I used to make fun of my Korean gf eating kimchi with everything. I would try a little once in a while and decided (with firm conclusion) that I kinda hate it. Fast forward 5 years, we both moved on with different people and now I have big Kimchi box in my fridge from H-mart which lasts a week or two at max and then I buy again. I don't understand how I transformed from a critic to an ardent lover. What is the secret ingredient? Still not sure if I like the taste exactly but it gives me some kinda wierd pleasure eating with rice or plain tofu. Any Koreans care to explain? #kimchi #food #korean
kimichi is tasty, but not healthy. definitely watch out for your intake.
Yeah i am worried about that too. Too much salt but I eat it like lays.
It's also carcinogenic apparently
It's because it's an off taste of most food you eat. Humans tend to like opposite taste spectrums in their mouth such as sweet and salty because it will keep craving each other. Kimchi does that. If you eat one flavor for a long time you start to crave another. But here's the thing, most people don't know their tongue craves this. They just consume one flavor and get so used to it they think it's normal. Think of eating pizza only or chicken only. One salty flavor. You drink coke because you want to offset that. Now once you try kimchi, you are so put off by the striking difference and you think yuck. But as you eat more and more you start to realize you need to eat something tangy, something different, for everything you eat. That's why you get addicted slowly and soon gotta mix it with almost everything. Hope that helps.
Really good analysis. I have had the same experience with sechuan peppercorns. First time I hated it but now I kinda feel like trying again.
Hello there!
Hey there my kimchi friend :)
What is kimchi?
Korean pickle
Some people compare it to sauerkraut (but spicy), but that is a horrible comparison. Sauerkraut is…not good. I’m half Korean and half German, and kimchi will always win.
Crack
Kimchi is healthy food! Check out this article. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/benefits-of-kimchi
There are a ton of different kinds of Kimchi. So I recommend trying other kinds too. I really like having Baechoo Kimchi with pork belly (Samgyupsal). Also, in Korea, different regions make Kimchi differently. For example, hot regions often put more salt than cooler regions to control fermentation process. Jongga Kimchi is one of the most authentic ones you can find in the US.
Are you Korean? Jeolla kimchi was best one I tried. I have tried many others kinds too along with banjans but i don't know their names. However regular kimchi is my favorite.
I just looked up Jongga kimchi and it is the one sitting in my fridge now haha
Kimchi naturally generates Nitrite when stored. Try not eating too much of them, it increases probability of cancer. And Nitrite is actually more tasty than salt. (Same chemical stuff making ham / salami tasty).
Aha. Many Koreans die of stomach cancer I heard. Probably there is some correlation. 🤔
Thanks for sharing this. I had bought into similar “Kimchi is healthy!!!11!” statements without really looking into it. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4316045/
I think it’s because of fermentation. Coming from a different diet it will smell and taste foreign. But over time it has grown on me.
That is one possibility. I actually tried slightly less fermented kimchi which was not tasty at all.
I really don’t like fresh kimchi. 6 months old is a good age. But by far the best I ever had was aged 3 years. I was in Seoul visiting family, and the relative we were staying with had heard from my mom that I liked older kimchi, so she special ordered it for my stay there. It made my tongue tingle in a weirdly delightful way.
All salty and spicy food are addictive
It is probably right.. I read in atomic habits book how chips manufacturers adjust salt to make it most addictive..