Kimchi, That is

My mother-in-law called this morning. When I saw her name appear on my cell phone, I was a little surprised at first and got worried next. She has only called me once since our marriage last November, and I wondered if she is calling with a bad news (We had been told before that one of Min's cousins is bedridden and is not doing well...).

Thankfully, there was no bad news this time. She called me to ask how we were doing, what we've been eating, how the weather in Northern California is, etc. She also told me to take it easy with my job search. Did she read my mind? Recently, I've been getting a little impatient with the inherently slow, frustrating job search process.

She asked if we had enough side-dishes left and to pack and bring empty containers next time we come down to LA so that she could replenish for us. Then she asked what we've been eating recently. In Korean culture especially when talking with parents or elderlies, a question on 'What we've been eating for dinner' never evades the conversation. I proudly told her I made Kimchi Kal-Guk-Su for last night's dinner and that it was a big success. She said that sounds delicious.

Anything made with kimchi - be noodles, pancakes, soups- according to her, she has never gotten sick of throughout the past sixty some years of dining experience. Given the chance, I couldn't possibly forget to remind her we only have two bunches of kimchi left in our fridge, insinuating we need to lay up kimchi, very important provisions of our epicurian life.

I may one day learn how to make kimchi myself but not yet. I am quite discouraged from making kimchi myself because seeing moms (yes, I've seen a team of moms working together to make kimchi) make kimchi as I was growing up, making of kimchi feels like a daunting task.One of my aunts, who is also one of very talented cooks I know, once told me it took her 10 years to catch up to the taste of my grandma's kimchi. So, for the time being, I decided to piggy-back moms (my mom and mother-in-law; both of them happen to be excellent cooks anyways) and enjoy the luxury of mom-made kimchi.