Temple Kimchi: Why Korean Buddhist Kimchi Has No Garlic

Temple kimchi (사찰김치, sachal kimchi) is the kimchi made in Korean Buddhist monasteries. It leaves out garlic, onions and other pungent vegetables, and it uses no fish sauce or salted seafood. The result ferments more slowly and tastes cleaner and lighter than the kimchi most people know.

Why doesn’t temple kimchi have garlic?

Korean Buddhist temple cooking avoids the five pungent vegetables (오신채, osinchae): garlic, green onion, chives, wild garlic and asafoetida. In the monastic tradition they are believed to stir up the senses and distract from practice. Temple food is also vegetarian, so the fish sauce and salted shrimp that season everyday kimchi are left out as well.

What is temple kimchi seasoned with instead?

Instead of fish sauce or meat stock, temples simmer a vegetable broth (채수, chaesu) of shiitake mushroom, kelp and radish for a long time. The seasoning then uses radish, Korean pear, sea vegetables, mustard greens, sesame seeds, ginger and a glutinous rice porridge (찹쌀풀) that feeds the fermentation. Recipes vary from temple to temple, and many use whatever the monastery grows. Winter kimjang at a temple is a group effort, often shared with the local community.

How is temple kimchi different from regular kimchi?

• No alliums. No garlic, onion, spring onion or chives.
• No seafood. No fish sauce, salted shrimp or anchovy.
• A slower, quieter ferment. With fewer strong ingredients, the sourness develops more gently.
• A cleaner taste. The vegetables themselves come through more clearly.

Can I make temple kimchi at home?

Yes. Make your usual kimchi, leave out the garlic, onion, spring onion, chives and all seafood, and season with a shiitake-and-kelp broth, ginger, pear and a glutinous rice porridge instead. Expect it to ferment more slowly and taste lighter.

Temple kimchi in Korean skincare

Temple kimchi’s clean ferment has also found its way into skincare. ABELTY’s K-Probiotics Soothing Relief Cream is made with 13 probiotic strains cultured from Korean temple kimchi, a slow ferment made without garlic, onion or fish sauce. It is sold in Australia on jinjja.shop for A$30. What kimchi probiotics in skincare means.

More on Korean fermentation

• Korean fermented skincare: the guide
• Kimchi in skincare: what “temple kimchi probiotics” means
• Onggi: the Korean earthenware fermentation jar
• What “Bifida Ferment Filtrate” means on a label
• Fermented vs probiotic vs postbiotic skincare
• Jeju mugwort (ssuk) in Korean skincare
• How long is skincare fermented?
• A fermented skincare gift for Christmas, in Australia

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