I just bought my first and only batch from Costco. How do you guys eat this stuff? I feel like I'm eating something from fear factor.
There used to by a Thai/Vietnamese restaurant in my town that was run by this Vietnamese couple in their late 60s/70s. It was just a small hole in the wall with maybe 10 small tables. For some reason, this couple took a shine to me, especially the old woman who was the cook. She often made her whole family supper at the restaurant and it was always something that wasn't on their menu.
I used to eat there two times a week because it was close to my work and she would often hook me up with samples of some of the dishes she made for her family and Kimchi was on the menu quite often. If you ever tasted her Kimchi, you would never ask what the big deal was about it. She also made a fabulous Papaya salad, some kind of scrumptious fried chicken dish and a lot of desert breads, along with other dishes.
When the couple retired and moved to Texas, they held a big going away party at the restaurant and invited me. They served a bunch of these dishes that were not on their menu. It was a great time. I got him a fishing hat for his retirement and her a cast iron skillet to keep him in line. The skillet had a note in it -- something about hitting him over the head with it -- but I forget exactly what it said.