Dammit that is some nasty stuff. I read somebody on here posting about and bought some. Thought I was gonna thow-up.

It's an acquired taste, like beer.

Sorry to hear you got something that was bad. Some of the stuff sold in stores is not good.

Shinsegae in Huntsville has great kimchi and a great kimchi jiigae (soup) with pork, tofu and glass noodles. Fantastic. Come up here sometime and I'll take you.

The traditional method was to put your kimchi mixture in a pot or bag and close or bury in the ground to let it ferment. Today, that's not the case because pickling — with a shorter timeframe — is used more regularly. Kimchi can be made and ready to eat in as little as a week and saved in the fridge for a while. It can be made on your kitchen counter with just a few ingredients.

https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/traditional-napa-cabbage-kimchi

Shinsegae makes their own chili paste and uses Napa cabbage. Very good. Each family's kimchi recipe is different. It's sort of like recipes for cole slaw or tater salad in the Southeast.

We make it homemade all the time and love it. It takes a little getting used to, but fermented foods can be terrific and really good for you too. Once you start making things like homemade fermented pickles and sauerkraut you begin to realize just how bad the commercially available stuff has always been.

Irish speaks the truth.

I've bought some kimchi from stores and it's typical mass-production stuff. Ordered some from a place in Brooklyn and it was fantastic. The fresh-made stuff at Shinsegae is really good. It's more pickled than fermented, with a red chile base that can be hot or spicy-mild.

I've been looking for a good Korean place to try in Birmingham. There's at least one on Green Springs I may try next time I'm down.

I make homemade sauerkraut. It's incredible. I won't eat store bought any more. I guess the amount of spices (not heat) and that little bit of fish taste was what threw me. Trust me I fully know the benefits of fermented foods. They fixed my immune system. I use to get sick and especially stomach viruses ALL the time. Not for the past year and a half. It's been amazing. I'd try some again, if it was some that was supposed to be really good

I bought this because I thought if I liked it that I'd make some myself. I got this at Publix in the refrigerated section.

Never tried it. Supposed to be good for digestion lol

When we make ours homemade we don't add the fish sauce. Just salt, and lots of fresh chopped garlic, ginger root and red pepper flakes.

We need to have a lunch gathering one day for Korean here in Huntspatch.

That would be good. That's just fancy sauerkraut.

Sounds like a plan to me Clem. I'll try to make it as long as you don't make me eat Kimchi, raw fish or anything hot and spicy.

I'd be up for that so I could try this fermented concoction that y'all speak of. I'd never attempt it on my own because I wouldn't know what the heck I was ordering.

Shinsegae doesn't have sashimi and the kimchi isn't hot-spicy, just flavorful. I'm sure if we asked for it to be hotter they could comply.

We'll try to do this soon. If y'all like some Chinese food it's similar. Not the same, but similar. Very good, though.

But the real question for me... Can I do Korean Keto?

Dunno.

Beef, chicken or pork. Some vegetables. Rice. Noodles. Kimchi is Napa cabbage. Probably could pick around what you can't eat.

Good deal. I can do any meat and green vegetables.

Spent two weeks in Korea a couple months ago and tried that stuff. It'll make a turd, but it's not something I'd drive across town to eat.

Man, I miss Shinsegae. I always bought their various kimchi dishes to go just to have whenever I wanted them. Good thing Auburn also has plenty of good Korean restaurants!

Gross

I haven't tried any of the ones in Auburn yet, mainly because every time I'm there I'm with people who want to go to Hamilton's or Amsterdam for the same chit the had the last 38 times they were there.

Which Korean places are best?

The stuff you see in the upper left cup in the picture is about 4 months old. It was fantastic. It's like women and booze, it just get's better with age...