Reasons Why I Love...

Kimchi!

Yes...I know what you're thinking. Fermented cabbage sounds slightly (OK, highly) disgusting. But once you try it you'll probably learn to love it! I first tried it a couple of months before my trip. I was a bit taken aback by how spicy it was, but since then I've grown much more accustomed to it.


Kimchi is eaten with every meal in Korea. Since I've come back home, I've been buying big containers of Kimchi from the Korean market near my house (I also actually found it at a Japanese market too!). So far I am on my third tub. Let me tell you all the reasons why I have a love affair with this amazing side dish ^_^


1) Taste

I'm not quite sure how to describe the taste of Kimchi. It's definitely spicy.  And slightly crunchy. I think it's just a taste you have to experience to be able to understand it. All I know is that if I go about three days without eating it I start to really crave it. I just can't get the taste of it out of my mind! Yum!



2) Health Benefits

Kimchi is known to be one of the healthiest foods in the world. It is packed with vitamins, and it also has the same probiotics that are found in yogurt. Recent studies have shown that it boosts your immune system to help prevent colds, and many people believe it can help to cure a cold if you have one. There are also a few studies coming out that if you eat kimchi you may decrease your risk of certain types of cancer. Kimchi is also a great diet food! It fills you up quickly and speeds up your metabolism.



3) Versatility

 


I love how you can do so much with Kimchi. Not only is it great as a side dish, but you can use it in so many main dishes also! I recently made kimchi chigae (kimchi stew) with hand cut noodles which turned out amazing, and the picture above is the kimchi fried rice with tofu I made for lunch today. It was delicious! Not only do you use the kimchi in these recipes, but you can also use the extra kimchi juice in the bottoms of your container. Perfect! I suggest checking out maangchi for some great recipes!


4) Diversity

 

There are so many different types of kimchi! I have only tried a few so far, but radish kimchi is by far my favorite. I love how crunchy and easy to eat it is. Recently I have been on a cabbage kimchi kick, which I have been enjoying. I don't like it as much as a side dish as radish kimchi, but I love it in other dishes. I am really anticipating getting to try cucumber kimchi next week at the Food & Wine festival at EPCOT!


Now can you see a few of the reasons why I love kimchi? I hope reading this has inspired you to try it (or at least think about it). I guarantee it will grow on you! Please enjoy this post until next time I have some free time from homework ^_^


P.S. I told you I would tell you about my noraebang experience last week. In a word, it was AMAZING! I think my throat is still sore from all that singing hehe. We sang everything from Big Bang, to 2PM, 2NE1, f(x), SNSD, Super Junior, Beast, and CN Blue! The one song that went slow enough for me to read all the lyrics and correctly sing everything was Here I am from the Secret Garden OST. There was also a lot of dancing going on too ^_~ We stayed about two hours. I hope to go back again soon! Who wants to join me?



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