It’s been seven years since I started this blog, and nearly five since I posted my Kimchi Jjigae (김치찌개). If I kept track of such things, I’ve probably cooked this dish more times than any other. It’s not just about using leftovers, or having a good taste to effort ratio, this stew delivers the perfect amalgamation of umami, heat and substance which both literally and figuratively warms the soul.
When I’m not developing recipes for work, I tend to wing it in the kitchen, which is why my favorite dishes evolve over time. I’ve made a number of refinements to the recipe since i posted it, which is why I’ve decided to share an update with you. Below is the original post along with my revised recipe:
Given my recent sojourn in Korea I thought it only appropriate to do a post I’ve been meaning to do for a very long time: Kimchi Jjigae. Depending on who you ask, you may see it transliterated as Kimchi Chigae, Kimchi Soup or Kimchi Stew, but it all refers to the same bubbling, red hot cauldron of soul satisfying soup made with kimchi, pork and tofu.
I wasn’t able to find a ton of information on its origins, but it’s not a stretch to imagine this dish was conceived back in humbler times as a way to use old over-fermented kimchi along with a few scarce scraps of meat. When paired with a bowl of hot rice, it will jump start your internal furnace and chase away even the most frigid of winter chills.
Like its German cousin sauerkraut, the various strains of Lactobacillus in kimchi convert the sugars in the cabbage into acids over time. At some point, most people find that kimchi gets too tart, making it unpleasant to eat straight out of the jar, but this is the perfect time to turn it into Kimchi Jjigae. The tartness mellows out as it stews with the pork belly and it helps to balance the rich fat from the belly.
For those that have never had it before, Kimchi Jjigae may look like it packs a face-melting punch, but it’s not nearly as spicy as it looks. Unlike some Latin American chili peppers, Korean chilies are less potent, contributing sweetness in addition to heat. Of course if you like things scorching hot like me, you can crank the volume by adding more gochugaru.
While every household has their own secrets for making their kimchi jjigae, here are mine:
- Marinate the meat – It may seem silly to marinate something that’s going to be cooking in a liquid but the marinade caramelizes as you fry the meat, which gives the soup more depth.
- Use the kimchi juice – This is the red liquid that is released from the cabbage as it’s being pickled. Every package will have some at the bottom and you can squeeze the kimchi with your hands to get more.
- Add a bit of doengjang – Doengjang is a fermented soybean paste similar to miso that packs a wallop of umami and adds a wonderfully earthy taste to the jjigae.
- Add butter at the end – This may sound really odd, but it thickens the soup and gives it a wonderful richness without being greasy. The key is to add it just before serving so it emulsifies in the soup (if you add it too early the milk solids and fat will separate and make the soup oily)
Units
Ingredients
Marinate
- 150 grams skinless pork belly (sliced thinly)
- 15 grams garlic (3 large cloves, grated)
- 7 grams fresh ginger (grated)
- 1 tablespoon gukganjang (Korean soup soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon Soju
Stir Fry
- 110 grams onion (1/2 small sliced thin)
- 200 grams kimchi (~1 cup tightly packed)
Soup
- ½ kimchi juice (squeezed from kimchi)
- 1 ½ cups water
- 2 teaspoons gochujang (Korean chili paste)
- 2 teaspoons doenjang (Korean bean paste)
- 2 tablespoons gochugaru (Korean chili flakes to taste)
- 225 grams soft tofu (cut into large cubes)
Finish
- 2 scallions (thinly sliced)
- 1 tablespoon cultured unsalted butter
Instructions
- Marinate the pork belly with the garlic, ginger, gukganjang and soju while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Heat a heavy bottomed pot until hot and then add the pork belly. Allow some of the fat to render out of the pork belly, then add the onions and kimchi. Sauté until the mixture is very fragrant.
- Add the kimchi juice, water, gochujang, and doengjang, stirring everything together to combine.
- Bring to a boil and taste for spiciness, adjust with gochugaru to increase the heat to where you want it.
- Add the tofu, turn down the heat to a simmer and let it cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the pork and kimchi are tender.
- When you're ready to serve the kimchi jjigae, add the green onions and butter and give it a quick stir to incorporate. Put a trivet on the table and serve it straight out of the pot along with a bowl of rice.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Faye, did you use pork belly? If so, the stiffness was probably a result of not cooking it long enough. Meat with a lot of fat and connective tissue like pork belly need time for the connective tissues to breakdown, otherwise they will be tough. Cutting it thicker will make it take longer, which is why I recommend slicing it thinly.
woolncathairs says
Could I use slow-cooked BBQ pork in this dish? I do it myself and it melts in your mouth.
Marc Matsumoto says
I woolncathairs, as long as the pork isn’t too seasoned, it should work, but it may make your pork kind of dry.
Jon says
Fantastic recipe, I used wild boar meat instead of pork belly and it gives the stew a much more meaty, earthy taste. It needed to cook for about 45 mins to get really tender. I had to cut some corners with the bean paste and used a miso-based broth as replacement but it was great anyway. My last batch of kimchi was also insanely hot so I did not add any gochujang and just a little chili flakes, the heat was plenty enough anyway. Mouth on fire!
Emma says
Just wondering if this dish is spicy and if so what i can do to make it less spicy, i cant really handle things that are too hot/spicy but ive always wanted to try this
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Emma, if you don’t like things spicy then this dish is probably not for you. While the spiciness will depend on the amount of chili pepper you add as well as the spiciness of your kimchi it’s obviously going to be a little spicy due to the nature of the soup.
fastu says
Wonderful recipe and pork belly is probably the only protein that I haven’t tried in
Kimchi Jjigae. This was the first adult food that I tried as a toddler and I still drool every single time I even see a picture of it……………(sigh) :)))
Julie Clarkson says
Thanks for the recipe! I made it last night and it really reminded us of the kimchi jjigae that we ate on our trip to Korea – spicy and satisfying. I’ll definitely make it again 🙂
Garry Perkins says
I also put doenjiang in my Kimchi chigae, but I often rotate meats to what I have lying around. I have used a box of chicken stock when I had no meat (okay), Canadian bacon (awesome), and ground pork (okay). Although I would say that I also like to add more onion (a whole one vs your half), and I add one or two small finely chopped shallots. I add these to almost everything and it always works. Furthermore, if you can get your hands on fancy mushrooms (morels, chanterelles), they are awesome in this (or anything else). I will also do oyster mushrooms or shiitake caps if I have them on hand, and I always do. But if you are the type to hunt for morels in the local forest preserve, this is a great place to throw a few in.
Jeff Howe says
This sounds delicious – going to make this tonight.
Rita Chen says
WOW
Nia says
I’m eating this as I write. Superb recipe! Doenjang definitely made a world of difference too
Debra says
Made it several times already added more chilli flakes
Omer M-Jung says
My husband said it was *almost* as good as his grandmother’s- now that is high praise!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Omer, wow that is high praise, thanks for sharing!