Kimchi.

Decided some time ago to start making my own kimchi, which is about as essential as rice. If there is no other banchan, kimchi is the very least to have. The great thing about kimchi is that there are different types of kimchi for all of the seasons.

Everyone does theirs a little differently to taste, but the basics are napa, cut and salted and drained, then pitched with ground red pepper, sugar, green onions, lots of garlic. I've seen fish sauce and other vegetables included. A few days sitting out, covered, will let it ferment.

Shigemchi Muchim.

So here is where I start to diverge further from my original intent with all of this. Which was to compile things that I could make in a pinch. While this is quick and easy, it's...not pinch food? Anyhow, this is part of traditional Korean banchan which is the delectable array of side dishes served with Korean meals. I find that the hardest part of making Korean food is figuring out the names of things so I can look up and confirm my ingredient suspicions, but thankfully, I've found some really nice Korean food blogs (the quality of which I'm really jealous).

Shigemchi muchim is blanched spinach seasoned with sesame oil, salt, and sesame seeds. That's it. I love this stuff. The spinach vastly reduces in volume, much more than I expected, so buy accordingly. I think I used about 3/4 lb and ended up with enough for maybe two people if eaten with other banchan.

Also, it may not be evident in the picture, but I didn't squeeze out enough of the water in this batch. I was worried about mashing them into paste.