Saturday, July 14, 2012

사랑하는 김치 (Beloved Kimchi)

On our first date, Husband asked me if liked kimchi. My response was, "Oh yea, my favorite is hot kimchi!" He looked a little puzzled. "You know," I explained, "when you eat samgyeopsal and you put the kimchi on the grill. That's delicious." Then he just laughed.

When we left Korea, Mother-in-Law insisted that I pack two huge bags of kimchi in my suitcase. When I opened the suitcase, after about 2-3 days due to some flight issues, ALL of my clothes stank of kimchi! I was so mad. I hated that kimchi. I never wanted to smell kimchi again.

*Note* The kimchi and I eventually got over our differences and shared many delicious meals together.

Now I've tried many kinds of kimchi, but I'd have to say "hot kimchi" still ranks at top. I know the general opinion on kimchi among foreigners goes either way. Some love it; others hate it. I'm not here to preach about the life changing qualities of kimchi, but I have been told that it prevents cancer, and that it's one of the reasons Korea was not affected as adversely by the SARS outbreak a few years back.

After too much excess in Vegas (drinking, gambling, junk food, cigarette smoke everywhere), what I really wanted was a bowl of kimchi jiggae. I don't know why, but I always magically feel healthier after I eat it. I wanted that jiggae so bad that I paid $13 USD for a bowl of kimchi jiggae in Las Vegas. It pains me to write that. That's almost triple the price of what I pay at a restaurant in Korea! But I have to say, I was really satisfied after that jiggae.

To sum up, I'll leave you with my favorite view on the subject. I once asked Husband if kimchi was his favorite food, and he responded, "No, kimchi is like air."

3 comments:

  1. i think you must have been a korean in your past life. :)

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  2. Haha, maybe! I'm also very not Korean in a lot of ways. :) I still can't eat 번데기.

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  3. there are lots of koreans who don't eat silk worms as well but i know of very few that don't eat kimchi.

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