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.
Course: Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: Korean
Keyword: almonds, Kimchi Stew, kimchi-jjigae, Kimchichigae, Korean stew, Uses of kimchi
1#Ground PorkTraditionally use pork belly, If veggie/vegan use sliced shiitake mushrooms, can use ground pork
1#KimchiUse older fermented kimchi, cut into bite size pieces
1BunchChardLeaves + chopped up stems
1TofuSlice 1/2” squares
4Scallions3 for soup, 1 for topping
1Yellow OnionCut in half, then slice thinly and measure
Spices + Seasonings
1tKosher salt
2tOrganic Cane Sugar
3tGochugaruKorean red pepper flakes, brings color
1TGochujang (mild)Korean red pepper paste, brings heat, can add more but wait till it has cooked a bit
Liquids
¼CKimchi brineCan add more, but let it cook and taste to see if needed
1TToasted sesame oil
4CStockCan 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.