If you like Korean food, if you wanted to try cook Korean food at home, or if you were ever curious about Korean food, this recipe is for all of you.

Kimchi is the single most important ingredient/ side dish/ food regarding any Korean cuisine. We Koreans have been making beloved kimchi for three thousand years. The variety, the method, the history is overwhelming even for me. More than half of the side dishes on the table are in forms of kimchi; even if it’s not red – not every kimchi is red and spicy. If I haven’t made my point clear; yes, kimchi is really important for Koreans.

So, where is this chanting going? Long story short, this is the best resource to make the authentic Korean food. Because it’s fermented with various different elements, it already has a handful flavour itself. That’s why it’s a great cooking material. Let me show you the one very easy example.

Pork in the Kimchi

While I charmed people by cooking exotic food, I got to know better about my food and how to make Korean food more authentic in a foreign land. Among several cuisines I made, Pork in the Kimchi was the easiest and the most authentic one so far. Yes, I named it ‘pork in the kimchi’. Catchy?

The ingredients are easy:

Kimchi (cabbage), pork and vegetables of your choice.

Yes, that’s it. Trust me.

So here’s the simple instructions how to enhance the taste with the simple ingredients.

1. Dice garlics and cook it over the frying pan with oil. It will add richer flavour to kimchi.

2. When the garlic is ready, add kimchi on the pan and stir it. Add more oil if you need.

3. If the cabbage looks brown-ish, it’s ready. Remove a half of the kimchi from the pan and cook pork.

4. When the pork is ready, mix the rest of the kimchi we removed earlier. Add your choice of vegetables and cook it together. I usually use onions, green peppers, mushrooms and spring onions.

5. Add a bit of sesame oil on top and serve. Tip: sesame oil makes everything better.

Oh, and serve with rice – any kind. If you want an authentic experience, try to find ‘Korean rice’ or ‘Sushi rice’.

You might ask ‘where in the world I can find Kimchi?’ In my experience, it is relatively easier to find it nowadays. I haven’t try it in Europe, at least it was surprisingly common in the United States. Try Asian supermarket (Vietnamese, Thai or Korean. Seems like all three are mixed together) or a big supermarket with a big portion of healthy food isle. Finding Kimchi would be the most challenging part to make Pork in the Kimchi.