Is kimchi vegetarian? It can be, but traditionally cooks prepare the spicy Korean preserved vegetable dish using fermented seafood

Korean kimchi is made with preserved vegetables seasoned with spices, Unesco says. So far, so good. But there’s a catch. ‘And fermented seafood’, it adds
So traditional kimchi isn’t vegetarian. However, some producers accommodate vegetarians by swapping fermented seafood for miso paste – fermented soybean paste

Food and Drinks

Audrey Chan

Published: 4:15am, 13 Dec 2023

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Is kimchi vegetarian? Not always.

According to the 2022 iteration of the Codex Alimentarius international food standards, kimchi is vegetarian in that it’s simply “prepared with Chinese cabbage as a predominant ingredient and other vegetables which have been trimmed, cut, salted and seasoned before fermentation”. Sure enough – no mention of meat products here.

Another international organisation seems to disagree. According to the Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage list, “[k]imchi is the Korean name for preserved vegetables seasoned with spices and fermented seafood” – an interpretation fishy enough to make vegetarians think twice about trying the dish.

Unesco does, however, note that kimchi preparation can vary based on region or family heritage, thus recognising the possibility of there being many kimchi recipes – some of which might be vegetarian, or even vegan, after all.

Kimchi can be vegetarian, or even vegan, but is traditionally made with fermented seasfood. Photo: Shutterstock

In 2018, researchers at Brown University in the United States noted that traditional kimchi often contains traces of jeotgal (fermented seafood) such as anchovy sauce, salted shrimp, or fish paste.

It’s this fermented component that contributes to the rich umami flavour kimchi is known for, explains their study, which is published in Food Microbiology.

Kimchi has the same probiotic properties whether it is made with fermented seafood or a vegetarian alternative. Photo: Shutterstock

With vegetarianism growing in parts of the world such as Europe and the United States, some artisanal kimchi producers have decidedly swapped out jeotgal for miso paste – a fermented soybean paste that’s just as flavourful – to accommodate vegetarian consumers.

Interestingly, the 2018 study concludes that vegetarian versions can contain the same probiotic properties as kimchi made with jeotgal, since both are fermented with probiotic lactic acid bacteria.

While researchers at Brown are hesitant to endorse the idea that consuming probiotic-rich foods like kimchi can yield meaningful health benefits, a 2021 study published in the journal Cell shows that a diet rich in fermented foods – vegetarian or not – enhances the diversity of gut microbes and reduces markers of inflammation.

All that being said, as far as discussions around kimchi’s history and health benefits go, one thing’s for sure: it can certainly be vegetarian-friendly, provided its seafood components are adequately substituted.