I’m not really into Korean food that much, but somehow the youtube algorithm decided to flood me w Korean dish recommendations
I ended up making tteokbokki from scratch, made the rice dough and everything, then i cooked it and… i COULDN’T, but yeah it wasn’t for me
That should’ve been my red flag but no
i kept going and watched like 200 kimchi videos, at first it was just food content i enjoyed
But the more I watched, the more I started thinking it actually looked good, and I really wanted to try it
so i made kimchi
like actually made it, I went all in trying to make it authentic as possible, even watched Korean videos I didn’t understand and used GPT to translate
Anyway i did it, but here are a few thoughts:
1 if i hated tteokbokki why did i think kimchi would hit
2 the smell… i’m scared
3 the whole house is grossed out because I used fermented baby shrimp🧍🏻♀️-so no one will share it with me-
4 my mom is annoyed every time she sees it sitting in the fridge and i care about not wasting food, but I don’t know anyone around me who can eat it
I tried eating it alone = no
tried kimchi fried rice = the smell made me drooling, but once I tasted it and remembered it had kimchi in it, I just couldn’t😗
Funny enough, recently I went to a Korean restaurant with friends, and I loved the food especially the tteokbokki, I even went back more than once
I don’t want to admit that the problem might be my own cooking, but maybe it is
That said my homemade kimchi actually tasted better than the one they served, so that’s something
Anyway, the kimchi’s been sitting in my fridge for almost a year now, so I want to give it another chance
Any ideas on how I can finish it?
-a dish that doesn’t taste too Korean or East Asian to be precise- (is it possible tho?)
by svium
9 Comments
Grill pork belly and then cook the kimchi in the pork belly fat. Eat with rice and dried seaweed sheets.
How old are you? Have it with rice. Rice makes everything better.
Kimchi jigae! Made best with the aged kimchi and the soup uses a nice amount. I like to add tofu or pork belly in it, noodles, green onions, etc.
I mean, super old kimchi is too sour to be eaten as is and must be cooked. In the end it is just a form of a pickle that is too sour. Try watching some recipes online to inspire you. BBQ, stir fry, stews are all classics.
Do you have friends or Co workers willing to try it? I have a friend who is loves to cook so I gave her the Kimchi i made and she made Korean pancakes almost non stop.
Then I got to know someone who wanted to try Korean food so I gave them a jar as well.
If you can, I recommend making it into something else like army stew or kimchi pancakes.
Kimchi bokkeumbap! With a fried egg on top, delicious
Picture of the year old kimchi would help. Tbh, Based on the ingredients picture, I can see that you tried but………. oyster sauce doesn’t belong there at all. It’s vastly different from real oyster, which beginners should stay away from anyways. Honey is not a usual ingredient either.
Regardless…..to make it as not Korean as possible….
1) wash it throughly, chop it, use it like relish.
2) wash it throughly, mix with meat, make careless sausage
3) same as #2, but stir fry kimchi before mixing
But if the year old kimchi is all mushy instead of crunch, throw it out. That’s either too fermented or fermented wrongly.
Also, if you really feel like making kimchi again ever… try making white kimchi first. Much more mild.
https://youtu.be/SXtZz4_7yIw?si=1BceS9YRcA2V9otx
FYI. Maangchi is a good source of Korean recipes that are a bit localized to US.
I don’t mean any harm but why did you go from not ever making Korean food to going balls deep and making everything from scratch? Growing up nobody in my family ever made kimchi from scratch (didn’t have a mom) nor have I ever made rice cakes from scratch lol.
Well, you said a dish that doesn’t taste too Korean or East Asian. I’ve learned from Hawaiian friends that in Hawaii they do a dip with cream cheese and sour cream mixed with chopped kimchi. You could use that for chips or crostinis or something.
Edit: though after a year, the kimchi may be too sour for that.