Understanding K-Drama: Kimchi
Aside from maybe ramen, the food that most often plays a central role in many k-dramas is kimchi, Korea's national dish.
The act of making kimchi can be a way to show a spoiled chaebol how other families happily interact as it was for Lee Min Ho in "Boys Over Flowers."
Having your cheek smeared with kimchi seasoning can be an excuse for a kiss as it was between Lee Chung Ah and Jung Il Woo in "Flower Boy Ramen Shop.
And making kimchi can be seen as an act of devotion. In the k-drama "Cinderella's Sister," viewers saw Moon Geun Young make a kimchi ktew or kimchi jigae before she and her mother run away from her stepfather.
And it's not the only drama in which Moon Geun Young made kimchi. In "Mary Stayed Out All Night" Jang Geun Suk's mom put her to work again because she had a craving for kimchi.
Kimchi is also a good excuse for a k-drama mom to show up at your house and spy on you. That's how Kim Bum's k-drama mom found out he was staying with Park Jin Hee in "The Woman Who Still Wants To Marry." She was just bringing over some homemade kimchi.
A girl who makes her own kimchi is the kind of girl you want to marry. But of course she might not make kimchi as well as your mother does. That's the most important reason a man should let his mother decide on his future wife. If mom approves, she will teach that wife how to make kimchi her way.
Kimchi is eaten with almost every meal in Korea. And this fermented vegetable side dish is pretty healthy so you may want to learn how to make it. The dish is rich in vitamins C and A, some B vitamins, calcium, and iron.
The dish can be made with a wide variety of vegetables including Napa cabbage, radish, scallions or cucumber, with seasonings that include brine, scallions, ginger, garlic and fish sauce. There are vegetarian and vegan options that substitute other ingredients for the fish sauce. And obviously there is a lot of improvisation going on. Seoul's Kimchi Field Museum lists 187 varieties and regions tend to have their own variations.
Kimchi can be used to make a stew or kimchi jigae, pancakes or kimchijeon, kimchi soup or kimchiguk and kimchi fried rice or kimchi bokkeumbap.
There's not a single recipe for kimchi, so to make this dish you may have to acquire a Korean mother-in-law or google "kimchi recipe."
As the dish becomes more popular in America, it's easier to find it in stores. When you find some, take a selca. And remember to say "kimchi" instead of "cheese."
