Keep it Kimchi!
KOCHI: Ever since she was a teenager, Helen Mary Bob wanted to be an entrepreneur. At 13, Helen used to sell handmade bracelets to her classmates. Now, at 21, she has a bigger venture in hand — Namaste Kimchi. In 2019, while pursuing graduation at Rajagiri College in Kochi, Helen was selected for a student exchange programme to South Korea. She was to spend one month at the Yeongsan University in Busan.
“In that brief time, I learnt all I could about Korean culture, especially their food. I found that kimchi is a staple for them. They have it with everything — noodles to fried rice. I loved the sour and punchy mix of its flavour,” she adds. Even after she returned, kimchi stayed with and she started recreating it, keeping her memories of time spent in Korea alive.
“Initially, I made it for my family, friends and me. It was a challenge to get the taste right. Also, the main ingredients are not available in Kerala. I tried and researched around 50 recipes before zeroing in on one. My Parents, siblings, friends and my grandparents, all became my taste testers,” she quips. Finally, she painstakingly created a recipe. Which even her grandparents enjoyed.
And one day, she posted the process of making Korean kimchi on social media. One of her friends contacted her on Instagram asking for a portion. “Many people in Kerala are interested in Korean culture now — from Kpop and Kdramas to food. It seemed like a good idea to bring some kimchi to the party,” quips Helen.
The beginning
Soon, Helen found Nappa cabbage suppliers in Ooty and Mysore. Shed found the perfect radishes sourced from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. To make the gochugaru paste, she used Indian rice powder and gogugaru chilli flakes with a dash of Kashmiri chilli powder to achieve the desired consistency. “We sell both vegetarian and normal kimchi. Shrimp is used in kimchi along with the fish sauce. For the vegetarian version, I use shiitake mushroom and kelp,” says Helen. For the sweet undertone, either apple, pear or persimmons — a fruit native to South Korea — are added to the kimchi.
“Since all the kimchi I tasted in Busan and Seoul mainly used persimmons, I started searching for it. Luckily, one supermarket just started making them available in Kerala. So, finally, now I can introduce the authentic taste of kimchi to Kerala,” she says.
Kimchi has a life of its own, says the young chef. “Since it is fermented, it brings something new each day. When you make kimchi you have to keep it outside for 24 to 48 hours. Later, you can keep it in the fridge for six months,” says the resident kimchi expert.
Though Namaste Kimchi has just been in business for a month, her Kimchi has takers all over South India now. For those who just want to test it, she has sample packs worth Rs 150. A bottle of kimchi comes in dedicated glass Mason jars, at Rs 450 per bottle. The vegetarian version costs Rs 425.
“There are around 200 different kinds of Kimchi in South Korea. I currently sell only one, the cabbage kimchi. Soon, I will start making radish kimchi also. I am getting a lot of enquiries about different versions,” says Helen.