Kimchi

Kimchi is a fermented vegetable dish that helps Koreans to get through the winter. Just like Germans make sauerkraut . Seems every culture that goes through winter tries to preserve or pickle fresh fruits and vegetables for the time between growing seasons.There is a family of lactic acid bacteria that work to prevent putrefaction. My wife learned to make some of the best Kimchi from Koreans living in Palawan. As I learn to blog (weblog), I hope Narcy too, will share some of her great recipes from her international menus. We serve the children in the orphanage a wide range of foods so that they are accustomed to living abroad.
Most of the children end up in the US, Australia and Europe because culturally the Filipinos do not readily adopt. Do not worry, the five alarm Kimchi is only for the adults!

The key is to grow fresh organic white radish, but we also kimchi: red radish, ampalaya, swiss chard, pechay, cabbage and carrots. Next, you soak the vegetable overnight in a light brine of sea salt and drain in the morning. We use honey and chili powder, garlic and ginger along with some guest vegetables in lesser volume to give it color. The key is low salt and natural sugars. Make sure you wear gloves cause the chili will get in your eyes sooner or later. Ferment in the back of your ref for a week and do not worry if you forget, it will only get better in the coming months. We grow organic herbs and sell them locally, so we always have a good supply for food preparation and cooking. Our Italian basil will go into our Aloha Pesto, with local garlic right from our garden. We have Thai basil and lemon basil for Narcy's Tom Gong, lemon grass, Indian coriander, real cilantro, Chinese and curly parsley, and rosemary. And 3 main chili varieties.

While reading PyroManiac I noticed Phil Johnson takes his food and theology very seriously. He actually met a Korean saint when he was working on her Christian biography . As usual, it is a fascinating story. He tells of Esther Ahn Kim from Korea. She would not bow down to an idle during Japanese occupation. A real life application from the book of Daniel. I will look for the book If I Perish in the States when I visit.

And it seems Phil learned a valuable lesson about bridging the cultural gap through the stomach. He ate kimchi with fish head soup. Missionaries take note! I've been reading his bookmarks, Spurgeon site and blog. Phil and Tim Challies are the inspiration for starting my own blog. Why not, I'm a Christian with an opinion too. My theology is not as well developed. Some people are predestined to be Armenians, I have chosen to be a Calvinist. I love to learn from the Bible and I trust God's sovereign plan for mankind. We get to join God in His plan for His glory. That's the Christian life. That's why we started the orphanage. God's active in the midst of suffering. Their sites are very stimulating for the growing Christian and highly recommended. But come back to Aloha House because we know how to cook!