Pinoys love mango, that’s a given, but have you ever considered having it in kimchi form? In theory, it might seem odd, but in reality, the combo really does work – slices of sour-sweet mangoes served in homemade kimchi make for a tastebud-tingling, tangy, spicy side dish that asim-ply can’t resist.

This is local business Meats Mo’s latest best-selling item: homemade mango kimchi served in 500-gram bags (P400), perfect with your samgyupsal feasts, with other grilled meats or seafood, or even on its own.

The thick strips of locally-sourced carabao green mangoes are firm and crunchy in bite, and super sour in taste, since they’re unripe. They get really spicy, due to the kimchi brine it’s soaked in. The tanginess will hit you at first, followed by the strong spicy punch of a good kimchi. Both flavors work well together, and neither one overpowers the other. It’s almost similar to burong mangga, but Korean spice-ified.

According to Meats Mo, the process of making their mango kimchi starts with cutting the mangoes and then soaking them in homemade kimchi brine to ferment for days. “It really requires so much effort – all the peeling and slicing,” Meats Mo’s owner told Rappler.

However, the effort, to her, is always worth it. “I, myself, super love kimchi! Why not give it a Filipino twist?!” she said. With the boom of Korean food in the Philippines, it was a no-brainer for Meats Mo to pursue the unique dish.

“Early this year, a friend began mentioning to try this unique type of kimchi, which is the mango kimchi. Because of my insomnia, I tried watching videos on how to make kimchi,” she said.

“I had no idea if it’ll become a hit. I was really nervous because I started off when mangoes were off season. It was only in August this year when I started selling. Initially, I sold it in small packs. Fortunately, my clients craved for more,” she said, which pushed them to sell the kimchi in bigger bags.

Since Meats Mo’s owner works full-time during the week, the mango kimchi is only available on weekends. Pooling of deliveries on the weekends are also done to save on shipping fees.

Meats Mo is based in Quezon City, but they also have delivery hubs in Pasay City and Binondo, Manila. Aside from mango kimchi, the home business also sells frozen goods, such as rib-eye steaks, chicken, and longganisa.

Customers can place their orders via Meats Mo’s Instagram page. – Rappler.com

Try more exciting Korean eats through these GrabFood coupon codes!