Gimme Kimchi

You know the second half of "Cannibal Ferox" in which the cannibal tribe of the Amazon exacts their terrible, sadistic, gory revenge on the white men and women who enslaved and murdered their people? No? Doesn't matter, as long as you understand that my week at work has been worse than that.

Which means I haven't had much opportunity to cook this week. However, I have tried to stay in touch with my passions: watching some Food Network and also catching an episode of Gourmet magazine's Diary of a Foodie. This time it was an episode titled "Korea: Ancient Food, Modern World". (Click on the link to watch the whole episode online.)

I thoroughly enjoy Korean cuisine, but I've never been instructed on the differences between Northern and Southern dishes, nor have I heard of Korean royal court cuisine (vaguely similar to Japanese kaiseki cuisine) before seeing this program. Last but not least, I had no idea that there was so much more to kimchi than just Chinese cabbage and red chili paste. Did you know that there are 187 recognized varieties of kimchi? Watch Inja Yoo -- a certified royal court chef -- prepare some extraordinary dishes, including bossam kimchi, which is a gorgeous stuffed/rolled cabbage filled with seafood.