Pickle

The pair of blue eyes came again to the café.
Hi there ! can I have the curry rice please, with extra pickles ! umm… sure. (Wow, this guy like pickle so much, actually they are my favourite too !). My heart is fluttering, it is his eyes that captivate me. They are deep blue and they twinkle. I stare at him hypnotised. Oh dear. I think I am falling in love. I come over all light-headed. I do hope I don’t faint. Sigh ….. since I haven’t got the guts to ask his name I’ll be calling him pickle !

Speaking of Pickle, Asian really obsessed with pickle. Most Asian dishes will have pickle with rice as side dishes, and sometimes with drinks as snack. The most common kinds a pickled in salt or brine. White radishes, turnip, cucumber and Chinese cabbage are among favourite to be eaten with rice as an accompaniment to a meal. Ginger is used between dishes of sushi to cleanse the palate. Pickle is often served with Japanese Curry. Pickling was one of the fundamental ways to preserve foods. Typically, all that’s needed to make pickle is a container, salt, and something to apply pressure on top of the pickle.

The most popular pickle in the world is Korean Kimchi. It is national obsession. It is madness, you can have Kimchi everywhere. The Kimchi Field Museum in Seoul has documented 187 historic and current varieties of kimchi. Kimchi is so ubiquitous that the Korea Aerospace Research Institute developed space Kimchi to accompany the first Korean astronaut to the Russian-manned space ship Soyuz.

Kimchi is very spicy and can also be exceptionally sweet. Kimchi is made of various vegetables and contains a high concentration of dietary fiber, while being low in calories. One serving also provides up to 80% of the daily recommended amount of vitamin C and carotene. Most types of kimchi contain onions, garlic and peppers, all of which salutary. The vegetables being made into kimchi also contribute to the overall nutritional value. Kimchi is rich in Vitamin A, thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), calcium and iron, and contains a number of lactic acid bacteria.

The magazine Health named kimchi in its list of top five “World’s Healthiest Foods” for being rich in vitamins, aiding digestion, and even possible reducing cancer growth.

I really like any type of pickle. I like cucumber and gerkhin pickle in burgers, Japanese garlic pickle with sushi, the Indian pickle Achar with curry and of course Kimchi. I need to make a trip to Ampang (the Korean Town in KL) to buy the home-made Kimchi from the lovely Korean lady. Anyong ha seyoo… Kimchi Issoyoo ? Kamsahamnidaa …..

Tonight dinner will be the fiery Kimchi Stew to boost up my immunity. Kimchi Power !