But we always miss homemade cooking during our busy lives. Don't we? At least I do. I really get sick of eating out and just miss homemade meals.
I miss that special taste you just can't get it from the store bought ones. I'm sure you know what I mean. Koreans call such taste mom's "Sohn Maht." Sohn means 'hand' and Maht means 'taste.' It describes the wonderful taste of homemade cooking that everyone loves. The term implies that whoever cooks for their own family, traditionally the mother of a family, transfers love and care into a unique taste while cooking (with hands). That's why your mother's cooking is always so good!! Mothers want to feed their children something healthy and tasty and we can taste her love. It's her Sohn Maht!

Even Kimchi tastes different in different households and different stores. Not only are the store bought Kimchi expensive, but they lack SohnMaht. Since I was little, I always watched her make Kimchi and I was always the one to try Kimchi first before she stuffed them. If I say OK, she starts to stuff them. Even today she asks me to try Kimchi and sometimes I help her out too. It may seem like nothing much to others but it is something I will always remember. Someday I maybe the one letting my daughter to try some first, doing the same things I did with my mom.

If you are just too busy no one will condemn you for buying one (we buy some too when we run out of Kimchi and just can't find the time to make more), but maybe once in a while making your own Kimchi could be something special for your family! Scroll down to find Kimchi recipes! Let them remember and treasure your Sohn Maht! I know I can't forget my mom's Sohn Maht.

Kimchi Recipes:
Traditional Whole Napa Cabbage Kimchi
Quick 'n Easy version Kimchi
Non Spicy American Cabbage Kimchi
Kimchi Fried Rice
Young Radish Water (YeoulMoo Mul) Kimchi
White Non-Spicy Kimchi

Kimchi Facts:

About Kimchi
Different Tastes of Kimchi
Korean Homemade Kimchi Part I-Most Popular

If you like it  fresh you can eat it right away. But usually you should let it sit out in the room temperature for couple days (It's processed much faster during summer...and winter it takes little longer and so on) and then store it in the fridge.

Don't freeze Kimchi. It won't taste good so just keep it cool in the fridge and should be able to eat all of it in a reasonable length of time. When Kimchee gets too old/fermented it could be used to cook Kimchi Jjigae! Kimchi Jjigae tastes the best when Kimchi is little too fermented to eat it 'as is.' 

When I was 'younger' I used to eat ONLY after it got fermented. I would never eat it fresh. YUCK! so I thought....But as I got older I started to appreciate fresh Kimchi too. I've heard from my parents and other elders that the older you get, the fresher your Kimchi has to be. I guess I am getting old too.

Here's the picture of my mom Young's Kimchi. How does it look?

Kimchi Recipes:
Traditional Whole Napa Cabbage Kimchi
Quick 'n Easy version Kimchi
Non Spicy American Cabbage Kimchi
Kimchi Fried Rice
Young Radish Water (YeoulMoo Mul) Kimchi
White Non-Spicy Kimchi

Kimchi Facts:

About Kimchi
Korean Homemade Kimchi Part I-Most Popular
Homemade Kimchi vs Store Bought Kimchi

Basically Kimchi can be divided into three basic groups by their ingredients;
Baechu (Napa cabbage) Kimchi, Mu (daikon/radish) Kimchi, and Yachae(vegetable) Kimchi.

You may have thought there's only one kind of Baechu Kimchi, but there are Pogi (whole napa) Kimchi, Mahg (cutted-quick version) kimchi, Bossam (wrapped kimchi), and Baek (white or without hot pepper.) These are varied by how they are made with the same ingredients except for the Baek Kimchi which doesn't include any hot pepper. So if you are not really into or can't eat any spicy stuff you should try white Baek Kimchi. (whole Napa cabbage) Kimchi

Pogi Kimchi was traditionally made in large amounts to be stored to be consumed during the wintertime (all that fuss with super large earthenware jars called 'jangdok' getting buried underground during the wintertime.) However, we've never tried that when I was living in Korea so I can't say anything else about that. Anyhow there's no need to store Kimchi 'down there' anymore with the wonderful refrigerator uniquely designed only for storing Kimchi. I don't have it, but it would be nice if we have one. If you have one show it off please.

Another group of popular kimchi is Mu Kimchi. There are Ggakdugi (cubed radish), Dongchimi (radish in water), and Chongak 'Bachelor' (altari radish) Kimchi. Ggakdugi can be cut in different size cubes too. If I remember right, the bigger the radish cubes are better the taste will be. But if that supersizing is too much for you, don't push yourself too much. And Dongchimi' can be eaten as it is or can be used to make the base soup of 'Mulnaengmyun,' a cold noodle soup.

Last, but not least, are the Vegetable Kimchi group. We will look at other special kimchi varieties later on, but the major ones are Oisobaegi kimchi (cucumber), Buchu (garlic chives) Kimchi, Pa (Scallion-wow!) Kimchi, and just regular plain old cabbage Kimchi (yes, the one you regularly use for coleslaw.)

Whew, that's about it for now. Enough about facts, facts, and facts. Next time, we'll post Pogi Kimchi recipe. Till then...eat lots of Kimchi!!

Kimchi Recipes:
Traditional Whole Napa Cabbage Kimchi
Quick 'n Easy version Kimchi
Non Spicy American Cabbage Kimchi
Kimchi Fried Rice
Young Radish Water (YeoulMoo Mul) Kimchi
White Non-Spicy Kimchi

Kimchi Facts:

About Kimchi
Different Tastes of Kimchi
Homemade Kimchi vs Store Bought Kimchi

Kimchi (or kimchee) is loaded with vitamins A, B, and C, but its biggest benefit may be in its “healthy bacteria” called lactobacilli, found in fermented foods like kimchi and yogurt. This good bacteria helps with digestion, plus it seems to help stop and even prevent yeast infections, according to a recent study. And more good news: Some studies show fermented cabbage has compounds that may prevent the growth of cancer. Source:Health.com

If you are here that means you know what I’m talking about. Just the thought of freshly cooked steam rice with Kimchi on the top just makes Kimchi lovers’ mouth water.

But what is Kimchi anyway?

There are many kinds of Kimchi. But mainly, Kimchi is made of vegetables like Napa cabbage, cucumber, and radish, flavored with hot pepper, garlic, scallions, ginger, and fish sauce. Kimchi is ready for serving when it is fermented, but there are non-fermented Kimchis as well. I will talk about them later on.

Since Kimchi is considered an essential part of Korean dinner table, it is the representative of Korean cuisine.

Kimchi wasn’t very red and hot from the start. Kimchi originated around 700 AD simply as pickled vegetables and Kimchi we commonly know today, the red spicy one, emerged only after 1600 AD.

Also, you may have tried only the Napa cabbage Kimchi, but there are so many different kinds of Kimchi. ‘Kimchi’ just describes the process of making fermented vegetables and not only the fermented Napa cabbage. The possibilities are limitless. Just about any kind of vegetables can be made into Kimchi and not every Kimchi is RED! We will look further into different kinds of Kimchi in the future.

Why eat Kimchi?

Besides the wonderful taste that hooks people to want some more, it’s healthy! According to Health.com Kimchi is one of the top five of “World’s Healthiest foods,” for being packed with vitamins, aid digestion, and even may prevent cancer. Furthermore, in July 5, 2001 Codex approved Korean Kimchi based on their international food standard. So it’s healthy and safe to buy or make your own Kimchi.

Kimchi Recipes:
Traditional Whole Napa Cabbage Kimchi
Quick 'n Easy version Kimchi
Non Spicy American Cabbage Kimchi
Kimchi Fried Rice
Young Radish Water (YeoulMoo Mul) Kimchi
White Non-Spicy Kimchi

Kimchi Facts:

Different Tastes of Kimchi
Korean Homemade Kimchi Part I-Most Popular
Homemade Kimchi vs Store Bought Kimchi