Kimchi is an incredibly healthy and delicious category of Korean fermented vegetables that goes far beyond the familiar Baechu-kimchi (배추김치), the spicy napa cabbage kimchi found at Korean restaurants. There are scores of seasonal and regional variations that offer a unique glimpse into a rich and complex Korean culinary tradition.

After a long winter, early spring excites with the first of the season’s green vegetables: radishes, lettuce, green onions, and tender cabbage. They reflect the bounty of spring vegetables at their best. Unlike winter kimchi, which takes time to ferment, the seasonings in spring kimchi are applied with a much lighter touch in order to enhance the flavour of the tender vegetables. Most of the recipes are simple and the kimchi is often eaten immediately or within a few days.

After multiple sold-out kimchi workshops, The Depanneur is honoured to invite Toronto celebrity Chef Sang Kim to lead a Master Class on the fundamentals of preparing two classic types of spring kimchi, both deeply rooted in Korean tradition: Stuffed Cucumber Kimchi (Oi Sobagi – 오이소박이 김치) and Radish + Napa Cabbage Water Kimchi (Mul Kimchi – 물김치). When these seasonal treats typically appear at mealtime, it is a sure sign that the warmer months have finally arrived.

Oi sobagi  is a melding of chile peppers and chives with refreshing cucumbers. The juice from the kimchi is also ideal for a savoury cocktail or rice noodles in a cold kimchi soup. Mul kimchi combines putbaechu, a tender, young cabbage that is delicate and subtle, with yeolmu, a tiny, tender white daikon radish, prized for its crispness. This water kimchi has a delicate, gazpacho-like flavour that captures the lightness of sunny days. Both are a celebration of the new season with flavours that complement the warmer weather.
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$90 + HST

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With authentic ingredients procured through Galleria Supermarkets, Canada’s largest Korean supermarket chain, the workshop promises to bring the “back-home” flavours of kimchi to the city of Toronto.

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Sang Kim is an award-winning fiction writer, chef, restaurateur, educator, and the animating force behind some of the most iconic modern Korean and Japanese restaurants in Toronto, including Blowfish, KI Modern Japanese, KOKO! Share Bar, and Yakitori Bar. He operates Canada’s most popular sushi making school, Sushi Making For The Soul, with over 20,000+ “sushi warriors” since its inception in 2008. He appears regularly on two national CTV shows, Your Morning and The Social, covering a wide range of Asian cuisine and culture. His third and fourth books, Woody Allen Ate My Kimchi -a Food Memoir, and Eating Dogs, a collection of his award-winning stories, will be released in 2019.

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Every Monday, The Depanneur invites TO’s best culinary talents to lead fun, hands-on workshops.
Learn more about Workshops at The Depanneur