Kimchi Stew - 김치찌개 (Kimchi Jjigae)
This is one of the foods I miss most from Korea. It's full of Korean pickled cabbage and topped with crispy pork belly. Spicy and satisfying, it's a perfect stew for long, cold winter nights.
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound pork belly sliced *
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup daikon radish sliced
- 1/2 medium onion sliced
- 2 green onions chopped
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup kimchi juice
- 1 Tablespoon Korean pepper flakes **
- 1 Tablespoon gochujang paste (optional) **
- 1 Tablespoon Doenjang paste **
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar (optional) **
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound kimchi chopped, 2-3 cups
- 2 cups water or broth
- 1 pack extra firm silken tofu thickly sliced
- 1 green onion sliced finely, for serving
- 2 cups cooked rice (optional) preferably short-grain, for serving
Instructions
- (Optional step for crispy pork) Place a pot on medium heat. Add pork and cook until crispy. Stir or flip every couple minutes. It should take 5-10 minutes to get the pork crispy. Remove the pieces of pork and set them on a plate. Leave the fat in the pot.
- Remove the pot from the heat. Add the kimchi and quickly put on a lid. Once the spitting dies down, add everything else except the tofu, sliced green onion, and the rice. Stir to mix.
- Return the pot to medium heat. Bring the stew to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook at a simmer for 10 minutes.
- Lay sliced tofu across the top. Do not stir it in. Cook for 10 more minutes.
- Serve the stew in a bowl. Top with the pork and the sliced green onions. Serve with a side of rice if desired.
Notes
* If you want to make this vegetarian, just skip the pork. It still tastes great and saves some time. You can use an extra pack of tofu, or top it with an egg for extra protein.
** Some of these ingredients might be difficult to find. If you can't find them, use replacements. Use a different chile powder or skip the gochujang. Use miso paste in place of doenjang paste.