad!  ;-)