kimchi

American  

[kim-chee] / ˈkɪm tʃi /

Or kimchee

noun

1. Korean Cooking. a spicy pickled or fermented mixture containing cabbage, onions, and sometimes fish, variously seasoned, as with garlic, horseradish, red peppers, and ginger.

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Etymology

Origin of kimchi

First recorded in 1895–1900; from Korean kimch'i, hypercorrection of cimch'i, earlier timchoy, from Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese chén “steeped” + cày “vegetables”

Explanation

Kimchi is a traditional fermented Korean side dish usually made of cabbage. Just about any meal you eat in Korea, or at a Korean restaurant, will be served with kimchi. There are hundreds of ways to make kimchi, using different vegetables and varying spice levels, but it is always slightly crunchy, with sweet, sour, spicy, and umami flavors. Fermentation is the most important element of kimchi, which is traditionally fermented in a clay vessel called an onggi. The Korean kimchi (or kimchee) derives from roots meaning "soaked vegetable."

Example Sentences

At Cho and Park’s kitchen table, their pantry staples level up the spread: ssamjang, an umami-packed dipping sauce, and kimchi.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

While undergoing treatment, his mother became a fixture in the kitchen, helping on the line and tending to pots of fermenting kimchi.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026

As of 2025, sales of fermented products, such as sauerkraut and kimchi, have increased as more Americans seek to improve their overall gut health, The Wall Street Journal reported in November.

From Salon • Feb. 21, 2026

The results also suggest that kimchi may benefit not only metabolic health but immune health as well.

From Science Daily • Dec. 17, 2025

She moves on from the kimchi to bean sprouts.

From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon