On a particular day in October of 2005, I went out with 진희. She asked me if I enjoyed 짐치찌개 (kimchi jjigae), which is a stew made of kimchi and other ingredients (meat, vegetables, and tofu are common) for those of you not in the know. I told her I did, so she suggests we travel to 잠실 to a restaurant (오모리찌개 전문점 if anyone in Korea cares) famous for their kimchi jjigae…made with 3 year old kimchi.
That’s right kids I dined upon 3년 숙성되 김치찌개 (Samnyeon Sukseongdwin Kimchi-jjigae). Inspite of my initial misgivings (”Food that’s three years old and isn’t alcohol? That’s insane!”) the 찌개 was some of the most delicious I’ve consumed, and I throughly recomend it to everyone.
Nice picture of delicious food.
Today is Oct. 19 2005.
Los Angeles, UCLA. 2005.
Comment by October 19 Wed. 2005. Los angeles — October 20, 2005 @ 0:38 am
yummmm~!!!! that looks so good, wyatt!! (although food that’s aged 3 yrs doesn’t sound too promising…) nevertheless, i’m definately trying that when i visit korea this winter. thanx for the info!
Comment by kevin — October 20, 2005 @ 2:28 am
Kevin,
That’s what my take on it was as well. I was kind of put of by the idea that I was about to consume food that had been in the country longer than I had, but it was outstanding. I later learned that like a fine wine or whisky, kimchi “get’s better” with time.
Comment by Wyatt — October 21, 2005 @ 0:22 am
But only if its been kept nice and chilled. I wouldn’t suggest eating three-year old kimchi that’s been sitting out in the sun.
So is this your new and permanent URL? If so, I’ll update my sidebar.
Comment by Nomad — October 21, 2005 @ 10:43 am
I bet it tasted better than it smelled.
Wyatt are you up for seeing some japanese punk rock tonight? There’s a post about it on my site- looks like it could be your kind of thing
Comment by swiss james — October 21, 2005 @ 10:51 am
Nomad,
Yeah I wouldn’t want to eat kimchi that had been kept at room temperature for 3 years either. (and this is the new site so you can update links at your leisure).
SJ,
It actually smelled a lot less foul than some other things I’ve consumed here. As for Japanese punk rock, I’d be all about that, save for the fact that this evening is my late day at work out in the sticks and I don’t get back into Seoul until plenty after 9. Grrrr!!!
Comment by Wyatt — October 21, 2005 @ 10:56 am
Do you think it really was three years old?
Comment by Matt — October 22, 2005 @ 21:56 pm