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Vegetables from Korea

Minor-ingredient kimchi of the Korean dictionary list감김치

A group of small kimchi named in Korean dictionary definitions, each made from one less common vegetable such as persimmon, deodeok root, lotus root, Aralia shoots or nasturtium leaves. The dictionary definitions have Aralia shoots and lotus root blanched, and lotus-root kimchi ripens about 3 days at room temperature. In a salting study, deodeok grew lactic bacteria within 48 hours, but lotus root grew almost none.

Fully documentedVegetables5 days

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedDictionary-style definitions with no fixed amounts. The salting values are from a lab study of lotus root and deodeok as kimchi vegetables.
The named vegetable, salted, or blanched for Aralia shoots and lotus root[kowiki]
Salt
Kimchi seasoning, such as chilli, garlic and glutinous-rice pasteLotus-root kimchi adds minari, red and green chilli, pear, chestnut, jujube and liquorice water[kowiki]

Total time across the recorded steps: 5 days

Start
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What changes: Aralia shoots and lotus root are blanched instead of salted

Step 1 of 4
Blanch Aralia shoots and lotus root
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

In the dictionary definitions, Aralia shoots are blanched, and lotus root is lightly blanched and thin-sliced. Output: blanched vegetable.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

A group of small kimchi named in Korean dictionary definitions, each made from one less common vegetable such as persimmon, deodeok root, lotus root, Aralia shoots or nasturtium leaves. The dictionary definitions have Aralia shoots and lotus root blanched, and lotus-root kimchi ripens about 3 days at room temperature. In a salting study, deodeok grew lactic bacteria within 48 hours, but lotus root grew almost none. Made in 4 steps over 5 days. The longest step, ripen, takes 3 days (Korean Wikipedia 2026). Lactic acid bacteria, which reached 2.1 × 10^4 CFU/g in deodeok after 48 h of salting; none were detected in salted lotus root does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step3 daysReported[kowiki]Ripen
AciditypH 5.7–6.3Measured[cho2012]Salt the vegetable

What makes this one different

Each of these is defined by one uncommon vegetable rather than by method. They ripen only as well as their vegetable allows; lotus root, with almost no sugar, grew no lactic bacteria in salting, while deodeok did.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Gam kimchi (감김치)Persimmon kimchi; persimmons soaked in brine to remove astringency are also called gam kimchi, and persimmon cubes gam-kkakdugi.
  • Deodeok kimchi / deodeok sobagi (더덕김치, 더덕소박이)Codonopsis lanceolata root; slit whole roots stuffed with filling make the sobagi form; on the Gangwon regional list.
  • Deombul kimchi (덤불김치)Radish leaves and stems, or cabbage scraps.
  • Dureup kimchi (두릅김치)Blanched Aralia shoots; a noted temple dish at Tongdosa.
  • Musun kimchi (무순김치)Radish sprouts only.
  • Minari kimchi (미나리김치)Spring water dropwort ripened with green garlic and other seasonings, to eat in summer.
  • Miyeokgwi kimchi (미역귀김치)Wakame sporophyll.
  • Budeul kimchi (부들김치)Young shoots of cattail (Typha).
  • Yangpa sobagi (양파소박이)Onion stuffed with seasoning and ripened.
  • Yeongeun kimchi (연근김치)Lightly blanched, thin-sliced lotus root with minari, red and green chilli, pear, chestnut, jujube, chilli powder, glutinous-rice paste and liquorice water; about 3 days at room temperature.
  • Ugeoji kimchi (우거지김치)Outer cabbage leaves.
  • Hallyeon kimchi (한련김치)Nasturtium leaves.
  • Horabi kimchi (홀아비김치)'Widower kimchi': radish or cabbage alone, nothing else.
  • Sigeumchi kimchi (시금치김치)Spinach; on the Chungcheong regional list.
  • Seogeori kimchi (서거리김치)On the Gangwon regional list. Seogeori is the Gangwon word for pollack gills, as in seogeori-jeot (salted pollack gills) and seogeori-kkakdugi (Folk Encyclopedia).

Safety

In the salting study, deodeok grew lactic bacteria within 48 hours but lotus root grew almost none (Cho 2012). For kimchi in general, a review says salting and chilli powder hold back spoilage and disease-causing bacteria, and the lactic acid the bacteria make lowers the pH to 4.0–4.2, which most other microbes cannot tolerate (Surya 2022).

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

History
The sources we found do not record its history.
Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
  1. [kowiki] Korean Wikipedia, 김치 (종류 and 지역별 김치 sections), read 2026-10wiki
  2. [cho2012] Cho J.-E., Yoo G.-Y., Lee M.-A., Chung Y.-B., Yang J.-H., Han E.-S., Seo H.-Y. 2012, Characteristics of lotus and lance Asia bell as ingredients of kimchi, Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition 41(8):1144–1150 (abstract)paper
  3. [nfm-temple] National Folk Museum of Korea, Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture, Korean Food, Clothing and Housing (한국의식주생활사전), 사찰음식 (Tongdosa dureup kimchi); KOGL type 2, facts only; read 2026-10book
  4. [nfm-seogeori] National Folk Museum of Korea, Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture, Korean Food, Clothing and Housing (한국의식주생활사전), 서거리젓 (seogeori as the Gangwon word for pollack gills); KOGL type 2, facts only; read 2026-10book
  5. [nfm-kkakdugi] National Folk Museum of Korea, Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture, Korean Food, Clothing and Housing (한국의식주생활사전), 깍두기 (regional names, including Gangwon seogeori-kkakdugi); KOGL type 2, facts only; read 2026-10book
  6. [surya2022] Surya R. and Lee A.G.-Y. 2022, Exploring the philosophical values of kimchi and kimjang culture, Journal of Ethnic Foods 9, 20paper