I took my daughter to Costco the other day to have a little quality time with her. Shopping at Costco is already fun but it gets even better when you get to experience it along with someone you love.
In addition to spending time together, one reason that I enjoy taking her to Costco is she gravitates to different products than me so I get to experience some new finds.
A case in point is that one of the items she was excited about was the Sliced Napa Cabbage Kimchi from Jongga. The kimchi is kept in the refrigerated section at Costco and I must have walked past this product a hundred times before and never even noticed!
I have heard and read about kimchi for a long time but have never actually tried it. In hindsight I am amazed that I haven’t tried kimchi before as I love cabbage, spicy foods and fermented foods.
Nutrition and Ingredients
Let’s take a closer look at what you get with this jar of fermented cabbage!
Nutrition Facts
You get 42.3 ounces of product per jar. One ounce is considered a single serving and there are about 42 servings per jar.
The nutritional facts for a single serving are:
- Calories: 10
- Fat: 0g (0% DV)
- Cholesterol: 0mg (0% DV)
- Sodium: 200mg (9% DV)
- Carbohydrates: 2g (1% DV)
- Protein: 1g
Ingredient List
The kimchi has the following ingredients:
- Napa Cabbage
- Radish
- Rice paste
- Salt
- Red pepper powder
- Garlic
- Kelp base sauce
- Chives
- Korean leeks
- Fermented anchovy sauce
- Onion
- Fermented shrimp sauce
- Lactic acid bacteria
- Ginger
The product is labeled as Gluten Free, Keto Friendly and is a Product of Korea.
If you have food allergies then please note that the kimchi contains shrimp and fish. If you need a product without shrimp or fish then check out the kimchi from Trader Joe’s.
Taste Test
My daughter said that kimchi tastes great with chicken so I sliced some breast meat off a Costco rotisserie chicken and gave it a try.
The cabbage was slightly sour and still had a little crunch. The overall flavor was complex and really pleasing but tough to describe. The textural contrast between the hot, soft chicken and the cold and slightly crunchy kimchi was really enjoyable.
I thought the kimchi tasted great but was surprised that it was extremely mild with little heat. I am guessing this is a recipe that was developed for the mass American audience where spicy is not always appreciated.
You could easily adjust the heat upwards by adding your own pepper flakes or a few squirts of siracha chili sauce.
I could easily imagine serving the kimchi as a side dish with some spring rolls, dumplings or won tons.
It would also be great when added to:
- Yakisoba noodles
- Black bean burgers
- Beef stews
- Scrambled eggs
- Vegetable stir fries
- Egg fried rice
- Cauliflower rice
- Tacos
Costco Value
I bought the 42.3 ounce jar of kimchi at Costco for $6.99 which works out to a cost of $0.165 per ounce.
You can buy a 10.5 ounce jar of Jongga kimchi at Walmart for $3.98 which works out to a cost of $0.379 per ounce.
This means that you will save $0.21 per ounce (56%) when you buy the larger jar at Costco.
This Kimchi is soooo good! I have eaten an entire jar in about 5 days.
I actually find it to be plenty spicy. If Tabascio is just the right amount of heat for you, you will find this kimchi to be plenty hot, but it is ever so full of flavor, with just the right amount of funk.
I usually put a couple ladles of the juice in the bowl to sip after the cabbage is eaten.
I keep it in the fridge, double bagged in ziplock. If you put the jar directly in the fridge you will get complaints about the smell from non kimchi loving family members.
This last trip to Costco was the first time that I had seen this brand in the store here in Washington State.