What is Kimchi Sauce?
Kimchi sauce is a concentrated condiment made from the liquid of the Korean fermented vegetable dish, called kimchi. The sauce is thick and paste-like with a strong salty, piquant and vinegar flavor that is very spicy. The red kimchi sauce may be mixed with mayonnaise or sour cream to mellow out the strong flavors and add a creamy quality that works well as a dipping sauce and as an addition to be drizzled on main courses.
What does Kimchi Sauce Taste Like?
...Salty is one of the five main tastes. It has a satisfying and addictive quality with hints of sourness. Salty foods include cheeses, cured meats, chips, and olives. It is used in almost every dish and prepared food. Salt is added to enhance flavor and offer a distinctly salty taste.
...Umami is one of five main tastes. It is savory with a depth of flavor. Umami is a taste in many foods, including meat, seafood, beans, and nuts. It is both naturally occurring and created through the specific use of ingredients to create a satisfying taste. Umami is characteristic of proteins and savory dishes.
...Spicy is a flavor that brings heat and fire to food by creating a burning sensation in the mouth or sinuses. Spicy flavors come from hot peppers, horseradish, and wasabi. Spicy adds a kick and sometimes complexity to a dish and releases endorphins, creating a mildly addictive quality.
Ingredients
...Kimchi is a fermented Korean dish, popular in some East Asian cuisines and can be found in fusion foods. Kimchi is somewhat similar to sauerkraut and is made from napa cabbage, but undergoes a slightly different process during its making. Kimchi sits in a sauce of its own creation; fermented liquids, salt and water from the cabbage. It has a full flavor that is spicy and hot with chili peppers, garlic, ginger and the deep umami of fish sauce mingling with the dominant fermented flavor. The colors in this dish are usually green with a bit of red from the hot peppers. Kimchi is eaten raw as well as cooked.
...Mayonnaise is a cream colored condiment and thick sauce, or spread. Mayonnaise is made by slowly adding oil to a mixture of raw egg, vinegar and seasonings, until it thickens. This is done by continuously whisking. The flavor is mild, tangy and a bit salty with a comforting quality from the creamy texture. Mayonnaise is a multi-use ingredient for sauces, cold meat salads, sandwiches and more.
...Sour cream is a dairy product made by fermenting cream with lactic acid bacteria. The healthy bacteria thickens the cream, resulting in a thick and creamy product with a white color. Sour cream is thicker than yogurt and has a tangy flavor that is milky and mild. It is used as a condiment and as an ingredient in dips, cakes and more.