# Kimchee **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2010, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kimchee/546254 "2010-07-10T22:09:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kimchee/546254/21 "2010-07-12T22:37:43Z")
> [@cckerberos](#): > > From the recipe: > Damn, that guy must really like weak kimchi. Yeah, really. Mine took 3 weeks just to _start_ getting sour. ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kimchee/546254/22 "2010-07-13T01:17:01Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > The grind of the pepper is considered crucial, according to everything I’ve ever read or been told. I can’t read Korean, but look at the four characters on [this package](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4Zpr4gGQf2s/SzGnUkx7CvI/AAAAAAAAE-c/eJATezW8nFc/s640/IMG_4393.JPG), between the green portion of the label and the words ‘red pepper powder.’ From what I understand, this is a coarse grind. If you ever want to ask the people at the Korean grocery store for that specifically, ask for “go-chu ga-ru” with the “ru” really being more halfway between a ru and a lu. Also, just as a brief aside, it’s not 4 characters but 4 syllables, each with a consonant and a vowel. If you don’t feel like making kimchi, lots of restaurants will sell you their kimchi too. Don’t know how prices are, but if you like the kimchi at a restaurant, it doesn’t hurt to ask. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kimchee/546254/23 "2010-07-13T11:27:00Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > The grind of the pepper is considered crucial, according to everything I’ve ever read or been told. I can’t read Korean, but look at the four characters on [this package](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4Zpr4gGQf2s/SzGnUkx7CvI/AAAAAAAAE-c/eJATezW8nFc/s640/IMG_4393.JPG), between the green portion of the label and the words ‘red pepper powder.’ From what I understand, this is a coarse grind. This is what I’ve been emphatically told should be used. I’m sure you could find this in about two seconds on Amazon, but you’ll most likely pay more for shipping than you do for the product. That just means literally “red pepper powder” - it says nothing about how coarse or fine the grind is. Any Korean red pepper powder is going to be of the same grind. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kimchee/546254/24 "2010-07-13T19:58:37Z")
Crap. Yeah, right after I posted that I suddenly had a feeling that somebody was going to come along and tell me just that. :smack: I have a package of ground red pepper that I verified through the store manager is the right type for kimchi. If I scan the package, can you tell where the salient information actually is? ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kimchee/546254/25 "2010-07-13T23:10:30Z")
I’ve been in big Korean markets, and there is always an aisle devoted to big bags of red pepper powder. It’s an important item, to say the least. Of course, these same markets will also have a kimchi bar, which resembles a salad bar and from which you may choose from an astonishing variety of pickled vegies and fish. So I always just buy mine ready-made! Then I go to the seaweed section and buy some salted, roasted nori. Nom! ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kimchee/546254/26 "2010-07-14T04:07:50Z")
Yeah, Korean nori kicks ass over Japanese nori. Korean food is the bomb. If I were told that I could only eat one type of Asian cuisine, I would pick Korean hands down. As a matter of fact, I have a small ribeye that I just bought, and I’m going grill it up right now and eat it with some white basmati and a big helping of kimchi. Nom nom nom nom nom! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kimchee/546254/27 "2010-07-14T07:09:13Z")
In the book _The Man Who Ate Everything_, Jeffrey Steingarten relates how he conditioned himself to like all foods in order to do an effective job as the newly-appointed restaurant critic of Vogue. His biggest hurdle in the beginning was kimchee, which he described as “the national pickle of Korea.” He had always loathed it. But after eating it regularly for a number of weeks, he was able to learn to love it. He proclaimed, “now it’s my national pickle, too.” ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kimchee/546254/28 "2010-09-11T03:51:15Z")
I made a trip to the Galleria Market on the corner of Devonshire and Reseda yesterday and picked up a gallon of regular kimchi and a gallon of radish kimchi. I’ve never tried the radish variety before, so I thought I would give it a shot. I’m going to crack it open tonight and eat it with some calrose rice and leftover chicken wings. Koreans sure are uptight about their pooping habits. Check out [this terlet](http://www.ericlevonian.com/bidet.jpg). The display kiosk adjacent to it is stocked with all sorts of Harry Potter-esque concoctions intended to keep your bowels open and the sluices flowing. I should of taken a close-up of the control panel on the bidet. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kimchee/546254/29 "2010-09-11T03:58:50Z")
Crap—I forgot to mention—they also have turnip green kimchi there. I’m looking forward to trying that next time. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kimchee/546254/30 "2010-09-11T04:01:20Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > I made a trip to the Galleria Market on the corner of Devonshire and Reseda yesterday and picked up a gallon of regular kimchi and a gallon of radish kimchi. I’ve never tried the radish variety before, so I thought I would give it a shot. I’m going to crack it open tonight and eat it with some calrose rice and leftover chicken wings. A GALLON of each? Wow! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kimchee/546254/31 "2010-09-11T04:07:38Z")
Since **Johnny L.A.** started this thread a couple months ago, I was inspired to make my own kimchee. I got some Napa cabbage, salt, garlic, dried shrimp, Korean red pepper powder, and green onions, water, and some leftover kimchee I had from Chicago Kimchee (a local kimchee maker) to jump-start the fermentation. The stuff took off _fast_! I had plenty sour and fermented kimchee within three days. So, if you have some leftover kimchee, use that as your starter to get things going fast. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kimchee/546254/32 "2010-09-11T04:09:50Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > > [@Washoe](#): > > > > I made a trip to the Galleria Market on the corner of Devonshire and Reseda yesterday and picked up a gallon of regular kimchi and a gallon of radish kimchi. I’ve never tried the radish variety before, so I thought I would give it a shot. I’m going to crack it open tonight and eat it with some calrose rice and leftover chicken wings. > > A GALLON of each? Wow! I buy 126 oz jars from Chicago Kimchee (for about $10), and that looks to be about a gallon to me. It you like kimchee, that’ll go in a flash. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kimchee/546254/33 "2010-09-11T04:22:04Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Since **Johnny L.A.** started this thread a couple months ago, I was inspired to make my own kimchee. I never got to it. I got a small jar from the supermarket, and that satisfied my craving. But I kept **needscoffee** ’s email in my webmail so I can find the shop she suggested in case I want to go there after work one day. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kimchee/546254/34 "2010-09-11T04:40:45Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > A GALLON of each? Wow! Errr…I misspoke. They’re more like half a gallon. They’re 56 ounces each, as opposed to the 120-ounce jars that I usually buy. But the way I eat the stuff, they’ll probably both be history in about three weeks. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kimchee/546254/35 "2010-09-11T05:23:37Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > > [@needscoffee](#): > > > > A GALLON of each? Wow! > > Errr…I misspoke. They’re more like half a gallon. They’re 56 ounces each, as opposed to the 120-ounce jars that I usually buy. But the way I eat the stuff, they’ll probably both be history in about three weeks. Still mighty impressive! I need to get to work on developing a taste for it. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kimchee/546254/36 "2010-09-11T07:05:05Z")
Well, you can have what’s left of my radish kimchi. Quite frankly, I didn’t like it at all. It has a completely different flavor from cabbage kimchi. However, this won’t dissuade me from trying kimchi made from other vegetables such as turnip greens or broccoli. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kimchee/546254/37 "2010-09-11T07:09:02Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > Well, you can have what’s left of my radish kimchi. Quite frankly, I didn’t like it at all. It has a completely different flavor from cabbage kimchi. However, this won’t dissuade me from trying kimchi made from other vegetables such as turnip greens or broccoli. I would totally take it. Radish kimchi is my favorite. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kimchee/546254/38 "2010-09-11T07:30:55Z")
If you refer to this [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=577693), I mention “Green Kimchee” or “Spicy Sauerkraut”. I’m trying to imagine a fresh Kimchee with green chiles instead of red chile poowder or perhaps a combination of red dried and fresh green… Perhaps there is something like this in Korean Cuisine. I am looking AT you, HNC ( **Hazel Nut Coffee** )!? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kimchee/546254.md?page=1)