Korean cuisine: the origin of kimchi

Maybe many people haven't had time to go to Korea, but when it comes to kimchi, it's definitely not strange. After all, there are many Korean dramas on TV series now, which is definitely not uncommon. You can also eat kimchi in China. Do you know the origin of kimchi after eating it? If you go to Korea one day, you must remember to taste kimchi, which is a very important snack culture for Koreans in Korean food culture, so it is not in vain.

Korean kimchi culture has profound traces of Confucian culture in China. The word "Qu" appeared in China's Book of Songs, which was interpreted as sauerkraut in China's dictionary, and it was this pickled sauerkraut that was introduced to South Korea. Kimchi has gone through several important stages. Korean kimchi originated in Dawan Town, Jiangbei County, Chongqing (now Yubei District, Chongqing). Xue, a general of the Tang Dynasty, was sent by the imperial court to settle in Korea (now Korea).

Many of his entourage are from Jiangbei County, Chongqing, and they can cook kimchi in their hometown. Since then, Chongqing kimchi has entered Korea. After several wars in Korea, this dish has entered Korean civilian families. It is mainly made of bracken, bamboo shoots, Adenophora adenophora, eggplant, cucumber and radish with salt, rice porridge, vinegar, distiller's grains and sauce. In the Koryo era, the cultivation techniques of vegetables were improved. Fresh vegetables such as kimchi, celery and bamboo shoots were added to kimchi, and pickled cabbage soup was eaten with soup after being salted with salt water.

In the Korean era, the production methods of kimchi began to be rich and the raw materials were more diverse. Because Korea is surrounded by the sea on three sides and is rich in aquatic products, various seafood such as fish, shrimp and crab are added to kimchi. By the end of the Korean era, Chinese cabbage had become the main raw material more commonly used than radish, cucumber and eggplant. At this time, the introduction of pepper completely changed the production of kimchi.

Pepper is considered as an excellent condiment for making kimchi, because it can remove the fishy smell produced by fish when making kimchi, and make kimchi colorful and appetizing, thus replacing the traditional method of salting from China.

Pickle culture

For Koreans, kimchi is not only a side dish, but also a manifestation of strength and culture. There are many fairs, exhibitions and seminars on kimchi in Korea. The biggest one was the "Love Pickles" held in Seoul in June 2005 for low-income families and social welfare institutions, in which 6,000 volunteers participated and 40,000 cabbages were used at one time.

Kimchi can be eaten in a variety of ways, including direct eating and baking, and aged kimchi can also be made into soup. The "Sanjin" canteen in Myeongdong, Seoul is a famous specialty store in Korea, which is famous for eating pork belly wrapped in kimchi. The canteen wraps pork belly with pickles, ferments in a jar for about a week, and then takes it out to cook.

In many traditional families in South Korea, the original pickle of an altar can even be passed down to nine generations: great-grandmother passed it on to grandmother, grandmother passed it on to mother, mother passed it on to daughter-in-law, and then passed it on ... Therefore, the real pickle is called "family ties marinated with maternal love", and the longer it takes, the stronger the taste, so that Koreans call the good taste of kimchi "mother's taste". Perhaps out of love and gratitude for their mothers, Koreans call kimchi a "filial product".

Kimchi has gone far beyond a table dish in Korean daily life, but sublimated into a unique tradition and culture, becoming an indispensable part of Korean life.

Koreans like kimchi for another reason. Korean temperament is quite like kimchi-very spicy, even a little violent; It's cool. Do things quickly. Because of this, the kimchi complex hidden in the hearts of Koreans may never disappear.