Why It's Confusing
Kimchi appears plant-based because the visible components are cabbage, radish, garlic, chilli, and ginger. The fish element, typically fish sauce or salted shrimp, is mixed into the seasoning paste and ferments into the vegetables, leaving no visual indication.
Many Korean restaurants do not disclose the fish content on the menu. "Vegetarian kimchi" in some markets is not actually free of fish-derived ingredients.
Where It Commonly Appears
- Korean restaurants as a default banchan (side dish)
- Korean BBQ chains
- Refrigerated supermarket aisles worldwide
- Airport Korean outlets
- Korean skincare and wellness cafés that cook with kimchi
- Ramen shops as a topping
- Hotel breakfast buffets in Korea and across East Asia
What To Watch For
- Fish sauce (aekjeot, myeolchi-aekjeot)
- Salted shrimp (saeujeot), anchovy paste
- Oyster sauce, "seafood seasoning"
- "Vegetarian" on the label is not sufficient, look for "vegan" explicitly
Vegan Alternatives
- UK and EU brands: Loving Foods [[2]](#source-2), Eaten Alive, Mr Kimchi (check variant)
- US brands: Wildbrine [[4]](#source-4), Mother-in-Law's Vegan Kimchi [[3]](#source-3)
- Korean temple-cuisine restaurants (sachal sikdang) serve kimchi made entirely without animal ingredients
Sources
1. The Vegan Society, Definition of veganism. https://www.vegansociety.com/go-vegan/definition-veganism 2. Loving Foods, Organic Vegan Kimchi product page. https://lovingfoods.co.uk/products/organic-vegan-kimchi 3. Mother-in-Law's Vegan Kimchi product page. https://milkimchi.com/collections/vegan 4. Wildbrine Korean Kimchi product page. https://wildbrine.com/our-products/korean-kimchi/