Kimchi

Kimchi (김치; pronounced /ˈkɪmtʃi/, Korean pronunciation: [kimtɕʰi]), also spelled gimchi, kimchee, or kim chee, is a traditionalKorean fermented ^[1] [2] dish made of vegetables with varied seasonings. It is most commonly made with napa cabbage and other vegetables such as radish, green onion, chive, and cucumber. Kimchi is the most common banchan, or side dish, in Korean cuisine. Kimchi is also a main ingredient for other common Korean dishes such as Kimchi stew (김치찌개; kimchi jjigae), Kimchi soup (김칫국; kimchi gook), and kimchi fried rice (김치볶음밥; kimchi bokkeumbap).

Kimchi is so ubiquitous to Korean cuisine that the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) developed space kimchi to accompany the first Korean astronaut to the Russian-manned space ship Soyuz.^[3] Kimchi has been the subject of a Japan–Korea dispute, after Japanese firms began exporting their own style of kimchi. ^[4]