Korean★ quick & simple
Kimchi Jjigae 김치찌개
This is a stew for old kimchi, the kind that has gone sour at the back of the fridge and is now at its most useful. Young kimchi makes a thin, polite jjigae. You want the sour stuff.
- Serves
- 2 generously
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 25 min
Ingredients
- 300g sour kimchi, roughly chopped, plus 4 tbsp of its juice
- 200g pork belly, sliced into bite-sized pieces
- 1 tbsp gochugaru
- 1 tsp gochujang
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp sugar
- 400ml water or rice-rinsing water
- 1 block soft tofu, sliced thick
- 2 spring onions, cut on an angle
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
Method
- Fry the pork belly in a heavy pot over medium-high heat until the fat renders and the edges brown, about 5 minutes. Do not drain the fat.
- Add the kimchi and fry hard for another 5 minutes. This step is the whole dish. The kimchi should darken and smell sweet rather than sharp.
- Stir in the gochugaru, gochujang, garlic and sugar and cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in the kimchi juice and water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes with the lid off.
- Slide in the tofu and simmer for 5 minutes more without stirring, so it stays whole.
- Off the heat, add the spring onions and sesame oil. Serve in the pot, with rice.
Rice-rinsing water, the cloudy water from washing rice, gives the stew a softer body. If you did not save any, plain water is fine.
The stew is better on the second day. Make more than you need.