Kimchi Crisis!

OH NO! Due to copious amounts of rain this past summer and lack of good harvest there has been a kimchi crisis. Kimchi is the most common banchan (side dish) in Korea. There are hundreds of different ways to make it but typically it is fermented cabbage, radish or cucumber with a red chili paste along with many other seasonings.

Cabbage heads now cost around $11 with garlic and radish also doubling its regular price. This is a staple dish in the lives of ALL Koreans which they eat with EVERY meal, that’s right, including breakfast. The belief here is that if you eat kimchi it will keep you healthy or cure you of any or all ailments including but not limited to- the common cold, flu, stomach ulcers (also gives you stomach ulcers but no need to tell them that, they won’t believe you), cancer, headaches, stupidity and my personal favorite, it cures being Jewish (I’m Jewish so this is a joke, no offense meant). Matthew always likes to quote one man who said, “If I don’t eat kimchi with every meal, I just don’t feel satiated.” Usually kimchi is a free side dish at restaurants, however, with such high prices this may change. "I'm not sure if I should start to charge kimchi or exclude it from the side dishes. I have never experienced such shortage (of cabbage) in my ten years as a chef running this restaurant," an owner of a Korean restaurant in Gwacheon said. "The government really should make cabbages readily available before the kimjang season," he said. There will now be no tariffs on napa cabbages and radishes and the government is buying 150 tons of “fresh” vegetables from China, mostly napa cabbages. Lets hope this helps or there may be a raise in hospital visits this winter.