Make a quick vegan kimchi without fish sauce

Follow the same salting and paste process but replace fish sauce with 2 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp miso paste. The miso adds the umami depth that fish sauce normally provides. Some traditional recipes use salted shrimp paste — miso is the best plant-based substitute.

Why It Works

Fermentation relies on the lactobacillus bacteria naturally present on the cabbage, not on the fish sauce. Fish sauce adds flavor and umami but is not required for the fermentation process itself. Soy sauce and miso deliver comparable depth.

Tips

• Use white or yellow miso for a milder flavor, red miso for more intensity
• Seaweed (dried kelp) simmered in the paste adds another layer of umami
• Vegan kimchi ferments at the same rate as traditional versions
• Label the jar clearly if you make both versions