Kimchi Jjigae (김치 찌개)

Ingredients

• 600 g Pork, cut into pieces (I used 뒷다리)*
• 2 Med-sized onions, diced (양 파)**
• 800g old kimchi (묵은 김치)
• 3 Leeks, diagonally into 1-2 inch strips (대파)
• 8 shiitake mushrooms (표고)**
• 500g Tofu, cubed (두부)**
• 2 L water (8 to 9 cups).

*As I mentioned earlier, there’s plenty of room to play with this recipe. Pork loin, tenderloin, pork belly, and lean pork are all perfectly fine choices. If you use a cut that doesn’t have much fat, I’d recommend a tbsp of vegetable oil to be used when frying the pork. I simply said kimchi-jjigae to the lady in the meats section. She gave me the pre-cut 뒷다리, which comes from hindquarters of the pig.

** These are optional ingredients. Use them or don’t use them, the end result will still be tasty!

Seasoning

• juice from the old kimchi
• 1 tsp black pepper (후추 가루)
• 1 Tbsp red pepper paste (고추장)
• 2 Tbsp red pepper powder (고추가루)
• 1 Tbsp soup soy sauce (국간장)
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil (참기름)
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce (생선을 간장)
• 1.5 Tbsp minced garlic (다진 마늘)
• 1 Tbsp minced ginger (다진 생강)

Before beginning, it’s worth noting that you can you can cook the pork first and then prep and just dump everything else into the pot and cook for about 45 minutes if you’re feeling lazy. It’ll still be tasty. However, the instructions below are how I cooked it.

Prep the pork, onions, leeks, and mushrooms, tofu, and onions, then set each aside in separate bowls. Squeeze the kimchi juice into a bowl, then cut the kimchi into bite-sized pieces and set it aside into another bowl. Mix the seasoning ingredients together in a bowl. Now we’re ready to start cooking!

Fry the pork and onions over medium heat until the pork is fully cooked (should only take a few minutes, it’ll turn from pink to white). Add the kimchi and cook for a few more minutes (five or six minutes should suffice). Add the stock base and water. Boil over high heat for about 15 minutes. Then add the leeks and mushrooms. Cover and boil over medium heat for 30 minutes. Add the tofu and cook for another few minutes (just long enough for the tofu to heat up and take on the jjigae’s flavour). There will be enough kimchi jjigae to generously serve 5~6 people with leftovers.