Pa Kimchi (파김치)

What is Pa Kimchi?

Pa-kimchi (파김치) is kimchi made from whole young scallions, tied in bundles and coated thickly in an anchovy-forward chili paste. It is intensely pungent, and famously the kimchi Koreans crave with fatty pork — a strand of soft, sour scallion wrapped around samgyeopsal is a national flavor pairing.

How to eat it

1. Pick up a whole strand and fold it. Use chopsticks to fold the long scallion into a bite-sized bundle — do not bite from a dangling strand.
2. Pair it with fatty pork. Pa-kimchi cuts through samgyeopsal and jokbal better than cabbage kimchi; lay a strand on the meat or in your ssam wrap.
3. Expect it strong. Well-aged pa-kimchi is one of the most pungent banchan; a little goes a long way with plain rice.

Cooking it at home

1. Use jjokpa (thin young scallions); wilt them in fish sauce for 30 minutes instead of salting.
2. Coat with a paste of gochugaru, the soaking fish sauce, garlic, and a rice-flour porridge for cling.
3. Tie a few strands into loose knots for storage, ferment a day at room temperature, then refrigerate; it is best after 1–2 weeks when the harshness mellows.

Good to know

• Very much not vegetarian — the seasoning is anchovy-sauce-heavy by design.
• Fresh pa-kimchi can be sharply oniony; if it tastes harsh, let it ferment longer.

"Ramyeon with pa-kimchi" is a beloved home combination — many Koreans rank it above cabbage kimchi as a ramyeon partner.

Related foods

삼겹살 · SamgyeopsalOften eaten together Thick-cut grilled pork belly — Korea's default BBQ night. 족발 · JokbalOften eaten together Soy-braised pig's trotters, sliced and wrapped in lettuce. 라면 · RamyeonOften eaten together Korean instant noodles — a national institution, not a backup meal. 배추김치 · KimchiSame family · fermented seafood seasoning Fermented napa cabbage — the one dish on every Korean table. 깍두기 · KkakdugiSame family · fermented seafood seasoning Cubed radish kimchi — crunchy, juicy, born for gukbap.