photo from chosunilbo.
Children participate in a kimchi-making event at Namsangol Hanok Village in Seoul.
I really want to learn to make kimchi. Although my mom makes it for us all the time, I never asked her to teach me. It just looks so time consuming and complicated! Plus she always makes it so there never was a reason for me to learn! :-)
Now that she's getting older I need to learn because I LOVE kimchi...all types of kimchi. It definitely is my comfort food. I can eat just kimchi and nothing else. The smell of it makes my mouth water.
The best I ever had was when I was about 10 years old. The very first Korean market in Los Angeles was called Olympic Market. There was a grandma that made this kimchi called chong gak kimchi (aka young bachelor radish pickle) for the market. It was the best tasting EVER! If I close my eyes, I can still smell and taste it to this day. I remember each time I went to the market with my mom, I would run to the kimchi section to see if there was any left (since it sold out all the time) and begged my mom to get it (it was quite pricey). I wanted it more than candy!
Anyways, the market eventually closed down and to this day, I have yet to find chong gak kimchi that good and I don't think I ever will. I also found out the grandmother that made it passed away not too long after the store closed down. So sad. What I wouldn't do to have that again...
picture of chong gak kimchi
-written by E.M.
