Gimjang Hada (Made kimchi for the winter) 😍

Gimjang Hada: To Make kimchi

Finally I made Kimchi (Gimjang Hada in Korean means Kimchi-making for the winter in Korean) for the upcoming winter. (Hada means do)

Kimchi is a staple in Korean cuisine, is a traditional side dish of salted and fermented vegetables, such as napa cabbage and Korean radish, made with a widely varying selection of seasonings including gochugaru (chili powder), spring onions, garlic, ginger, and jeotgal (salted seafood), etc.

This is my own way to make kimchi in Canada as shown above.
I am able to buy most of the ingredients except a few ones such as;
dried anchovy, dried pollack and dried shrimps which are from Korea.

It's a family event

The family members all gather to maki kimchi during this season.

On Gimjang day, we usually get together and cook Bossam for dinner

(Boiled pork with fresh kimchi)

We boiled a loaf of pork with garlic, ginger, a tablespoon of alcohol (I used red wine), pepper and a few bay leaves.

Afterwards, we dip a piece of boiled pork combined with kimchi in sesame oil.
Finally, we eat them with a glass of Korean soju.
Sooooooooooo tasty...

Foreigners usually think kimchi is fermented and smelly which is indeed true.
However, it tastes very fresh (just like salad) until it gets fermented.

For the first month, if we keep the temperature of the refrigerator in good condition, the Kimchi would be fresh for a long time.

I personally enjoy eating fresh kimchi combined with a dip in sesame oil.

(We put kimchi in the kimchi box.)

Depending on how many family members we have, some families make 50 to 100 kimchi in preparation for the winter (In my case, I made 15 Kimchi) and we keep them in the Kimchi refrigerator, which is a very popular kitchen equipment that most families own. However, because I don't have one (I couldn't bring one from Korea), we usually keep in the basement.

In my experience in Canada, keeping them in the basement

for about a year is usually okay. The fermented ones also taste great.

There are hundreds of varieties of kimchi made with different vegetables as the main ingredients.Traditionally, kimchi was stored in-ground in large earthenware to prevent the kimchi from being frozen during the winter months. In contemporary times, kimchi refrigerators are more commonly used to store kimchi in Korea.