What kimchi brings to a rice bowl
Tangy vegetables, chili and a different bite alongside the rice.
Ninja City
Kimchi is a family of dishes
Kimchi is Korean seasoned vegetables, often fermented. Spicy napa cabbage is a familiar version, but radish and other vegetables appear in kimchi too. White kimchi is one example that doesn’t rely on a hot red-pepper paste.
That variety matters when you order. The word kimchi doesn’t promise one vegetable, one recipe or one level of heat.
Where the tang comes from
Fermentation changes the flavor. Lactic acid bacteria take part in that process, and the kimchi develops a sourer taste over time. Newly made kimchi can taste quite different from a longer-fermented batch.
Maangchi’s napa cabbage recipe uses garlic, ginger and gochugaru, the Korean red-pepper flakes, among its seasonings. Chili heat and fermented sourness are separate parts of the flavor; more tang doesn’t necessarily mean more chili.
In our Korean Rice Bowl
We use spicy kimchi alongside rice, cucumber, marinated sprouts, roasted corn, greens, nori, sesame and scallions, with KFC sauce and ginger soy sauce. You choose the protein.
The kimchi gives a tangy, seasoned bite alongside the rice and the sweeter corn. Cucumber adds another texture.
Vegetables don’t tell you the whole recipe
Some kimchi recipes include fish sauce or fermented shrimp; others don’t. If that matters to your order, ask about the kimchi and sauces along with your protein choice.
Keep reading
Further reading
World Institute of Kimchi: Starter Cultures for Kimchi Fermentation