Kimchi Jjigae (김치찌개 (kimchi-jjigae))
Overview
Kimchi jjigae is a bubbling, spicy kimchi stew-soup that is one of the most loved everyday dishes in Korea. Well-fermented, sour cabbage kimchi is fried with fatty pork belly until it softens and darkens, then simmered in water or anchovy stock with gochugaru chilli flakes, a little gochujang, onion and garlic. Thick slices of soft tofu and spring onion go in near the end. The broth is deep red, sour, savoury and fiery, and it is brought to the table still boiling in an earthenware or metal pot. It is always eaten with a bowl of plain steamed rice, and many cooks add tuna or Spam in place of the pork.
History
Kimchi jjigae grew out of the Korean habit of using up old kimchi that has become too sour to eat raw. Jjigae means a thick soup or stew, cooked in a small pot and shared at the table. The dish became a staple of home cooking and cheap restaurants in the twentieth century, and today it is one of the first dishes many Koreans learn to cook when they leave home.
Main ingredients
Aged kimchi, pork belly, tofu, gochugaru, onion, spring onion. The soup is built on kimchi and anchovy stock and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; not usually gluten-free.
Explore: Pork soups · More soups from South Korea
Recipe
Method
- 1
Fry the pork belly in a pot until it releases its fat.
- 25 min
Add the kimchi and fry for 5 minutes until soft.
- 320 min
Add the kimchi juice, gochugaru, gochujang, garlic, onion and stock and simmer for 20 minutes.
- 45 min
Add the tofu and spring onions, simmer for 5 minutes and serve bubbling with rice.
- ✓
Serve. About 40 min from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
