Kimchi: The secret to radiant skin and a healthy gut

The most significant culinary art lies in making food tasty and healthy. Inspiration for such effects is naturally abundant in Far Eastern cuisine. A particularly well-known Korean dish might particularly intrigue you — firstly, for its taste and its extraordinary impact on the skin.

Imagine eating something delicious and immediately feeling how this dish positively affects your skin's condition. In South Korea, such a mechanism is not surprising. Traditional Korean kimchi salad is a record holder for these benefits. It's worth trying it and then enjoying prolonged skin youthfulness.

Before we show you how to prepare kimchi, let's talk a bit about the aforementioned health properties of the salad. Although the Korean delicacy made from fermented napa cabbage, garlic, carrots, and daikon radish carries many attractive benefits (the vitamin and mineral content alone is impressive), the most stunning effect pertains to the skin. This is primarily due to the high selenium and vitamin E content— powerful antioxidants that delay aging.

But that's not the end of the story. It's also worth mentioning that kimchi has a fantastic effect on the intestines, which — contrary to appearances — also translates to better skin condition. The fermentation process and the presence of healthy lactobacillus bacteria mean that acne flare-ups are reduced, hyaluronic acid synthesis is stimulated, and the skin is moisturized and protected against wrinkles. Now we know why Korean women look so young!

Ingredients:

• 4 kilograms of napa cabbage,
• 3 medium-sized carrots,
• 1/2 white daikon radish,
• 1 leek,
• 1 apple,
• 1 cup of chopped garlic,
• 1 cup of chopped onion,
• 1-2 teaspoons of grated ginger root,
• 1 cup of fish sauce,
• 2.5 cups of chilli flakes,
• 3 cups of water,
• 1/2 cup of rice flour,
• 1/4 cup of sugar,
• 1 cup of Himalayan salt,
• green onions.

Preparation:

1. Chop the cabbage into medium-sized pieces. Transfer to a bowl and cover with cold water. Then, drain the liquid, add a cup of salt, and mix. Repeat this roughly every half-hour. The overall salting time should be 1.5 hours. Then, thoroughly rinse all the cabbage.
2. Cut the carrots into thin sticks. Chop the green onions, radish, onion, garlic, apple, and leek. Grate the ginger.
3. Put the water and flour into a pot. Cook until bubbles appear. Then add sugar. Once it dissolves, remove the pot from the heat and let it cool. Now add the chilli flakes and fish sauce. Mix everything.
4. Transfer all vegetables to a bowl. Combine them with the spicy paste you prepared. Tip: it’s better to do this wearing gloves.
5. Transfer the almost-ready kimchi into a jar. After 2 days at room temperature, you can slowly try your healthy salad. Enjoy!