Side Dishes of That Country Similar to Korea's Kimchi

Can't Live Without Kimchi~ Really Can't Live!

One indispensable item on Korean dining tables is Kimchi. Of course, the methods and flavors vary slightly by region, but it is undoubtedly a national side dish. Just as Koreans serve kimchi at their meals, I became curious about what soul foods exist in other countries. Here, we introduce dishes that are found daily on the tables of Thailand, Japan, and Germany?each with different ingredients, recipes, and flavors, but all absolutely essential at mealtime.

Thai Som Tam

Som Tam, which you can easily find at Thai restaurants, is a Thai-style papaya salad. It is a salad dish made by thinly shredding green papaya, a type of tropical fruit, and mixing it with fish sauce, chili powder, lime, nuts, and other ingredients. While it is not as red as kimchi, it is characterized by a slightly spicy and tangy flavor. It pairs well with Thailand’s representative dishes like ‘Pad Thai’ or ‘Tom Yum Goong.’ Som Tam has the advantage of being low in calories and allowing you to enjoy various vegetables deliciously.

Japanese Umeboshi

Umeboshi is indispensable during Japanese mealtimes. Umeboshi is a salted pickled plum, and one of the Japanese eating habits is to place a single plum on a bowl of warm rice. This differs from Korea, where a spoonful of rice is eaten with a piece of pickled side dish. Rather than being a side dish eaten for flavor, it is good for stimulating the appetite because its sourness is very strong. It is definitely different from the sweet and sour plums we know, so those encountering it for the first time may find it unfamiliar.

German Sauerkraut

In Germany, Sauerkraut, a fermented food like kimchi, is one of the indispensable side dishes. Since it is made by salting and fermenting shredded cabbage, it shares the similarity of being able to be stored for a long time like kimchi. It has the crunchy texture commonly associated with pickles. It is an appealing food with a sour and tangy taste. Just as we use kimchi in various dishes such as kimchi stew, fried rice, and kimchi pancakes, sauerkraut is also used as a main ingredient in various menus.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.