Kimchi Stew

Kimchi stew is one of the most popular stews Koreans eat with rice. You make this stew when you have very fermented napa kimchi.

Simple Kimchi Stew (Kimchi Jjigae)

Really tasty!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Asian
Keyword: Mild Spicy, Simple, Stew
Servings: 4
Cost: £3

Ingredients

Meat

  • 180 g skinless pork belly 0.4 pounds, cut into bite size pieces
  • 1 Tbsp rice wine mirin
  • 3 sprinkles ground black pepper

Kimchi & Others

  • 3/4 cup aged Kimchi at least 2 to 3 weeks old, cut into bite size pieces if not already
  • 1/4 small brown onion 30 g / 1 ounce, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 stalk small green onion 5 g / 0.2 ounce, thinly sliced
  • 2 small shiitake mushrooms 50 g / 1.4 ounces, stems removed, thinly sliced
  • 150 g firm tofu 5.3 ounces, sliced into 1cm thickness rectangles, or other shapes you may prefer
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 pkt of minute rice

Jjigae base (mix these in a bowl)

  • 1 Tbsp Korean chili flakes gochugaru
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp Korean chili paste gochujang
  • 1/4 tsp minced garlic
  • 3 sprinkles ground black pepper

Instructions

  • Marinate the pork belly with the rice wine and the ground black pepper for about 15 mins. The fry with the sliced onion.
  • Cook the Kimchi in a skillet until soft. (You could do this in the pot where you will make this jjigae. Do this only if the pot is big enough to manoeuvre around.)
  • Put the marinated meat into the bottom of the pot. Add all the other ingredients (kimchi, onion, mushrooms, tofu, water and the base sauce) except for green onion into the pot.
  • Boil the pot on medium high heat initially then reduce the heat to medium once it starts boiling. Cook further until the meat is cooked. (It takes 10 to 15 mins from the beginning of step 4.) Make sure the sauce is well blended into the rest of the ingredients. (This can be done by gently mixing the sauce around the soup with a small teaspoon and splashing the soup over other ingredients every now then). When the meat is cooked, add the green onion and turn the heat off.
  • Serve with rice (and other side dishes).

Notes

Note:   1 Tbsp = 15 ml, 1 Cup = 250 ml