Kimchi Health Article 1-15-15.Indd
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This article originally appeared in the January 15, 2015 edition of The Lakeville Journal. © 2015 The Lakeville Journal Company, LLC. Hosted/Reprinted with Permission. Kimchi is popular in New England as well as Korea FOOD FOR HEALTH CYNTHIA HOCHSWENDER t would seem that there is no escaping kimchi, the ubiq- Iuitous and fragrant Korean specialty food. And I’m not just saying it’s ubiquitous in Korea (where it’s apparently eaten at three meals a day); it also seems to be inescapable even here in New England. Whoever still thinks of this as a Yankee pot roast and white bread region is wrong. I am not a big fan of kimchi. I think it’s smelly and kind of, PHOTO BY PATRICK L. SULLIVAN well, red. I became intimate with it Medicine. There is a long and Cowin learned while trying to tionally benefi cial kimchi, which when my daughter was a board- pretty impressive list of health prepare this dish for a summer is made of cabbage mixed with ing student at the Marvelwood benefi ts that come from eating lunch party). hot chili fl akes and then fer- School in Kent. There are many kimchi: “Health functionality of The cucumber recipe, adapt- mented (sometimes, according wonderful and talented Korean kimchi, based upon our research ed, is below. You can fi nd fi sh to legend, it is buried under- students who attend the school. and that of others, includes sauce at most area gourmet ground while it cures). They fi ll the dorm refrigerator anticancer, antiobesity, anti- shops and at stores with a good If you want real kimchi, Hosta with kimchi, and heat it up constipation, colorectal health Asian foods section such as the Hill farm in Stockbridge, Mass., in the dorm microwave. They promotion, probiotic properties, Sharon Farm Market. I’ve fol- makes an award-winning ver- leave their unwashed bowls, cholesterol reduction, fi brolytic lowed Cowin’s advice from the sion that it sells online (www. red-stained and glistening with effect, antioxidative and anti- text of her cookbook and have hostahill.com). You can also oil, in piles in the bathroom. It aging properties, brain health substituted sriracha sauce (also order it at The Stagecoach res- is unattractive. promotion, immune promotion, available at most gourmet stores) taurant in Sheffi eld, where chef But this is a food that is more and skin health promotion.” for Korean red chile fl akes. Kyle Pezzano adds it to swordfi sh beloved than any other food I Hard to argue with all that. This isn’t the real and nutri- tacos. can think of, other than perhaps Normally this column includes white rice or white bread, which a recipe, but I wouldn’t dare to are essentially the culinary oppo- post a kimchi recipe; it seems like Quickest Cucumber Kimchi sites of kimchi. They are highly one of those foods where every Adapted from “Mastering My Mistakes in the Kitchen” anonymous. You could probably family has its own favorite way Serves eight eat them three of making and times a day eating it. The 2 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt; 2 tablespoons of sugar; 2 and not even No doubt it is an chef David pounds of Kirby or other cucumbers with small seeds and notice it. acquired taste, some- Chang of Mo- delicate skin; one small carrot, peeled and thinly sliced; half Not so mofuku fame of a small shallot, peeled and thinly sliced; a 1-inch knob of with kimchi. thing you love deeply has a recipe fresh ginger, peeled and either chopped or grated; 2 garlic There is no if you grow up eating it you can find cloves; 2 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces (use the green part way that you online that he as well as the white; throw out the roots); 1 tablespoon of had kimchi (three times a day). adapted from fi sh sauce (Chang instructs Cowin in the cookbook that all for breakfast one his moth- fi sh sauces are basically alike); 1 tablespoon of soy sauce; 1 but didn’t re- er developed; tablespoon of sriracha sauce. alize it. it includes the soft drink 7Up. In spite of my prejudice Chang also has a recipe for Stir together the salt and 2 teaspoons of the sugar in a against kimchi, I have to ac- quickie kimchi cucumbers that small bowl. Combine the carrots, cucumbers and shallot knowledge that any food that is he shared with my friend Dana on a large, rimmed baking sheet and toss them with the that popular has to have some- Cowin, editor in chief of Food salt-sugar mixture. thing going for it. & Wine magazine, for her new In a food processor, combine the rest of the sugar with the No doubt it is an acquired cookbook, “Mastering My Mis- ginger, garlic, scallions, fi sh sauce and soy sauce and puree taste, something you love deeply takes in the Kitchen.” She and them into a paste. Taste it; you can add more sugar or salt if if you grow up eating it (three Chang offered one pro tip for you think you need to. times a day). making kimchi: Don’t use too Toss the vegetables together with the paste and add the It’s also so healthy that the much fi sh sauce. sriracha sauce. As with most pickled foods, this is a dish that National Institutes of Health has “Used sparingly, fi sh sauce will get more interesting and develop a deeper fl avor if you an article about it posted online adds an umami fl avor. Overused, leave it in the refrigerator overnight. at the U.S. National Library of it leads directly to the trash” (as .