Comfort Kimchi Stew aka Kimchi Jji-gae

kimchi jjigae korean kimchi stew.jpg

KIMCHI.

Soup for the soul.

This is classic Korean comfort food. Hot and spicy, it’s perfect on a cold winter day. Or to sweat out of your face on hot summer days. Or whenever you’re just really craving some good ol’ kimchi.

What you need:

  • Kimchi (the older, the better)

  • Tofu

  • Meat (we use pork here)

  • Onion

  • Garlic

  • Korean Chili Powder

  • Salt (to taste)

  • Water

What you do:

  • Chop onion

  • Chop garlic

  • Cut meat into sizes you like

  • Cut tofu into sizes you like

  • Dump everything into pot

  • Add chili flakes/powder (Be confident in your eyeballing!)

  • Add kimchi and its juices

  • Add water (Eyeball about half the ingredient height in the pot)

  • BOIL

  • Give it a stir

  • Cooking Time: approximately 20 mins. Ensure meat is fully cooked- use a meat thermometer if necessary.

BONUS TIP: If the kimchi you added was too fresh and not ripened enough, add some VINEGAR. Just a spoonful or so should do it for the amount made in the video. Taste test.

Take it off the heat and try it. It may need some salt. Just depends on how you like it.

It’s just so disappointingly simple, innit?

If you like it less soup-y, just simmer longer to evaporate more liquid.

You can make it completely vegetarian and omit all meats. Stuff to try? Tofu, bean sprouts, radish, leeks. But don’t forget kimchi itself is a vegetable, so if you don’t have anything in the fridge, you can have it starring the famous fermented cabbage.

Other substitutions? You can also use fish.

But you know what is the most obscenely yummy way? Use bacon. Korean supermarkets have sam-gyup-sal, a thickly cut of bacon. But you can just use any ol’ bacon on sale. Don’t go overboard, because you so easily can go through an entire pack in one meal. This is not a confession. #baconisdelicious.

Try it next time you have a cold. Those chili peppers will clear your sinuses right out!

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