Kimchi ~ also
spelled gimchi, kimchee, or kim chee, is a traditional fermented Korean dish made of vegetables
with a variety of seasonings. There are hundreds of varieties of kimchi made
with a main vegetable ingredient such as napa cabbage, radish, scallion or cucumber. Kimchi is also a main
ingredient for many Korean dishes such as kimchi stew (kimchi jjigae),
kimchi soup (kimchiguk), and kimchi fried rice (kimchi
bokkeumbap).
Why Kimchi is so Authentic,
is because of its nutrition contains in each ingredients. Kimchi is made of
various vegetables and contains a high concentration of dietary fiber,
while being low in calories. One serving also provides over 50% of the daily
recommended amount of vitamin C and carotene.
Most types of kimchi contain onions, garlic, and chilli peppers, all of which
are salutary.
The vegetables being made into kimchi also contribute to the overall
nutritional value. Kimchi is rich in vitamin A, thiamine (B1),
riboflavin (B2), calcium, and iron, and contains a number of lactic acid bacteria, among those the
typical species Lactobacillus kimchii. Health magazine named kimchi in its list of
top five "World's Healthiest Foods" for being rich in vitamins,
aiding digestion, and even possibly reducing cancer growth.
One study conducted by Seoul National University claimed that chickens infected with
the H5N1 virus, also called avian flu, recovered after eating food containing
the same bacteria found in kimchi. During the 2003 SARS outbreak in Asia, many people even believed that kimchi could protect
against infection, although there was no scientific evidence to support this
belief. However, in May 2009, the Korea Food Research Institute, Korea’s state
food research organization, said they had conducted a larger study on 200
chickens, which supported the theory that it boosts chickens' immunity to the
virus.
(Credit to Mr Mohd Hafifi Abd Rahman 2012)
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