PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Time now for The Dish and today we’re making the traditional Korean side dish: kimchi.
It’s a fermented vegetable dish that can take days to make, but the chef/owner of SouthGate in Center City has an easy, time saving recipe that we’re calling quick kimchi.
“Kimchi is a staple in Korean diets, it goes with everything and it’s a common side dish,” says owner Peter Hwang.
And SouthGate has been a community staple at 18th and Lombard for the past ten years.
“We always felt like Philly was lacking in terms of the Korean food,” Hwang says.
So, he opened what he calls a neighborhood Korean American gastropub.
“It speaks to our second generation immigrant experience and where we’re from,” Hwang says. “We assimilating our culture and American culture.”
He says it’s a sort of culinary crossroads.
“SouthGate is sort of like the Eiffel Tower of Korea in terms of being the national landmark,” he says. “It works for our location too as the southern gate towards Center City.”
As they celebrate a decade, Hwang brough back a fan favorite.
“We brought back the kimchi burger because it was sort of like emblematic of who we are,” he explains. “With our ten year anniversary, we figured that this would be the time for it. Our kimchi is diced and mixed with cheese, with scallion and bacon on top, and the burger on the bottom. The burger itself is marinated in soy, sort of bulgogi style.”
The restaurant life is in Hwang’s DNA.
“I was basically raised in the back of a fried chicken shop,” he says. “It was 40 something years ago, a couple of blocks away on Walnut Street. Restaurants have always been in in the family business.”
He says so much has changed in the past ten years.
“The first year was definitely a lot of explaining of what is on the menu, but as we’ve gone along, it seems like people have sort of broadened their horizons,” he says.
Today, he’s showing us his quick kimchi recipe, because it’s typically a labor of love. The fermented Napa cabbage is bursting with flavor and time is a main ingredient.
“When you do the whole head of cabbage the traditional way, you take each individual leaf and you’re going to salt and pepper and paste them,” he says. “It’s going to take at least a couple of days, and then you’re going to hold it so that it reaches the right level of fermentation. Most people don’t have time for that.”
His recipe for a quick kimchi offers all the flavor, but skips that fermentation time.
Quick Kimchi recipe from SouthGate:
Ingredients:
– 1/2 head of small napa cabbage
– 1 small carrot, shredded
– 1 scallion, shredded
– 5 cloves garlic, minced
– 1 tablespoon sugar
– 4 tablespoons fish sauce
– 4 tablespoons Korean red pepper flakes (Gochugaru)
– 3 tablespoons kosher salt or sea salt
– 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Directions:
1. Slice Napa cabbage into 1 inch wide strips and soak in a bowl with enough water to submerge the cabbage. Add salt and let sit for 20-30 minutes.
2. Rinse cabbage twice and drain/shake off excess water.
3. Add all other ingredients to a larger mixing bowl and hand mix to create a paste.
4. Add cabbage into the bowl and mix, being sure to apply paste on all parts of the cabbage.
5. Plate and top with sesame seeds.
Copyright © 2025 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.
