Kimchi Festival looks to share Korean food, culture
Astaple in Korean cuisine is at the heart of the Korean Kimchi Festival.
The festival on Saturday, Nov. 16, at the Albuquerque Garden Center will feature about 10 different kinds of kimchi that attendees can sample including signature cabbage kimchi with or without red chile pepper, cubed radish kimchi, young summer radish kimchi, and green onion kimchi. Other savory and tasty Korean foods such as bulgogi, bibimbab and jabchai will be sold for $10. There will be drinks and desserts available as well.
“In the olden days, women in villages got together for gimjang, the practice of making large amounts of kimchi to last through the long winter months when fresh vegetables became scarce,” said Eunju Lim, secretary, Korean American Association of New Mexico. “This long standing tradition, which is still cherished today, was not just about making kimchi but about bringing together families, friends and neighbors and sharing kimchi.”
Eventgoers can learn to make their own kimchi at the festival.
“Kimchi can be made with practically every vegetable grown on earth, and because each region of Korea has its
own kimchi, there are more than 200 varieties of it,” Lim said. “Although different in the ingredients used, they are all the same in that the vegetables are salted, mixed with condiments and left to ferment. The southern part of Korea makes their kimchi with more salt and spice because it is hotter there. More salt and spice is needed to preserve the kimchi so it doesn’t spoil in the warmer weather. However in northern parts of Korea, kimchi is made with less salt and spice because of the colder temperatures. The kimchi made there is also more water.”
The festival, now in its 12th year, was created to celebrate Korean culture to include its food.
“There is a phrase that is used often in Korean culture ‘If you have good things, you better share with others,’” Lim said. “We love and are proud of our culture including our food and we want to share our good food with our neighbors and community.”
In addition to the kimchi and other Korean food offerings there will be several performances throughout the day. Children from the Korean language school will perform the “Kimchi Nanta” show. They will sing a song about how much they love kimchi and use their desks as drums. Another group of students from the school will play “The Rabbit’s Wise Judgment,” which is based on Korean folk story. There will also be a traditional Korean dance performances as well as a harmonica performance.
Attendees can also learn how to make traditional Korean bracelets, ornaments and accessories as well as do Korean black and white drawings on a paper fan. The activity booths are sponsored by the Korean Women’s International Network.