Kimchi is a traditional dish in the Korean cuisine, a true Korean staple. It is highly consumed among the Malaysians and is getting more and more famous these days along with the Kpop craze. It is made from salted and fermented vegetables with a variety of seasonings including chili powder, green onions, garlic, ginger and fermented shrimp paste.
Kimchi can be enjoyed on its own or cooked with “almost anything”. If you are wondering if there are other ways to eat kimchi besides eating it as side dish, we have discovered 5 creative ways that wowed us and we are quite tempted to try as well.
By the way, we have tried pairing Kimchi with macaroni and trust us – try it and you’ll never regret.
Here you go, 5 creative ways to eat kimchi – Jal meokgesseumnida!
1. Kimchi Mayo
Bored with your regular mayonnaise? Give it an Asian twist! The preparation is quite simple, just blend kimchi and mayonnaise using a food processor, squeeze a tiny bit of lemon juice, and salt and pepper to balance the taste.
2. Kimchi Meatball
These Korean meatballs look so appetizing! Not your ordinary meatballs, these Asian-inspired meatballs taste slightly sweet and tangy, and pack quite a punch of flavour in each bite-sized morsel.
We found this easy yet flavourful recipe at portandfin.com, where the chef seasoned the meatballs with garlic and ginger, then tossed in a sweet and spicy glaze before served with kimchi sour cream sauce. The instruction given at the site is clear and simple, do give it a try and turn your meatball dish into an interesting one.
3. Kimchi Juice
Kimchi Juice does exist! And it is able to facilitate your digestion. We found this organic fresh raw kimchi juice at the Amazon website. The site teaches you to drink it in small quantity or mix it with your favourite vegetable juice at every meal. You can also use it as a substitute for vinegar on salads, vegetables or stir-fries.
Naturally fermented without the fish sauce, shrimp sauce, sugar and preservatives that are commonly found in commercial kimchi, this juice is loaded with lactobacillus kimchii, a healthy probiotic bacterium that helps in digestion. This product received positive reviews from users on its homemade taste that is not too hot, not too sour and not too sharp.
4. Kimchi Chocolate
Desserts do not always have to be sweet, but how do you react to kimchi-flavoured chocolate? Chocolate with chillies does tastes great, but with kimchi, well… we doubt the spicy, sour, garlicky, and fishy flavour profile of kimchi would go well with chocolate.
Tourists will often purchase this Royal Korean Kimchi Chocolate as souvenir for their family and friends. According to online reviews, the first flavour you will taste upon biting the chocolate is the milk chocolate, then it turns buttery and then the spiciness kicks in. It is not exactly like kimchi flavour, but you can definitely taste the slightly hint of bitter sourish.
5. Kimchi Ice Cream
When you crave for something sweet with hint of savoury and spiciness, why not blend the kimchi into your vanilla ice cream mixture and create a rich, creamy frozen dessert with complex flavour. Sounds weird but definitely interesting to try it out.
In fact, there is a Korean barbecue hotspot in Delmar Loop served this bizarre ice cream few years back in the restaurant. It turned out very tasty and their customers loved it, although it is not for the traditional cookies and cream kind of persons.
That’s it!
Are you already lured by all these adventurous new concoctions?