Community and tradition were two things that struck me when I first researched South Korea as a travel destination and by researched, I mean looked up a load of shit on the internet.
Perhaps it is because I started my research with my belly and fell down a Kimchi rabbit hole; discovering that just about every family had their own recipe and while the communal aspect of preparing the cabbages still exists, it is likely that each share would be coated in a sligthly different, but similar, seasoning paste.
It was inevitable that the more I read about how this simple, yet complex dish was made, the more I fell deeper in love with it. Prior to this my relationship with kimchi was very casual. If we happened to be at the same place I always made sure to have a taste but I was often disappointed. At this point I was unaware of the reasons why that may be.
After my first trip to Seoul in 2014, and my once my tastebuds had recovered from the shock, it is safe to say I became a kimchi convert. Then a few years ago, when I started taking an interest in fermenting foods, kimchi was my first thought and that, dear reader, is when I fell down the rabbit hole of reading variation after variation of recipe. From potatoes to squid, the range of secret ingredient is wide and varied and over time I hope to recreate most of them.
