An update on the Chinese ban on South Korean kimchi that Scribal Terror mentioned a couple of days ago:
It seems that about 3% of South Korean kimchi products contain parasite eggs. My two comments regarding this are,
1) Good. The less kimchi the Chinese eat, the more there is for me. My favorite kimchi is the more sour tasting from the South (Kyoung Nam Province area), so I'm considering starting a rumor that there are more parasites the further south one goes; and
2) Considering some of the things that Koreans (and for that matter, the Chinese who are doing the banning) eat on purpose, I hardly think parasite eggs are the most questionable. Live octopus, roasted larvae, sea squirts ... and we're worried about a parasite eggs?
I plan to be in Korea this December, and while I'm there, I plan to stuff my face with parasit-o-lious kimchi while downing large quanties of insects and questionable sea creatures -- Chinese ban or no. Take that, Beijing.
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Live octopus can be especially deadly. I recall reading of an old Korean man devouring tiny, live octopuses who suddenly screamed, clutched his throat, turned blue, and died.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that the little cephalopod was averse to being digested and grabbed hold of the epiglottis on the way down to hold on for dear life and the elderly gent's sad death.
Survivors included the man's wife, adult children, and one tiny but plucky octopus.
Jeffery Hodges
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