Korean Food from a Different Point of View: Kimchi

This is Sumaiya’s second once-a-month article exploring Korean food in Toronto from a different point of view. Her posts appear on the third Wednesday of each month. If you want to know more about our featured writers or how to become one, please click here.

I have never been to Korea, but I do know that if I go to a Korean store in Toronto, I am going to receive a lot more things than what I paid for. What do I mean by that? Well, few months ago, I decided to visit a Korean beauty supply shop in hopes of buying a good BB cream. The lady working there did not only give me what I was looking for but a set of makeup remover, samples of other products as well as face masks, absolutely free! Isn’t that amazing? I love free stuff!

Now, you must be wondering why am I talking about getting free stuff when I should be talking about food. Well, if you have ever been to a Korean restaurant or have seen a video of it, you must have noticed several smaller food items beside the main dish. The side dishes. Every restaurant has their own version of side dishes, rarely would you find a place where they do not serve you the side dishes. Let’s just say those places are not my favourite.

Image courtesy of Sumaiya

The good thing about the side dishes for us vegetarians (and possibly vegans as well depending on what kind of side dishes are served) is that they are completely meat free. They alone are filling, so if there are no vegetarian options on the menu, let your friend buy the dish they want to eat and you can survive on the various vegetarian items before you. Most restaurants that I have been to usually serve bean sprouts, zucchini, beans, kimchi (a must!), radishes and sweet potato. Mind you there might be several other dishes or just a few of the above mentioned served at a particular place.

Image courtesy of Sumaiya

There have been times that the same restaurant has served different side dishes depending on each visit. I was not too happy with that since I only went back to the place because of the smaller bite size korean pancake they gave me the first time around as a side dish. They decided not to serve the pancakes that day and their tea was not that good. Yes, consider tea a side dish as well. Most Korean (and Japanese) restaurants serve tea for free, and all of them (or at least as I have noticed) taste different from each other. Let’s talk about tea some other time. Back to side dishes.

Image courtesy of Sumaiya

My favourite and the most side dish is Kimchi. Not everyone makes good Kimchi but most places serve edible ones. This staple food, as we can call it, is usually spicy…very spicy but still good. What is Kimchi you ask? Well, that’s one thing Koreans love to have at all times of the day! It is a fermented dish made of vegetables with a variety of seasonings. The ones I have eaten happened to be either made from cabbages or radishes. The former is more commonly served in restaurants than the latter.

Image courtesy of Sumaiya

If you want to learn more about them or maybe you would like to try making the side dishes at home, I would recommend checking out a KBS series. It is called ‘Star Kitchen with U-Kiss’ (yes, I am shamelessly promoting my favourite group but it is still relevant). The series is in English and is aired on KBS World; they also upload the series on their YouTube channel. Why am I talking about the show? Well, they did an episode fully dedicated to ‘Namul’ aka Vegetable Side Dishes. The episode is extremely short but good.

If you ever go to Korea or even a Korean restaurant in your city, make sure to try the side dishes and you can also ask them what other side dishes do they serve. Seriously, if there wasn’t enough things to love about the Korean culture, now you can add side dishes (and free stuff!!) to it. 

Image courtesy of Sumaiya