Slippery, Spicy, Tingly: A Kimchi Mystery by Author Yangsook Choi
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Slippery, Spicy, Tingly, A Kimchi Mystery
By Yangsook Choi
Slippery, Spicy, Tingly, A Kimchi Mystery, follows a suspicious boy who smells nothing but trouble when his grandmother comes for a surprise visit. After Grandmother digs a deep hole in the backyard and makes a whole lot of kimchi, she disappears as suddenly as she comes. Did she come to bury a secret treasure? As the mystery deepens and the kimchi ripens, waiting for the truth becomes torture for him. Who knew Grandmother could be so slippery?!
I feel fortunate to work on this title. Like kimchi, the idea had been fermenting before just the right flavors came out. I grew up in Korea where people ate kimchi every day—at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It wasn’t until I moved to the States that I learned kimchi was considered a strong-odor food by many non-Koreans. My initial focus for this story was to present Korea’s stinkiest iconic food and amplify how healthy strong-smelling food can be. My hope was that eaters and readers wouldn’t judge a food by how different or strong it smells, but by how healthy it is for our bodies.
I remember how much care and love my grandmother poured into kimchi-making. How her kimchi would bring chili to my little heart! In an early draft of my author’s note, I mentioned how she treasured the huge clay jar in which she stored kimchi underground during the long winter. My editor Carol Hinz liked the idea of the underground jar and asked me to dig deeper under the surface of the kimchi smell. Her insight made my heart tingle with joy. Turning the angle of the story downward opened a deeper and more mysterious way nature provides us with its bountiful resources.
Kimchi is a living food because it’s fermented. The magic of fermentation lies in the hands of those who have lived in harmony with nature— not only preserving their food heritage but also having much patience in long waits during the fermentation process.
With today’s fast-paced life, factory-made kimchi has become more popular in Korea—and around the world. And the traditional way of burying kimchi underground is threatened due to climate change. The heritage of kimchi making, however, continues to be passed down from one generation to the next.
Throughout this story, I hope the readers will think about what the real treasure is at the heart of this mystery … At least try some tongue-tingling kimchi and develop an appreciation for nature. One bite at a time!
Yangsook Choi grew up in Korea. She started drawing at age four and loved telling her grandma scary stories. Since moving to New York to pursue her art, she has written and illustrated many books for young readers. Her books have been acclaimed as a New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year, an American Library Association Notable Book, and with an International Reading Association’s Children’s Book Award. She splits her time between Seoul and New York.
Yangsook Choi’s Website: https://www.yangsookchoi.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yangsook.choi/
X: https://twitter.com/YangsookChoi
