If I had to choose one dish I couldn’t live without, it would be Kimchi Jjigae. It is my soul food and it is so comforting for any weather. However, it is always best on a super cold day. Kimchi Jjigae is a Korean stew made with fermented kimchi. The proteins can vary, but I’ve made it with ground pork, pork belly, and canned tuna. This dish is so easy to make and the key is to have some extra funky kimchi. Follow my foolproof Kimchi Jjigae recipe and you’ll have a delicious comforting bowl of soup in no time.
Kimchi Jjigae is one of the dishes that not matter how hard I try, I can never make it as good as they do in restaurants. I use Kimchi Jjigae as the bar for judging Korean restaurants and at this point I’ve tried the Kimchi Jjigae in most Korean restaurants in Vancouver.
This recipe doesn’t require a lot of ingredients – kimchi, onions, green onion, garlic, enoki mushroom, sesame oil, tofu, water and fish sauce. Yes, fish sauce. This is my secret ingredient and it really makes it taste almost exactly like a restaurant dish. Don’t skip on it!
In a pot heat up some sesame oil and pan fry your kimchi. Cook for five minutes until it is soft and then add your protein of choice. Cook for a few minutes before adding your onions, green onion, garlic, and enoki mushroom. Cover with water and add gochujang and gochugaru and bring to a boil. Once it come sot a boil, give it a stir and add fish sauce. Bring the heat to medium and boil for 10 minutes. Add your tofu on top and cook for a few minutes. Serve with a bowl of hot rice.
Kimchi Jjigae
Ingredients
- 1 cup fermented kimchi
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 1 small onion
- 3 green onion stalks, diced
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/2 package of medium tofu
- 1 package enoki mushrooms
- 1 tbsp gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)
- 1/2 tbsp gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)
Instructions
- In a pot heat up your sesame oil and sauté kimchi for a few minutes until soft.
- Add pork to the pot and cook for a few minutes.
- Add your onions, green onions, garlic and mushrooms. Cover the ingredients with water until the ingredients are just covered. Add your gochujang and gochugaru.
- Bring the ingredients to a boil. Give the soup a stir and add fish sauce.
- Bring the heat down to medium and cook for another 10 minutes. Add your tofu and cook for a few more minutes.
- Serve with a hot bowl of rice.