A while ago I got an email from my reader Jan telling me all about how he and his friends regularly get together and make kimchi together. They live in Prague in the Czech Republic and spend the whole day talking and cooking and having a great time! Interesting to me is that they ferment kimchi in their traditional Czech pot, usually used for making sauerkraut, which is also a fermented cabbage.

He shared some photos with me and I asked him if I could publish them here. He gave me permission and said: “The more people ferment cabbage at home the happier the world will be :))” Thanks Jan!

Jan said: “The tradition here (in the Czech Republic) is quite similar to the kimchi making in Korea – people from whole villages used to get together in autumn and make sauerkrat in huge amounts so that they can then eat it throughout whole winter and have enough vitamins.”

Yes, I told him, Koreans make a special kimchi before the cold winter starts, called gimjang kimchi. It has more salt than usual kimchi, because salt slows down fermentation over the long winter and keeps the cabbage crispy.

Jan and friends

kimchi in sauerkraut crock

He told me about the sauerkraut crock that they use in the Czech Republic: “The pot has this rim into which you fit a lid and pour a bit of water – it’s to prevent any bacteria from getting inside the pot but still allows air from the fermentation to get out. It works great for kimchi.”

kimchi party

Jan said: “I’m also attaching some photos from our follow up dinner when we cooked your kimchi soup and bok choy with soybean paste. It was heavenly.”

Wow Jan, your dinner party looks awesome. I’m happy to hear that you had a great time cooking my recipes, and thank you for giving me permission to share these photos with my readers. I’m sure they will be inspired by you and your friends!

3 Comments:

  1. mariyahdaniels London joined 11/19 & has 1 comment

    Yes really nice article.

  2. Hi,

    I love the fact that friends get together to make kimchi! I want to know more about friends in Prague and what are their stories behind making kimchi. Please, contact me on facebook (Yong Yi) because I am designing a kimchi making kit and I have some questions regarding kimjang.

    Thank you,

    Yong

  3. RobertsDale Plano joined 5/18 & has 2 comments

    Very tasty!

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