This past weekend I took my 7 year old daughter, Big B & B, to the University of Texas food lab’s food challenge. UT students were awarded prizes for creating early-stage business start-ups aimed at encouraging innovation in the global food system. I learned from one of the participants that our food preferences for childhood are set by the age of 4 years. We’ve tried to expose our children to a variety of foods. This has worked fairly well with the older child but not as much with Little B & B.
I grew up in New York not far from Chinatown and Flushing and ate a lot of authentic Chinese food. My tendency to cook with, and eat a lot Chinese food probably stems from what I learned at the UT food lab about food introduction early in life. With the exception of kimchi and Korean BBQ, my exposure to Korean food has been lacking. I have plans to remedy that in the near future.
It’s been my experience that people are afraid of kimchi because they aren’t sure what to expect. Ever eat sauerkraut before? The two are very similar. Both are fermented cabbage but kimchi contains a few extra Asian ingredients.
So if you’re looking to branch out and try new things, or you’ve got a picky eater in your house, this recipe is a perfect way to introduce kimchi and it’s super easy to make.
Kimchi Hummus
Ingredients
- 16 ounce can chickpeas
- 1 1/4 cups kimchi drained
- 1/4 cup tahini sauce
- 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha (optional for extra spice)
- 1/4 cup water
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients except for the sriracha and water to a blender. Blend the ingredients on high until smooth. If too thick add some of the reserved water. Taste for seasoning. If you like additional heat add the sriracha and pulse again until combined.