Could kimchi, the fiery, spicy fermented cabbage native to Korea become the food item of 2012?
According to international restaurant consultancy group Baum + Whiteman in New York, Korean cuisine is predicted to emerge as a robust, influential global food trend in 2012, with its distinctive, punchy flavors penetrating mainstream menus.
While upscale eateries may serve dishes poached or braised in pungent, spicy kimchee broth, for example, don't be surprised to see Korean-style fried chicken pop up on the menus of chain restaurants, says the report released last week.
Kimchi is what baguettes are to the French or what pasta is to the Italians -- that is, indispensable. A side dish accompaniment to every Korean meal, kimchee is a fiery, spicy, fermented cabbage marinated in red chili powder, garlic and ginger, akin to German sauerkraut, only packed with a wallop of heat.
Celebrity chefs Bobby Flay, Tyler Florence and Chuck Hughes have become a few high-profile kimchee converts, teaching viewers how to make quick-style, ‘Westernized' versions on food TV. A few popular applications include stuffing the condiment into barbecued, pork sandwiches as an Asian-style slaw, a natural combination given that kimchi and pork also make up the main ingredients in another authentic Korean dish, kimchee stew.
The report credits the influence of food trucks for pushing Korean cuisine into the North American culinary consciousness, which over the last few years has been primarily fixated on other Asian influences -- Thai and Vietnamese flavors.
Entrepreneur Roy Choi's food truck Kogi BBQ, for instance, drew a cult following in Los Angeles for its Korean Mexican tacos -- traditional, homemade tortillas stuffed with Korean-style beef -- spawning copycat trucks all over the country. Their popularity is also widely credited for putting the spotlight on Korean flavors.
French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and his half-Korean wife Marja have also been spreading the Korean culinary gospel this year in their PBS series Kimchi Chronicles. Narrated by Aussie actor Hugh Jackman, the series travels throughout South Korea highlighting the country's regional specialities.
Meanwhile, the report also points out that since Koreans run most of the sushi bars in the US, expect more fusion recipes as restaurateurs gain the confidence to open eateries outside the confines of Korea-towns. The Korean government, for instance, has embarked on an aggressive tourism campaign and is reportedly footing the bill for an upscale restaurant in New York to promote the national cuisine, according to the consultants.
Seoul transplant Junk Sik likewise become the first gourmet, ‘modernist' Korean restaurant to take up residence in New York when it opened last month.
Other popular Korean dishes include kalbi, marinated short ribs, bulgogi, marinated beef, and bibimbap, a bed of rice in a traditional stone bowl, topped with seasoned vegetables, beef, and a fried egg, bound together by kochujang, a red papper paste.
While American palates aren't quite ready for the paste to become to become a mainstream grocery store find, the consultants predict, "...wait until 2013."
Baum + Whiteman creates high profile restaurants around the world and is the team behind Windows on the World, which sat atop the World Trade Center.