The Korean fermented vegetable dish served as a staple with meals is kimchi. Kimchi is made by salting and fermenting vegetables, most commonly napa cabbage or Korean radish, with seasonings such as garlic, ginger, scallions, Korean chili powder, and sometimes jeotgal, a salted seafood product.
Kimchi is not one single recipe but a large family of regional and seasonal preparations. Baechu-kimchi uses napa cabbage, kkakdugi uses diced radish, dongchimi is a watery radish variety, and pa-kimchi is made with scallions. Some versions are white and mild rather than red and spicy.
Fermentation helped Korean households preserve vegetables before refrigeration. Traditionally, families prepared kimchi in large onggi earthenware jars, sometimes storing them underground through winter. The practice became an important communal and household tradition known as kimjang, which UNESCO recognized as intangible cultural heritage in 2013.
A common misconception is that kimchi has always been intensely spicy. Chili peppers came from the Americas and were introduced to Korea only after the sixteenth century; many earlier forms relied on salt, fermentation, and other seasonings. Kimchi is usually served as banchan, but it is also cooked into stews, soups, fried rice, and pancakes.