Kimchi made from cabbage or radish (raw?, organic?)

Kimchi, made from cabbage or radish (raw?, organic?), is a usually fermented vegetable dish from Korea, the consumption of which brings many health benefits.

Culinary Uses

In Korea, the term kimchi refers both to the Korean method of preparing vegetables (usually through lactic acid fermentation) and to the resulting vegetable dish. Kimchi, a vegetable dish traditionally preserved and fermented like sauerkraut for winter storage, is more widely known. However, there is also unfermented kimchi (geotjeori), which Koreans primarily eat fresh during the warmer months. The most common vegetables used are Chinese cabbage (baechu kimchi) and/or radish (kkakdugi). However, other types of cabbage (e.g., white cabbage, red cabbage, kale, savoy cabbage) and other vegetables (e.g., cucumber, horseradish, leek) can also be used to make kimchi.^2,3 This article focuses on fermented kimchi made from cabbage or radish.

The taste of kimchi depends heavily on the recipe and its ingredients. The fermentation conditions and the lactic acid bacteria involved also play a role. In most cases, kimchi tastes slightly sour and salty due to the fermentation process. It often also has a mild to strong spiciness. Korean kimchi is frequently very spicy, seasoned with pepper, chili flakes, and ginger. However, milder kimchi is also available. Alternatively, you can make your own kimchi and thus control the spiciness. A wide variety of spices also contribute to the flavor. Besides salt, chili, and ginger, it often contains plenty of garlic. In some regional variations, fish sauce or other fish products are also used. Vegan recipes are plentiful.

Can you eat kimchi raw? In Korea, raw kimchi is served as a side dish with practically every meal, along with steamed rice. The fermented cabbage is also a common ingredient in the Korean rice dish Bibimbap, which is vegan and features plenty of vegetables and tofu, and in the cold noodle dish Bibim Guksu. It also tastes delicious in fried rice and udon stir-fries (Japanese noodles) with, for example bok choy. Soups, such as miso kimchi soup, can also be made with it. Of course, you can also use it outside of Asian cuisine. For example, you can add kimchi to potato stews, as a topping for oven fries, or on breakfast bread with scrambled tofu (vegan scrambled eggs made from tofu). Kimchi pancakes, where you incorporate the fermented cabbage into the batter, are a unique and highly recommended option. Raw kimchi can also be eaten as a salad with a little sesame oil and sesame seeds, or as part of a vegetable wrap.

Preparation

You can prepare your own kimchi in many ways and with all sorts of ingredients. Here is just one of the many possibilities.

Ingredients (for approx. 1 kg kimchi): 750 g Chinese cabbage, 40 g salt (untreated), 50 g radish, 70 g carrots, 60 g spring onions, 1 tbsp rice flour, 100 ml water, 60 g apple or pear, 20 g ginger, 1-2 cloves of garlic, 40 g gochugaru (Korean mild chili flakes), 1-2 tbsp soy sauce, 8 g salt.

Utensils: Sealable container (e.g. Weck jar, approx. 1 l), fermentation weight (e.g. glass weight).

Preparation: Wash the Chinese cabbage and cut it into bite-sized pieces, removing the core. Add 40 g of salt to the cabbage pieces and knead well. Let it stand for at least 2 hours. Wash, peel, and finely slice the daikon radish, carrots, and spring onions. Stir the rice flour into 100 ml of water, bring to a boil briefly, remove from the heat, and let cool. Peel the apple or pear and cut it into large chunks. Peel and chop the ginger as well. Using an immersion blender, purée the fruit, ginger, chili flakes, soy sauce, 8 g of salt, and 1 tablespoon of the cooled rice flour mixture. After the Chinese cabbage has finished standing, rinse it 2-3 times until it no longer tastes too salty. Mix the cabbage pieces with the sliced vegetables and the paste (amount to taste). Place everything in a fermentation jar and press down firmly. The vegetables should be submerged. If there isn't enough liquid, you can add a few tablespoons of salt water (2-3 % salt content). Weigh down the mixture in the jar with a fermentation weight. Place the jar on a plate (to catch any leaking liquid) and let it stand at room temperature for about two weeks. After that, store it in the refrigerator. The kimchi could be eaten earlier, but it wouldn't have completed all the fermentation stages.

Cleanliness is essential when preparing kimchi. Ensure your hands and utensils are clean – ideally, rinse the preserving jar with boiling water beforehand.

Vegan recipe for fried kimchi rice

Ingredients (for 4 people): 300 g basmati rice, 200 g mushrooms (e.g. button mushrooms), 4 spring onions, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 carrot, 1 red bell pepper, 3 kale leaves, 2 tbsp rapeseed oil, 2 tsp grated ginger, 160 g kimchi (organic or homemade), 3 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp tomato paste, some sesame seeds.

Preparation: Cook the basmati rice according to the package instructions and then set aside. Wipe the mushrooms clean and quarter them. Wash the spring onions and slice them thinly. Peel and finely chop the garlic cloves. Peel the carrot and cut it into thin sticks. Rinse the bell pepper and cut it into thin strips. Wash and chop the kale leaves. In a pan heated with rapeseed oil, sauté the spring onions, garlic, and ginger over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté for another 2 minutes. Add the carrot and bell pepper and sauté for a further 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cooked rice, kimchi, soy sauce, and tomato paste and mix well. Add the chopped kale leaves and simmer for about 3 minutes. Serve the fried kimchi rice in bowls and garnish with sesame seeds.

Vegan recipes with kimchi can be found under the note: " Recipes that have the most of this ingredient ".

This is not just for vegans or vegetarians: Vegans often eat unhealthily. Avoidable nutritional mistakes .

Purchasing and Storing

Kimchi: Kimchi can be found year-round in well-stocked branches of some supermarkets (e.g., Coop, Migros, Lidl, Rewe, Billa ). Other supermarkets (e.g., Denner, Volg, Spar, Aldi, Edeka, Hofer) do not offer the fermented cabbage or only do so rarely. Organic supermarkets (e.g., Alnatura, Denn's Biomarkt ) occasionally have it in stock – then only in organic quality. You'll usually have better luck in Asian markets and health food stores.

The availability of kimchi varies depending on the size of the store, its catchment area, etc. Our recorded food prices for the German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) can be found above under the ingredient image – and by clicking, you can see how these prices have changed across different suppliers.

Storage Tips

Kimchi is best stored in the refrigerator. Once the fermentation process is complete, it will keep for approximately 1-3 months. To ensure a long shelf life, always use clean utensils and make sure the cabbage is always submerged in the liquid – if necessary, gently press it down with a clean fork. To determine if the kimchi is still edible, you can rely on your sense of sight and smell.

Note: The longer you store kimchi, the more intense and sour its flavor becomes. Therefore, if you don't like it too sour, you shouldn't leave it in the refrigerator for too long and should allow it to ferment further.

Ingredients - Nutritional Values - Calories

The composition and quantity of ingredients, including secondary plant compounds, vary extremely depending on the variety, growing conditions, processing methods, etc.

Kimchi (raw) is an extremely low-calorie food, containing only 15 kcal per 100 g. Fat (0.5 g/100 g), carbohydrates (2.4 g/100 g; of which 1.6 g is fiber), and protein (1.1 g/100 g) are also present only in small amounts. The salt content is very high at 1265 mg/100 g, as is the case with other fermented foods such as sauerkraut (902 mg/100 g).¹

Raw kimchi made from cabbage varieties, like cabbage itself, is rich in vitamin K (44 µg/100g; 58 % of the daily requirement). This content is therefore logically similar to that of Chinese cabbage (43 µg/100g) and red cabbage (38 µg/100g). Even more vitamin K is found in Swiss chard (830 µg/100g).¹

100 g of raw kimchi contains 52 µg of folate (26 % of the daily requirement). Horseradish (57 µg/100g) has a similar content. Raw spinach contains almost four times as much folate at 194 µg/100g.¹

Furthermore, 100 g of kimchi contains 0.21 mg of riboflavin (vitamin B₂), which is 15 % of the daily requirement. Spinach (0.19 mg/100 g) has a similar content. The Muscadine grape has a particularly high riboflavin content (1.5 mg/100 g).¹

You can find all the ingredients of kimchi, its coverage of daily requirements, and comparative values with other ingredients in our nutrient tables below the ingredient image.

Effects on Health

Is Kimchi Healthy? Typical kimchi made from cabbage is rich in bioactive substances (vitamins and phytochemicals) that can have positive effects on health. These substances have been shown to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-atherogenic, and lipid-lowering properties. Other health-promoting properties of kimchi include promoting brain health, strengthening the immune system, and anti-aging effects. Furthermore, kimchi's functionality includes combating obesity and diabetes.^2,3,4 Read more about phytochemicals in the following chapter.

The fermentation process not only intensifies the flavor of kimchi and makes the cabbage more digestible, but also enhances the functionality and physiological effects of the active ingredients, such as antioxidant activity.^2,4

Furthermore, fermented kimchi typically contains a high proportion of lactic acid bacteria, which give it its probiotic properties.^2,3 As a result, it promotes not only gut health, but also skin health.²

Eating kimchi is an excellent way to incorporate more vegetables and probiotics into your diet, thereby improving your health.²

Secondary plant compounds

Many of the health benefits of kimchi can be attributed to the secondary plant compounds it contains. Our article on secondary plant compounds provides an overview of the classification of these compound groups, their occurrence in foods, and their potential effects on humans.

Kimchi contains, among other things, the following secondary plant compounds:^2,3,4

• Isoprenoids: Carotenoids (including β-carotene), Beta-sitosterol (β-sitosterol)
• Alkaloids : capsaicinoids (capsaicin), indoles
• Polyphenols: Flavonoids (including anthocyanins), phenolic acids (including sinapic acid)
• Organic sulfur-containing compounds: Mustard oil glycosides (glucosinolates; including gluconapine, progoitrin, glucobrassicin)
• Other plant compounds (including protease inhibitors): Chlorophyll

Kimchi contains high amounts of functional compounds. Phytochemicals such as isothiocyanate (a hydrolysis product of glucosinolates), indole compounds, and beta-sitosterol are some of the active compounds found in kimchi that are associated with antioxidant, anticancer, anti-obesity, and atherosclerosis-preventive effects.^2,3

Additionally, the polyphenol and glucosinolate content contributes to a protective effect against various types of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodegenerative disorders. The secondary plant compounds in kimchi also exhibit anti-aging properties.

Since Chinese cabbage and sometimes radish are main ingredients in kimchi, many of the phytochemicals contained in kimchi, and thus its health benefits, originate from these ingredients. Read more about this in the related articles.

Other ingredients in kimchi also contain a variety of health-promoting phytochemicals. For example, the antioxidant activity of capsaicin and piperine, two substances found in red and black pepper respectively, is well-documented. Garlic is rich in organic sulfur compounds, which are known for their anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and cardioprotective effects. Scientists attribute a variety of biological effects to ginger, including anti-cancer properties.

Dangers - Intolerances - Side Effects

Despite growing awareness of kimchi's health benefits, concerns exist regarding its consumption due to its high salt content (averaging around 2.5%). Read about the dangers of excessive salt intake in the accompanying article. However, the fermentation process is intended to reduce the potentially negative effects of salt.

Kimchi has also been criticized several times regarding microbiological safety. In 2012, a foodborne illness outbreak caused by Escherichia coli in Korea was linked to kimchi consumption. In 2013, kimchi contaminated with norovirus caused an outbreak.³ One study investigating the E. coli cases concluded that an inadequate fermentation process can allow pathogens to survive and thus lead to an outbreak. However, if kimchi is properly fermented, the growth of microbiological pathogens is restricted.⁵ A later study indicated a low probability of foodborne illness caused by the pathogen E. coli in kimchi, at least in commercially produced products. To further reduce the risk, the authors of this study recommend minimizing initial contamination and ensuring refrigeration during shipping.⁶

Ecological footprint – Animal welfare

Kimchi made with fish sauce or other seafood products that do not come from sustainable sources supports overfishing and pollution of the oceans, thus damaging marine ecosystems. Vegan kimchi without fish products, on the other hand, is relatively sustainable.⁸

The vegetables and fruit in kimchi generally have a small carbon footprint (less than 1 kg CO₂ eq/kg).⁹ A similar product to kimchi, sauerkraut, comes in at a climate-friendly 0.58 kg CO₂ eq/kg.¹² A self-generated calculation by Carboncloud, using only publicly available data, arrived at 2.07 kg CO₂ eq/kg for kimchi.¹¹ In light of these figures, kimchi could have a relatively small footprint (more climate-friendly than average).¹² It can therefore pay off to think about the ingredients and origin of the products. Prefer local organic products – for your health and the environment.

On average, vegetables have a water footprint of 322 l/kg globally, and fruit 962 l/kg. Compared to animal products, this is a very small footprint: milk has a footprint of 1020 l/kg, eggs 3265 l/kg, and beef 15,415 l/kg.

Detailed explanations of various sustainability indicators (such as ecological footprint, CO₂ footprint, water footprint) can be found in our article: What does the ecological footprint mean?

Worldwide Occurrence - Cultivation

Historical records of the production and consumption of kimchi date back 4000 years. It is assumed that radish was originally the main ingredient, but that people later used Chinese cabbage for variety. The kimchi made from cabbage varieties, as we know it today, was probably produced from the 18th century onwards.

Kimchi is now known not only on the Korean peninsula, but all over the world.

Industrially produced

Chinese cabbage kimchi is the most representative of the various kimchi varieties produced in Korea. The process begins with cutting, washing, and pickling the cabbage in brine (overnight in a 10 % brine solution), followed by rinsing and draining. The remaining chopped and sliced ingredients are then added to the cabbage leaves. The standardized ingredient composition for Chinese cabbage kimchi is as follows: pickled Chinese cabbage with 13 % sliced daikon radish, 3.5 % red bell pepper, 1.4 % garlic, 0.6 % ginger, 2.2 % fermented anchovy juice (non-vegan version), 1 % sugar, 2 % scallions, and a final salt content of 2.5 %. Depending on family tradition, economic circumstances, and the seasonal and regional availability of ingredients, people also add various other ingredients to the kimchi. Fermentation then follows.

Several factors determine the success of lactic acid fermentation in kimchi production. Important factors include the freshness, quality, and natural microflora of the vegetables, but also fermentation temperature, fermentation duration, salt concentration, and type of salt. Salt concentration and fermentation temperature, in particular, influence the growth of the natural microbial populations.⁴

Further information

There are many types of kimchi, which vary in preparation method and ingredients depending on the region. Chinese cabbage kimchi, locally known as 'baechu', is the most popular type of kimchi in Korea.^2,3

Alternative Names

The word kimchi, pronounced roughly like 'kimchee', originally comes from the Chinese character 'chimchae', which means 'salted vegetables'. Through oral tradition, it first transformed into 'dimchae', then 'dimchi', and finally 'kimchi'.²

According to the Duden dictionary, the gender of kimchi can be masculine or neuter. We have opted for the neuter gender (das) here.

The English name is also kimchi. Cabbage kimchi is known as cabbage kimchi, and Chinese cabbage kimchi as napa nabbage kimchi or baechu kimchi.