Korean kimchi is a super food (but man does it stink)

September 17, 5:17 PMNY Wellness ExaminerRoger Ziegler

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Kimchi health benefits include being packed with
Vitamin A, B and C and an excellent, if ubelievably
bad smelling antioxidant. Here is a kimchi and noodle soup.
(photo by framboise)

 There is a food so powerful, so incredible in its healing properties, that you must approach it with reverence and awe and a sense of 5000 years of Korean culture (that and a gas mask doesn't hurt either).

I am referring to kimchi the Korean Super-Food. High in fiber, Vitamin C and beta carotene and an excellent antioxidant, Korean kimchi ingredients include basically anything fermented in fish juice, garlic and spices. Just watch out for the sodium as this stuff is packed with it.

The "Forrest Gump" of foods

Cabbage kimchi is the most popular, but you can eat radish kimchi, scallion kimchi, water kimchi, garlic kimchi, in fact the kimchi museum in Seoul (gives you an idea of the devotion to this food) lists 187 kinds of kimchi. When my wife ticks off the list It's like the guy in Forrest Gump, "fried shrimp, boiled shrimp, shrimp creole, pan-fried..."

Kimchi is almost always eaten as a side dish, this helps to temper the spiciness. So eat it with your main dish and add it to, soup, pizza, spaghetti, whatever.

History of Kimchi

You cannot understate the importance of kimchi to Koreans. They will even cite it as a reason their country has remained independent despite thousands of years of invasions from China and Japan. And they may be right. Because this stuff stinks. Like fermented socks. But that only means it's working.

Most devotees will tell you the more fermented, the more sour, the better. A kimchi devotee will dismiss you with a wave of their hand and a look of contempt when you say this stuff stinks, for them it's like roses in bloom, but believe me, it's not for the faint hearted.

But don't let that dissuade you from enjoying the health benefits of kimchi.

In fact, I make it a test of my courage to eat the stuff when it's at its ripest. It is spicy and stinky and salty but I actually can feel myself getting healthier after eating it.