Cheater's kimchi

I don't know about you but I go through food waves, where I just want to eat a particular dish or food all the time. In the past, it's been smoked salmon and fresh white bread sandwiches, or I've wanted Hainan chicken rice or sashimi/sushi every time I've eaten out. Lately, it's been kimchi and eggplant. I don't know what it is, but I want to eat both of it, a lot.

Kimchi is a great winter food. Sure it's cold, pickled vegies, but the heat from the spiciness really warms you up. Plus, since it's vegies, it's a lot healthier for you than Nigella's chocohotopots as a winter comfort food (though the occasional Nigella dessert wouldn't go astray).



If I were Korean, I'd probably make my own, but as it is, I buy it for $5 per 550g tub. Considering I can finish a tub in four days, this starts to become a treat food at this speed of eating.

Perhaps I am going about eating kimchi the wrong way. Instead of eating it straight, perhaps I should eat it the way I consume cordial or apple juice: diluted. I could extend the kimchi by steaming or stir-frying plain Chinese vegies such as Chinese cabbage or choy sum, and make my cheater's kimchi with a ratio of 50:50 real kimchi and plain vegies. Kimchi is pretty strong stuff anyway, so adding a few plain vegies will extend it a bit and help me get more bang for my kimchi buck.