Title : Korean Food Series (1st Issue)
Stamp Serial#
 2163 
KPC#
 C-1658 
MICHEL#
 2191 
StanGib#
 2507 
Scott#
 2056d 
Date of Issue
 06/15/2001 
Quantity
 1,250,000 
Denomination
 170 won 
Design
 Paek-choo Kim-chee 
Designer
 Kim, Hyun 
Image Area
 40mm*30mm 
Perforation
 °¢ 13 
Sheet Composition
 4 se-tenant
20(5*4) 
Paper
 White
Unwatermarked
Print
 Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation 
Description
The first batch of the Korean Food Series introduces Kimchi. Its preparation basically involves mixing sliced and salted Chinese cabbages or radishes with various seasonings including powdered red pepper, green onions, crushed garlic, and fermented sea foods. This mixture is allowed to ferment at room temperature. Offering an array of subtly different tastes, it comes in various kinds, depending on the main ingredient, recipe, or region where it came from. Presumed to have served Koreans even before the period of the Three Kingdoms, which lasted until the mid-7th century, the variety of Kim-chee began to expand during the Joseon Dynasty, when powdered red pepper was first introduced to the Korean peninsula. Its characteristic taste goes perfectly well with steamed rice, the staple food of Koreans. Have a look at various types of Kim-chee presented in stamps and imagine what each variety tastes like.

Paek-choo (Chinese cabbage) Kim-chee.
Paek-choo Kim-chee is the most representative and popular type of Kim-chee among Korean households. In the past, it was an important part of preparations for winter among Korean housewives prior to Indong, the first day of winter on the lunar calendar, wherein they had to make enough Kim-chee to last three to four months of winter. The main ingredients of Kim-jang Kim-chee(Winter Kim-chee), which is the name of Kim-chee prepared for this purpose, include Chinese cabbages and radishes.

Edited by "A Funny-lookin korean"

The first step is to quarter/half the cabbage(some cut it into smaller pieces), and to mix in liberal amounts of salt. The cabbage/salt mixture is set aside eight to twelve hours, while the salt extracts fluid from the cabbage. Then, the cabbage is washed ridding it of the salt.

Then to the mixing. Most add other vegetables such as dropworts(min-na-ree/watercrest), crushed garlic, ginger, green onions (spring onions), and some even add shredded carrots. These ingrediants are mixed with salt, and liberal amounts of powered red pepper. 90% of Kim-Chee makers add sea foods, (dried anchovies, or shredded clams, shrimps, or oysters) creating harmonious characteristic tastes.

It is kept to ferment all winter long. Storage by the traditional method uses brown-crock jars. Size ranges from 1 gallon to 50 gallon. In the country-side, the jars are buried in the ground usually surrounded by rice straw. In built-up areas, the jars are stored in storage-sheds along with bags of rice, vegetables and fruit; and probably the kid's bicycle.