Kimchi Power!

A friend of mine sent a link to this BBC article about kimchi possibly preventing bird flu.  The article was from March of 2005 and the findings seemed to be based on superficial research, aka wishful thinking.  I want to believe, so I decided to see if I could find any recent articles on kimchi as cure-all.  Instead, I found this fabulous article on eating sauerkraut instead of kimchi on WCCO-TV Minnesota.  In this hard-hitting piece, Asian helmet-head Mary Tan reports:

Others at the store bought the sour cabbage just because they like it. They said they have no concerns about the avian flu.

Ruby Bauer just wants some kraut to eat with wieners.

No offense to you wurst lovers; believe me, I can get down with a tangy, fatty plate of choucroute.  Sauerkraut makes me think of Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres and how the one sister tries to kill the other with tainted sauerkraut.  (As usual, all I remember from that book is the food reference.  I am so predictable.)  But sauerkraut is to kimchi as a slice of American cheese is to a hunk of Cabrales, as Clark Kent is to Superman, as Tylenol is to Tylenol with codeine.  Magical kimchi has fermenting sea creature extracts and chili capsaicin up the wazoo.  It has the power of garlic's allicin and stomach soothing ginger.  I think it tastes powerful and protective.  It may or may not prevent bird flu, but why take chances when the potential remedy is so enjoyable?

I had this dish at a Japanese restaurant on Barrow St. -- it makes a quick, tasty bachelorette meal with a bowl of fresh rice.

Pork with kimchi and egg

1 tbsp. oil
1 boneless pork chop, thinly sliced on the bias
soy sauce
a couple of pieces of Napa cabbage kimchi, sliced into Trident gum sized strips
1 egg

Heat your pan up over high heat.  When it's hot, add your oil and throw the pork in and saute til meat is opaque.  Add a touch of soy sauce, add your kimchi and cook til the kimchi has warmed up.  Push everything to the sides and crack the egg in the middle of the pan.  Scramble it up quickly and incorporate the meat and kimchi.  Serve immediately with white rice.  Best eaten in front of the TV or over the kitchen sink.