Kimchi

Kimchi—basically salted and fermented vegetables—is the national dish of Korea, the thing everyone knows about the country, and it really takes center stage in our cuisine.

UNESCO has even declared kimjang—the communal act of making kimchi with your village and family in the fall so that everyone has enough through winter—an “intangible cultural property.” My father used to say kimchi ran in his veins, and I agree: If I don’t have kimchi for a while, I feel unwell. He also used to say, “If you don’t have kimchi on the table, you’re not eating well.”