Is it cheaper to buy Kimchi or make it yourself?

[MaximDude]

So is it cheaper to buy Kimchi, or is it better to make it yourself?

What's the best place to buy a good amount of tasty kimchi at an affordable price?

Or else has anyone ever made their own kimchi? Is it difficult to do? I can't get enough of this stuff!

[windforcexx28]

It's definitely cheaper making your own kimchi... but you have to gather a lot of spices to do it. If you want to save the hassle, just buy them from a supermarket.

[originalnutta]

that is one of the best avatars i have ever seen.




And i think making Kimchi would be tedious and the smell would be unbearable.

[gr8dlr]

Making Kimchi is quite simple actually and the ingredients are not expensive.

Go to Youtube and search for Maangchi, she has a posting there. She also has her own website with full recipe.

By making your own you know what's in there and what's not (ie MSG).

[onehaehyuk]

It'd definitely be cheaper to make your own (you can go to a korean grocery store and buy a huge box of cabbage to make enough kimchi to last you for weeks!) but it's quite a bit of time and effort to make it.

[joeyjoejoe]

that is one of the best avatars i have ever seen.




And i think making Kimchi would be tedious and the smell would be unbearable.

I've watched my mom make kimchi and the smell isn't so bad. I think the fermenting is what makes it really stink.

It'd definitely be cheaper to make your own (you can go to a korean grocery store and buy a huge box of cabbage to make enough kimchi to last you for weeks!) but it's quite a bit of time and effort to make it.

Few weeks? That's insane! Every so often my mom would send me a care package with a small jar of kimchi. That would last me months.

[onehaehyuk]

Few weeks? That's insane! Every so often my mom would send me a care package with a small jar of kimchi. That would last me months.

haha yeah there are 6 people in my house so we go through it pretty fast. I find kimchi goes sour within a couple months though.

[Just thinking]

You can buy a huge jar at Costco for about $10. It's really good

[wolverine07]

I love Kimchi now, I always wish Owl would give you more when I order my Pork Bone Soup. Very tasty stuff that took awhile to grow on me, I can't believe there was a time I didn't care for it. It's an acquired taste...

[joeyjoejoe]

haha yeah there are 6 people in my house so we go through it pretty fast. I find kimchi goes sour within a couple months though.

I'm not a huge fan of Kimchi, but I prefer it sour.

I love Kimchi now, I always wish Owl would give you more when I order my Pork Bone Soup. Very tasty stuff that took awhile to grow on me, I can't believe there was a time I didn't care for it. It's an acquired taste...

Now I cannot vouche if this works or not at the Owl, but generally the side dishes are free at Korean restaurants and asking for more is free too.

[slowtyper]

yeah I think a lot of people don't know you can simply ask for more. All that I've been to, with the exception of one (oh goel bo goel), has been very good at giving more refills on the side dishes. There are some really nice ones that refill it without asking, which was very appreciative.

[Muncher]

You can get a huge tub at Galleria for about $6-8. Don't buy the ones in the bottles, go to the area where they have these big containers and ask for a plastic tub full.

[MaximDude]

Making Kimchi is quite simple actually and the ingredients are not expensive.

Go to Youtube and search for Maangchi, she has a posting there. She also has her own website with full recipe.

By making your own you know what's in there and what's not (ie MSG).

Cool, I'm going to take a look.


You can buy a huge jar at Costco for about $10. It's really good

You can get a huge tub at Galleria for about $6-8. Don't buy the ones in the bottles, go to the area where they have these big containers and ask for a plastic tub full.


When you guys say 'huge jar', can you define huge? Is it 500g? 1.2kg or more? A few days ago I was at a Chinese supermarket and they had a sale on this green labelled kimchi that I think I've seen before at other supermarkets and it was going for 2 tubs for $6 or 1kg combined. Do they make tubs any bigger than this at a affordable price?

[wolverine07]

I'm not a huge fan of Kimchi, but I prefer it sour.



Now I cannot vouche if this works or not at the Owl, but generally the side dishes are free at Korean restaurants and asking for more is free too.

slowtyper yeah I think a lot of people don't know you can simply ask for more. All that I've been to, with the exception of one (oh goel bo goel), has been very good at giving more refills on the side dishes. There are some really nice ones that refill it without asking, which was very appreciative.

That's great advice, I'll give it a try next time I'm there.

[slowtyper]

Go to Youtube and search for Maangchi, she has a posting there. She also has her own website with full recipe.


While I'm don't really like kimchi that much, I like most other korean food. This website is a great find! I just bought a container of the korean chili paste and will start experimenting witih some of the dishes. I think I can substitute chinese chilli flakes and chinese soybean paste for the korean versions....well at least I"ll try it first.

The korean chili paste in the plastic tub smells so good.

[MaximDude]

Soooo is there any other places besides Costo (which I'm not a member of), that I can get a large tub of tasty Kimchi at a good price?

[tet8suo]

You can buy a huge jar at Costco for about $10. It's really good
Unfortunately not available in the east.

[evoviii]

Unfortunately not available in the east.

I thought so, I didn't ever recall seeing any in markham or woodbine

[jayisthebest88]

It's most likely that unless you make huge batches, it'll be cheaper to just by it in smaller jars. Also, making kimchi can get messy if you don't know what you're doing, after all it is a pickled product, storing it properly is just as important, and most koreans have fridges dedicated to storing kimchi, it's good but it stinks f you're not a korean...