There are over 130 different types of kimchi. Kimchi is a technique of fermenting and preserving vegetables instead of a particular dish. It can be made from almost every vegetable and it can also be made from fruit such as apples and pears. Actually, what we commonly refer to as kimchi- the red cabbage and red chili powder kimchi is actually the newest type of kimchi. The red chili powder was introduced around the year 1580 via the Portuguese Missionaries who were traveling through Asia. The original kimchi was made from boiling cabbage with beef stock. The problem with the original type of kimchi was shelf life. The introduction of red chili powder, garlic, ginger and shrimp sauce or fish sauce increased the preservation of kimchi and now it allowed kimchi to last for years instead of mere weeks. Because of this a new type of kimchi emerged: Moogunji Kimchi: aged, sour kimchi.

Moogunji Kimchi takes skill and patience to make. Just leaving kimchi in your fridge for a couple of months will not turn it into the pungent, strong kimchi that is excellent in stews and braises. Actually, it might turn it into alcohol. The cabbage for moogunji kimchi are heavily salted and stored in constant temperature without exposure to air. This process could take up to two years and some places will age them for over 3 years. The result is a flavor bomb kimchi that makes excellent kimchi stews and braises. The pungent kimchi is usually braised with pork and the acid from the kimchi helps marinate and tenderize the meat. The flavorful kimchi topped with pork is delicious with a bowl of hot rice. The stewing process tenderizes the leaves of the kimchi so they can easily be pulled apart with chopsticks. This kimchi is also great for sautéing- especially for kimchi fried rice. The kimchi should first be sautéed with some roasted sesame oil to balance the flavor and then add rice and mix. I like to top my fried rice with some shredded, roasted seaweed and a sunny side up egg. This kimchi when chopped up works as a great topping for hotdogs and hamburgers as well. The sour kimchi goes great on plain noodles or chanchi guksu or knife-cut noodles.

Some of the famous restaurants in Korea with moogunji kimchi have large production plants where they make huge quantities of this kimchi like fine wine. The kimchis are graded by their sourness and then used in their different dishes. If you get a gift of this kimchi, you should accept it with great honor. It took a lot of time and planning for the kimchi to be made.