Kimchi jjigae

Korean kimchi stew: the perfect use for aged kimchi

Origin: Korea

From the journey of Cabbage.

Kimchi jjigae (김치찌개) is arguably the most-eaten hot dish in Korea, a bubbling, brick-red stew of old kimchi and pork (or tuna) that anchors the Korean lunch table with extraordinary reliability and flavour. The genius of kimchi jjigae is that it rescues and elevates kimchi that has become too sour and fermented to eat fresh, the very kimchi that is most challenging to serve raw is the best possible ingredient for this stew, because the long fermentation has produced an intensity of lactic acid, garlic, ginger, and seafood umami that blooms magnificently when simmered with fatty pork. The dish is found on the menu of virtually every Korean restaurant in the world, ordered daily by millions of Koreans, and is the dish most frequently cited by Koreans abroad as the one they miss most from home. It is served in a hot stone pot (dolsot), still furiously boiling at the table, with a raw egg sometimes cracked in to cook in the residual heat. The combination of bright red broth, fatty pork, cubes of silken tofu, and the sharp, fermented depth of well-aged kimchi is one of the great flavour achievements of Korean cuisine.

Ingredients

Kimchi

  • 300 g well-fermented baechu kimchi (2–4 weeks old minimum, or older), cut into 3cm pieces; keep the brine

Protein

  • 200 g pork belly or shoulder, cut into 2cm cubes (or 1 tin of tuna in oil, drained)

Tofu

  • 200 g firm or silken tofu, cubed

Spice

  • 2 tbsp gochugaru (Korean red chilli flakes)
  • 1 tbsp gochujang (Korean fermented chilli paste)

Fat

  • 1 tsp sesame oil

Aromatics

  • 3 garlic cloves, minced

Liquid

  • 400 ml water or very light stock

Seasoning

  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 0.5 tsp sugar

Finish

  • 2 spring onions, sliced diagonally, to finish

Optional

  • 2 eggs (optional, cracked in at the very end)

Method

  1. In a small pot or Korean dolsot (stone pot), heat the sesame oil over medium-high heat. Add the pork belly and cook for 3–4 minutes until lightly browned and some fat has rendered. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds.
  2. Add the kimchi and its brine. Stir and cook for 2 minutes, letting the kimchi sizzle and caramelise slightly against the pork fat.
  3. Add the gochugaru and gochujang. Stir well so the paste coats the pork and kimchi.
  4. Pour in the water or stock. Add the soy sauce and sugar. Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce to a vigorous simmer. Cook, uncovered, for 15–20 minutes until the pork is tender and the broth is brick-red and deeply flavoured.
  5. Add the tofu cubes. Simmer for a further 3–4 minutes until the tofu is heated through. If cracking eggs in, reduce heat to low, crack the egg directly onto the surface of the stew and cover for 2 minutes until the white is set but the yolk is still runny.
  6. Scatter spring onions over the top. Serve immediately in the pot, placed on a trivet on the table, with steamed white rice and an assortment of banchan (side dishes) alongside.

Notes

The older the kimchi, the better the jjigae: this is the one preparation where the most aggressively sour, over-fermented kimchi produces the finest result. Fresh kimchi will produce a thinner, less complex broth. Tuna (tuna jjigae) is the most common substitute for pork and produces a lighter, sharper stew with less richness but strong umami from the canned tuna oil. For a vegetarian/vegan version, use kombu dashi as the liquid and soy sauce in place of any animal products.

The Gastrographer

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