Kimchi is a known fermented vegetables dish in Korean cuisine. The one that I know is made of napa cabbage. I think they also do radish and cucumber. Anyways, I’m not here to tell you the different kinds of kimchi. LOL.
I’m here to dissect the vegetable ingredients of kimchi and learn their scientific names.
Napa cabbage – Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis
Rice (flour) – Oryza sativa
Gochugaru or korean chili (flakes) – Capsicum anuum
Korean radish – Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus
Korean chives – Allium tuberosum
Carrots – Daucus carota
Garlic – Allium sativum
Ginger – Zingiber officinale
Onion – Allium cepa
Living alone now in the US where you have to buy stuff in bulk, it is not easy to finish all the vegetables I get. I want to have a healthier lifestyle but my environment gives me a lot of excuses not to. I have to find ways how to store food that are very perishable and I found fermentation as one of the many ways to preserve my veggies. Kimchi is not easy to make but it allows me store vegetables longer. Knowing that I am using the correct ingredients by knowing their scientific names is helpful for me since not all groceries sell napa cabbage. Here’s my version of home-made kimchi:
Agriwanderist PH 