This week a group of fifth grade teachers and I took advantage of student minimum days, went to the movies followed by dinner at outback.
The Outback food was exactly the same as in the States with one exception: they served kimchi with the meal. And they make a horrible kimchi. (Good steak though.)
For those not in the know, kimchi is the national dish of Korea. It's basically any vegetable, fermented with a red pepper paste. It sounds gross by description, but it's actually quite good and somewhat addicting.
This is the most popular variety, cabbage kimchi. Koreans eat kimchi at EVERY meal. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, kimchi is there. But because they make so many varieties of it, sometimes alternating the spices and or vegetables, it never really seems monotonous.
Kimchi is also, as many of my coworkers have told me, "good for the health." Though health.com verifies this claim, sometimes the Koreans can go overboard with it.
They claim bird flu, sars and aids don't exist in Korea because kimchi. They also claim that kimchi provides "virility," one of the claims also made for dog meat.
Honestly, though, when I read about kimchi for the first time on the plane ride over here, I thought it sounded gross. But I tried it and now not only enjoy it, I have cravings for it if I don't get it. I eat lunch at school every day, where of course there is kimchi served. But sometimes I don't have it at home.
I shit you not when I say that every Monday when I get back into school, the highlight of my day is getting kimchi at lunch.
So here is the test for any of you dear readers who want to try something new, and expand your horizons. Find a Korean restaurant near you and go try some kimchi. Ask them for different varieties. On top of the cabbage version there are some nice radish and cucumber kimchi dishes I particularly enjoy.
Give it a try this weekend and report back to me.
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