Can You Eat Kimchi Cold?

BySam Eames, Certified Nutritionist

Kimchi is a tasty Korean dish that pairs well with many different foods. You can either store it in the fridge, freezer, or at room temperature. This brings us to the following question: can you eat kimchi cold?

Yes, kimchi can be eaten cold or hot. Commonly stored in a jar, these pickled vegetables can be consumed straight out of the fridge, or alone as a snack. You can also heat them up and serve them over fried rice.

Cold kimchi tastes great over salads and makes a delicious summer meal. At the end of the day, the options are endless when it comes to eating kimchi – cold or hot.

How Kimchi is Made

This is not a step-by-step guide on how to make kimchi, but rather a quick summary for those of you unfamiliar with the cooking process. The first step is to slice vegetables of your choice (cabbage is the most common) into small quarter pieces.

The vegetables then get rinsed and drained, before salt is added. The vegetables are then combined with a homemade paste made from a variety of spices for additional flavor.

kimchi and chopsticks

Once the cabbage and other vegetables have absorbed these spices, the kimchi finally gets packed tightly into a jar. It takes around 2-5 days for the fermentation process at room temperature.

When the kimchi is fermenting, you should be checking it at least once a day. Press down on the vegetables to make sure they are fully submerged. Different temperatures and climates will shorten, or lengthen the fermentation process.

Ways to Eat Kimchi

As we briefly mentioned in the sections above, there are many different ways to eat kimchi cold and hot. The options are endless – whether you’re serving it as a side dish, or snack.

  • Traditional – If you’re looking to experience real Korean cuisine, kimchi should be eaten as a side dish. It’s very common to find kimchi on a plate with meat and white rice.
  • Make a soup – Kimchi can also be enjoyed as a hot soup. This tastes best when it has been sitting in the fridge and the vegetables begin to soften. All you need to do is add your favorite stock.
  • With rice – Even though kimchi is often eaten as a side dish, it pairs well when mixed with rice. Rice and sliced up vegetables are a quick meal and are ideal for vegetarians.
  • On salad – If you’re someone who doesn’t enjoy rice, cold kimchi can also taste great on salads. Combine with lettuce, spinach, your favorite dressing, and anything else you like to eat.
  • For breakfast – Kimchi can also taste great in the morning. You can combine eggs, cheese, and kimchi to make an omelette. Or you could try eating kimchi as a side dish with eggs and toast.
  • As a sauce – Kimchi liquid can also be used as a cooking ingredient. After you have eaten up all of the vegetables, try combining the kimchi liquid with rice, as a salad dressing, or use it when making a meal.

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