International Kimchi Day: Celebrating Our Love for Everything Kimchi
Kimchi ramen, rice, and pancakes – we can’t get enough of the South Korean favorite!
A quintessential Korean dish
For kimchi virgins, kimchi is a traditional dish and a staple food in Korean cuisine. It’s made by fermenting salted vegetables with other spices and aromatics such as garlic, ginger, chili, etc. The popular choice of vegetable is Napa cabbage which is known as Baechu in South Korea. In the Philippines, the name for this particular variety of cabbage is Pechay Baguio.
The uniqueness of the dish relies on its complex flavor, it’s salty, spicy, sour, and slightly sweet. But more than just a vegetable prepared with a variety of seasonings, it has become a source of pride for Koreans and a symbol of the country’s bold and colorful cuisine.
Kimchi has found worldwide success and achieved cult status, especially among Filipino foodies. It became a major hit largely due to the increase in the global popularity of Korean culture. Korean restaurants, K-dramas, and K-pop became ubiquitous, and the famed dish has tagged along.
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Kimchi day
If you’re wondering if there’s a day to celebrate this popular fermented dish, the answer is YES!
The Kimchi Association of Korea has chosen the date November 22nd as “Kimchi Day”, and it’s not just a random choice. According to Koreans, the date is significant because salting kimchi during this time helps the dish hit peak flavor potential.
South Korea celebrated its first Kimchi Day in November 2020 in line with efforts to promote the consumption of the dish. Moreover, just last year, a US state adopted this celebration by passing a resolution.
While it’s not an official celebration in the Philippines, you can still honor this tangy fermented treat by exploring its uses and eating it while watching your favorite K-drama series or listening to your favorite BTS song!
But here at Flying Ketchup, we suggest trying something different. How about pancakes?
