Kimchi is just about the hottest thing, both literally and figuratively, to hit American cuisine since Sriracha. Or maybe sauerkraut. You can buy jars of it in Korean markets for all your spicy fermented cabbage needs, but we've heard that Korean grandmothers would shake their heads in shame to see us doing so. Maybe they have a point.
For purposes of comparison, we'll use Granny Choe's Kimchi Co.'s original cabbage kimchi, which seems appropriate since it's granny's displeasure that has us here in the first place. And for the homemade recipe, we'll head over to Epicurious. All costs were taken from Peapod Online Grocery.
• Granny Choe's Original Cabbage Kimchee, $8.99 for a 15-oz jar from Granny Choe's Kimchi Co.
• Traditional Napa Cabbage Kimchi (makes 1 gallon) from Epicurious
• Peapod Online Grocery
COST BREAKDOWN
• Granny Choe's Original Cabbage Kimchee:
TOTAL: $8.99
PER SERVING (1 ounce): $0.60
• Traditional Napa Cabbage Kimchi:
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon kosher salt: $0.33
2 heads Napa cabbage: $7.58
1 bulb garlic: $0.59
1 (2-inch) piece of ginger root: $0.25
1/4 cup fish sauce: $0.87
1 Asian radish (Couldn't find online; used 1/2 lb traditional radishes): $0.85
1 bunch of green onions: $0.69
1/2 cup Korean chili powder (sourced on Amazon.com): $4.50
TOTAL: $15.66
PER SERVING (1 ounce): $0.12
TIME BREAKDOWN:
• Granny Choe's Original Cabbage Kimchee: 0 Minutes
• Traditional Napa Cabbage Kimchi:
Based on Kathryn's experience, there are several hours of active prep time, mostly involving chopping veggies, rubbing them with chili paste, and layering them into the fermentation jars. Prep also includes a few hours of inactive time while the cabbage wilts and then at least a 2-3 day wait before the kimchi is ready to eat.
CONVENIENCE
Although the entire process of making kimchi is rather labor intensive, it's not actually that hard. As Kathryn says, grab a few friends and make a party out of it. Once the kimchi is made, it will keep for several months in the refrigerator. And we imagine a gallon of the stuff will last most people for quite some time.
The ingredients to make kimchi are also not that hard to find or that extensive. An Asian grocery would likely carry the radishes we weren't able to find online, as well as the Korean chili powder. Other than those two ingredients, everything else can be found at just about any major grocery store.
TASTINESS AND HEALTHFULNESS
Kimchi isn't quite the commercialized product that cake mix and mac n' cheese have become. Most kimchi products like Granny Chou's are made with wholesome ingredients without a lot of added preservatives.
The upside of making it yourself is that you're guaranteed no preservatives and you get to choose the vegetables going into it yourself (buy organic, buy local, etc.). You're also in control of a lot more variables: the level of spiciness, the level of fermentation, other flavorings going into the recipe, and the recipe itself.
MAKE OR BUY?
If you love kimchi and are starting to add it to your regular shopping list, we think it's definitely worth making your own. One afternoon of labor will give you weeks or even months of very inexpensive homemade kimchi that's likely to be every bit as delicious as Granny Chou's.
If kimchi is just an occasional thing for you, spring for the good stuff. A jar will keep for months, so it's worth paying a few extra dollars for something you really like.
OUR VERDICT: Make it if you love it; buy it if you just want another condiment option in your fridge.
What do you think?
Related: Make or Buy? Kombucha
(Images: Granny Chou's Kimchi Co. and Kathryn Hill)
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Buy. Find a Korean market that makes its own kimchi.
Is "neither" an appropriate answer? The only cabbage I want comes in Jagermeister form!! :)
Not quite sure about the small jar prices but when you go to H-Mart or other large Korean Groceries that make their own kimchi you can get gallon buckets for far less per ounce. And on certain days you can actually see it being made. Personally, I make because I'm so far away from one, but when I was close by I would pick up a bucket on the way home.
I have a friend with a fish allergy - she was lucky enough to find a local market that had a vegan kimchi brand available, but not everyone is going to be that lucky. I say make it if you're so inclined. (I know that I plan on trying my hand at it.)
Never tried it, what can you cook with it?
Make. I don't eat a ton of it, but still like to make a batch every summer. Being able to customize the level of spice and sour makes all the work worthwhile.
my SO and i make our own. he's vegan, we follow his gma's traditional recipe which involves 0 fish sauce. change up ingredients as we crave them. (green cabbage, spinach sprouts, cucumbers, asian pears, etc.) we actually prefer green cabbage to napa cabbage for the texture.
making our own costs so much less and we can make it exactly to our taste. we go through about a 1L mason jar of kim chi every week so it's definitely more affordable this way. and there isnt really much labour to it. takes no more than 15 mins to chop everything, let it sit for 2 hours, then we mix and jar (another 15 mins).
I just finished making my first-ever batch of kimchi last night! I used to love it (and would never have made it myself) until I found out I am allergic to hot peppers. I've been missing it, so I made a non-pepper version. But if I could just buy some, I would.
Making it is really, really easy-- just requires some chopping and waiting. Pricewise I've never spent 12 bucks on the raw ingredients, so even cheaper, and the taste is more or less identical to anything available commercially and you can modify it according to your likes/dislikes.
However, the "keeping for several months in the fridge" bit is quite inaccurate. I find that homemade kimchi (and probably any other) lasts 2-3 weeks at most. Remember that the lactobacillus is still active and will continue to ferment. If you like really, REALLY sour kimchi, go for it-- otherwise, try to use it up within the month.
Go for homemade!
Buy. I wouldn't know where to start to make it!! Plus, there are certain in-progress odors (fermenting foods being the biggest one) that I don't like because I was overwhelmed with them growing up. Give me the finished product in this case.
David Chang's kimchi recipe is super easy - basically throw everything but cabbage in the food processor. Let sit in the fridge and eat away a week or two later.
Plus, you can technically make kimchi out of ANYTHING. Overflow of greens from the farmer's market? Check. Spring onions out the wazoo? You can do it. Or classic napa cabbage, it's all delicious.
One word: MAANGCHI!
http://www.maangchi.com/
I used to buy kimchi until I found out how easy it is to make with maangchi's recipe.
Forget sauerkraut, try kimchi on your hot dog. Yummmmm.
We just made some for the first time. We have a hard time finding napa cabbage but got some in our CSA box! As long as we can find it in the stores or in our CSA box we will make it, otherwise we'll buy. Stuff is delicious!
Like anything else, if you buy it, you are agreeing to msg and lots and lots of sugar for flavor. My Korean mom always says that stores will use wilted napa that they can't sell to make their kimchi.
I disagree with delorai - my mom makes me huge jars of kimchi and it lasts for months in the fridge. The more fermented it becomes, the better it is for kimchi stew and kimchi fried rice.
After seeing Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi Battle movie(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzA07SR6PBg), i'm not sure I want to do my own Kimchi. Leave it to the specialists.
MAKE!
i make my own kimchi (my mom's recipe w/ a few additions of my own), i cut the cabbage into bite sized pieces during prep and toss it with the rest of the ingredients. i like to let it ferment for a longer period in the refrigerator instead of multiple hours on the counter like some do--my mom and i agree that the flavor profile is better. it does take longer to sour this way, but i find it to be far tastier. i don't like to buy the pre-made kind, because like every good korean girl...i like my moms best :) extra stinky, sour kimchi is best used cooked. kimchi fried rice, jiggae, or sauteed!
If you can make it your own, you should make it yourself. Two reasons:
1) It's much cheaper. (I can get a box of nappa cabbage for around $10 in the local Korean supermarket.)
2) The commercial ones are usually heavily loaded with MSG. There are some that doesn't contain any MSG, but they are rare.
@jooksing, Kimchi can keep for a VERY long time especially if you keep them in the Kimchi Refrigerator. If you don't have Kimchi Refrigerator, just store them in a part where the temperature is very constant. Anyways, in Korea, there are restaurants that specialize in Kimchi that has been fermented for more than THREE years, and they are not super SOUR as you would think.
In a normal household, Kimchi can easily last 6 months, even a year.
Anyways, if you want to buy Kimchi, make sure you are buying something that's not heavily loaded with MSG. Health effects of MSG aside, MSG is not really necessary in a properly made Kimchi.
I agree with the other commenters, making your own kimchi is the way to go. Every household has different tastes, so you can flavor the kimchi in exactly the way that's suited for your own family. Store kimchi has so many preservatives and tons of MSG, and I've never had store-bought kimchi that was anywhere near as good as homemade.
Actually, one of my husband's coworkers is a white American who LOVES kimchi, but he hadn't had it for almost a decade. So my husband buys him a jar of cabbage kimchi and a jar of radish kimchi. The coworker smashed through both jars, and he ended up in the hospital for 2 months with MSG poisoning, his whole body swelled up! So warning to those who aren't used to MSG in their diets...
I'm a big fan of kimchi, but my husband doesn't like it so when I make a meal where I'd like that crunch and spice, I usually just chunk up some cukes and mix them with siratcha. I know it's not authentic, but it scratches the itch and keeps the stuff out of my fridge.
When we lived in the states we made a lot of kimchi, but now that we're in Korea we've got a regular supply coming in from the in-laws. It's pretty easy to make, especially if you make radish kimchi-- I think the secret is to use sweet rice flour to make the sauce into more of a paste, and then to add a little bit of water to the jars after the kimchi is done, but before you put them in the fridge so things don't get dried out.
I buy Granny Choe's because it's vegetarian-- but it really adds up cost-wise because I can go through that small jar in just a few days. When I have time to make my own, I like using the blogger Maangchi's recipe.
Make! If you make it in smaller batches its not so over whelming to mix or use baby heads of cabbage instead of the bigger ones.
It's also better to make it because you can control the proportions of sodium and spice. Kimchi is not too difficult to make I'll post a tutorial on it soon! www.happylimes.com
Just finished kimchi post http://happylimes.com/kimchi
That is way overpriced napa! Also, you buy the ingredients in bulk, so one investment= many batches.