I cannot recall a time when there was no kimchi at my dinner table. This popular side dish, made of salted and fermented vegetables, is essential in Korean cuisine. Kimchi can be found at any Korean market, but it tastes best when made at home. Helping my mother make it creates not only a transcendent flavor, but meaningful memories as well.

When my mother pulls out her big, red bucket, I know she is making kimchi. Earlier in the day, she goes to the market to buy Korean radishes and napa cabbages, both used widely in East Asian cuisine. She cuts up the cabbage into quarters, and then fills up the bucket with salt water. She places the cabbages in the salt water and sprinkles more salt focusing on the white part of the cabbage. Then she leaves them to soak for three to four hours. Now it’s my turn to help, which is making the seasoned sauce. While my mother chops up the radish into thin strips, I mix together scallions, garlic, ginger, pickled shrimps, and anchovy sauce, and her secret ingredient. Only my mother can determine when the flavor is flawless.  Then we drain the salt water and leave the cabbages for another one to two hours. After a few hours, we add the chili powder to make a beautiful red color, and paste it evenly onto each cabbage layer. When the making process is done, my mother and I put everything into a container where it is left to ferment for atleast one week before eating. The process of making homemade kimchi can be very fun, and the sense of pride after making it is so great, especially because it is not store bought. Each step may take a while, but the wait is totally worth the deliciously fermented dish.

Kimchi is truly a delight within a meal. My mother’s recipe with just her sense and intuition, is incomparable to the store bought ones. But when I make kimchi with my mother, it not only becomes a prideful, homemade dish, but a personal memory is also established. When I eat kimchi on a day when my mother is no longer here, it will remind me of the happy memories we had when we made the dish.