Photo of the stew in a pot. — A Kimchi Stew variation, with sliced scallions on the side, ready to serve with some rice. Photo by PattyCooks.

Diet
[x] Flexitarian + Omnivore
[x] Vegan: use vegetarian broth + shiitake mushrooms for meat
[x] Vegetarian: use vegetarian broth + shiitake mushrooms for meat
[x] Pescatarian: use dashi broth + shiitake mushrooms for meat
[x] Gluten free
[x] Weight Maint
[O] Keto Diet
[x] Mediterranean
[O] Lectin Avoidance: tofu
[O] Oxalate Avoidance: tofu?
[x] Purine Avoidance

Kimchi-Jjigae (Kimchi Stew Variation)

A spicy hot, yet sweet stew that tastes comforting to me on a cold and breezy day. Brings a sweat (if you want), red flush to the face, and a spreading warmth to the body. The heat is up to you.

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Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: Korean

Keyword: almonds, Kimchi Stew, kimchi-jjigae, Kimchichigae, Korean stew, Uses of kimchi

Servings:

Calories: 252kcal

Author: Patty

Equipment

Veggie workstation (cutting board, chefs knife, damp towell, discard bowl, measuring spoons + cups)
Soup pot with lid, wooden spatula + spoon

Ingredients

Rice

4 C Cooked white rice Short grained

Meat + Veggies

1 # Ground Pork Traditionally use pork belly, If veggie/vegan use sliced shiitake mushrooms, can use ground pork
1 # Kimchi Use older fermented kimchi, cut into bite size pieces
1 Bunch Chard Leaves + chopped up stems
1 Tofu Slice 1/2” squares
4 Scallions 3 for soup, 1 for topping
1 Yellow Onion Cut in half, then slice thinly and measure

Spices + Seasonings

1 t Kosher salt
2 t Organic Cane Sugar
3 t Gochugaru Korean red pepper flakes, brings color
1 T Gochujang (mild) Korean red pepper paste, brings heat, can add more but wait till it has cooked a bit

Liquids

¼ C Kimchi brine Can add more, but let it cook and taste to see if needed
1 T Toasted sesame oil
4 C Stock Can use chicken, beef, or Dashi broth

Instructions

Mise en place

Clean the chard + scallions well and make rice.
Roughly chop kimchi, cut tofu into little squares, slice scallions on the diagonal and reserve 1 for toping, cut onion in half and then thinly slice both halves.
Cut the stems from the Chard leaves, then chop into 1” sections. Roughly chop the Chard leaves into smaller sizes.
Measure out the spices and seasonings + the liquids.

Stew

Layer with the onions and then the pork meat. I mixed it around so the meat started to cook in the onion juice for about -5 minutes.
Then add the chopped kimchi and scallions. Follow by a layer of the seasonings + spices
Add the liquids: brine + broth and lid the pot. Bring to a boil, then turn dow the heat to a slow simmer for about 15 minutes.
Then add the tofu on top (make sure it gets some of the sauce on it so it turns reddish), and add the drizzle of sesame oil.
Continue to cook on a low simmer for 30 minutes more, and taste the broth. Make adjustments if needed.

Notes

This stew can be used as a dump meal, but first learn to make it correctly before you play around with it. This is my version on the traditional dish, where I took what I had on hand to make the stew.

My spouse does not like pork belly or shoulder for it is ”too fat”, just the thing I like about those cuts of meat. So I made this recipe with ground pork, totally not traditional but it is what I normally have around. It was a hit.
I also had some extra chard that needed to be cooked, so just added that to the pot (both the leaves and stem) to sort of melt in with the kimchi. That worked too.

By the way, this recipe is mild in terms of heat, if you want it hotter add more gochujang or cayenne.

Nutrition