Chongga Mat Kimchi (Cut Cabbage Kimchi) In Pack 500g

The reviews:Kimchi is fermented Cabbage, so yeah it kinda stinks, and the bag inflates as gas escapes. This is not a reason to throw it out! In fact I think the skinnier it is, the better it tastes because that means it's fermenting. Take it out of it's inflated bag, put it in a glass jar or fermentation jar so it will last longer.Whats is smell like?Kinda like fishy burbs not gonna lie. This is okay. If it starts to smell like alcohol or wine, then it's bad, throw it out at that point. It's probably because of bad storage.What's is tates like?I've never been to Korea, I'm basing this off the many kimchi's I've tried that are available here in the UK. This one is very sour/vinegary and a medium spice. If you like a more spicy kimchi, Mr Kimchi is excellent. I like the sourness of this one.If you've never tried kimchi:The very first time I tried kimchi in a restaurant I thought the closest similar flavour was flaming hot monster munch. (It's not really like that, but nothing else is even similar and different kimchi brands vary a lot!)Research kimchi so you're not surprised by the smell or gas and look up how to store it so it lasts you ages. We're legally required to put expiry dates on things, but with a fermented live product this can't be accurate, so research how to know when kimchi is bad.Varying taste:If it doesn't stink, it's probably fresher and more spicy in flavour.It gets stinkier and more pickled in flavour the more it ferments. So if you like it more sour, just wait for it to ferment.Don't eat it if it smells like wine.Delivery:Fast delivery. It came in a ballooned up air tight bag. No leakage. I'd probably ensure you don't miss the parcel during the summer because it came with nothing to keep it cool through transportation. I don't know if thr company do this differently in hotter seasons though.I really don't know why this isn't listed! This product is not vegetarian, I saw a review that was saying it smelled fishy, that's because Kimchi has anchovy and shrimp sauce in it. I took this list from the packaging.Ingredients: Cabbage, Radish, Starch (Rice, Guagum), Red Pepper Powder, Salt, Kelp Base Sauce (Sorbitol, Kelp Extract, Fructose), Leek, Korean Leek, Fermented Anchovy Sauce (Anchovy, Salt), Onion, Ginger, Garlic and Fermented Shrimp Sauce (Shrimp, Salt, Lacto Bacillus).

I don't normally write reviews but thought I would here as the only other reviewer had given only one star, which seemed a bit unfair. I discovered kimchi in South Korea when I was there on business - they eat it a lot - and this is the genuine article i.e. the same kimchi as eaten in South Korea. All its ingredients are natural and it contains no monosodium glutamate. The price is competitive as well. Regarding the criticisms leveled in the other review, I think the bottle of water is there to act as a coolant i.e. to keep the package cool during transit - so its a nice thought really. Regarding the bags ballooning up that does happen, though none of the kimchi that I have ordered has arrived in that state. Kimchi is a 'live', fermenting product and so does produce gas - the bags have a gas absorber in them but obviously it only works up to a point. I don't think it is a sign of poor quality, quite the opposite. I have found that the best thing to do is decant the bag into a glass jar like an old 690g pickle-onion or gherkin jar on arrival. This not only avoids ballooning bags but also avoids having the fridge and indeed house smelling of kimchi - as you might know it is a very flavorsome product. It really has to be glass and not plastic, even a 'seal tight' tuperware box is not gas impermeable.

Missed the first delivery attempt of this packet of Kimchi, only to be told it was being returned to sender. Reordered straight away and it arrived next day, great.Unfortunately the packet was bloated like a balloon, and looked like it might explode, not so great.We wondered if it was the original order.It should not be like this, fermentation or not.Once delivered I found this item is not eligible for return, so we opened it.My wife loves her fresh, crisp and spicy Kimchi and unfortunately this was not like that, it had an awful smell, so we decided against eating it.Also, something like this should surely be sent with cool bag.Very sorry to have written this, but the packet of kimchi delivered was not good enough.

Not the cheapest but definitely authentic and very tasty

I’m so sorry but it is spoiled already. I have to throw it away it taste awful. It doesn’t taste the same with the usual jongga kimchi 😢 im so disappointed

I have bought this brand of kimchi at a supermarket before and it was fine. The portion, the taste and the quality was good. However, the one I was delivered was not so good. It tastes sour and tastes like it was about to go off. I know that kimchi is a fermented vegetable and it's meant to have a odd taste and smell but that's not what I am talking about. I think what caused the food to smell and taste off was the fact that it was delivered damaged and that damage happened at the point of packaging and because the package was damaged and not stored properly, the kimchi went off sooner than anticipated. There was a small hole in bag and the kimchi juice had spilled all over my other amazon deliveries. All that said, I don't have an issue with the brand of kimchi but I rated it so low because of the faulty packaging that probably happened at amazon. Lastly, I think the cost is too high for the size of the product. When I bought this in person, it was less than £10 but on here it's £15 for a less "fresh" produce.

This is genuine kimche - taste, texture, crunch. Bit sad you have to pay twice the cost of in a supermarket in New Malden, but that is how it goes. It has to be delivered and stay chilled. It was and did.

Possibly the least pleasant kimchi I've bought. Very sharp and acidic, meaning I could not eat more than a couple of mouthfuls. Also, the Best Before date was very short (especially for a fermented product). Ordered on 14 Jun 2025, Best Before date: 05 Jul 2024 - less than 3 weeks!