Substitute for Kimchi

Kimchi brings four things to a dish at once: lactic sourness from fermentation, chili heat, garlic and ginger pungency, and cabbage that stays slightly crisp even after cooking. In a stew or fried rice, the sourness and heat matter most; served raw as a side, the crunch and fresh seasoning matter most. The swap depends on which of those the recipe leans on.

Stews, soups and fried rice

Kimchi jjigae, kimchi fried rice, budae jjigae and kimchi pancakes all cook the kimchi, which softens it and spreads its acidity through the dish. Sauerkraut is the best base here because it is also fermented cabbage. Drain it and squeeze out most of the brine, then season it with gochugaru and garlic. If only gochujang is on hand, use it instead; it adds sweetness, so skip any sugar the recipe calls for. Kimchi recipes often add some of the kimchi brine; replace it with a little sauerkraut brine and a pinch of gochugaru.

For noodle soups and stir-fries in a Chinese style, pickled mustard greens give a sour, savory bite that suits pork and broth. Rinse them first and taste before salting the dish.

Raw sides and toppings

On bibimbap, in tacos or as banchan, aged kimchi’s flavor comes with crunch. A quick napa cabbage salad keeps the crunch: salt the sliced leaves, rinse, squeeze, then toss with gochugaru, a little vinegar and sugar. Sauerkraut with gochugaru also works raw, but its texture is softer and its sourness sharper. Grated garlic in raw dressings is strong, so use half a clove.

When not to substitute

If kimchi is the main ingredient, as in kimchi jjigae or a kimchi side plate at a Korean meal, every swap reads as a different dish; sauerkraut gives a decent stew, but not a traditional one. Buying a jar or making a small batch is worth it there.

Kimchi made with fish sauce or shrimp is a hidden source of fish and shellfish, so for a guest with those allergies, the sauerkraut swap without fish sauce is the safer version.

Common mistakes

• Leaving sauerkraut wet. The extra brine waters down a stew and stops fried rice from crisping.
• Adding salt before tasting. Sauerkraut and pickled greens can already be salty, and soy sauce or gochujang adds more.
• Using paprika or cayenne as gochugaru. Cayenne is far hotter and paprika lacks gochugaru’s fruity heat; use a little cayenne mixed with sweet paprika if nothing else is available.
• Expecting vinegar cabbage to behave like aged kimchi in a stew. It cooks down sweet and bland; save it for raw uses.