nanoomi

(Photo by Jeff Quackenbush)

Do you jump-start the kimchi or let nature take its course? The choice is yours.

Chef Hector Marroquin of Pupusa Griddle in St. Helena, Calif., continues to perfect his kimchi recipe.

He sent me this message on Sept. 13 from Facebook:

I made about three gallons of kimchi…. I used about a cup of the older kimchi juice I had as a starter. I was surprised how quickly the fermentation process started.

Then he asked me an interesting question — interesting to me anyway:

Have you ever seen anybody use old kimchi juice as a starter?

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Chef Gordon Xiao of Ark Chinese Restaurant in Alameda making pulled noodles. (Photo by Jeff Quackenbush)

Among the more than 80 caterers, mobile and brick-and-mortar restaurants and food-related vendors at the second annual Eat Real Festival in the San Francisco Bay area were two Korean “taco trucks,” a nouveau hanshik restaurant, a ramen restaurant serving kimchi and a food-preservation specialist teaching how to pickle the popular version of it.

Did I mention the live demonstration of making Chinese pulled noodles (lai min)?

Intensely craving some Korean yumminess, I attended the festival, held Aug. 27 to 29 at Jack London Square in Oakland, Calif., to snack on selections from Santa Clara-based MoGo BBQ and Seoul on Wheels of Emeryville. Reviews of those rolling restaurants will be posted in coming days.

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