Tag: kimchijjigae

Place your mouse over ingredients with an asterisk (*) for my added notes.

Let’s start our cooking adventure with a clean, empty sink, and cleared countertop. It’s a good idea to chop veggies before meats so that the cutting board won’t have to be washed as often.

Slice onions thinly, mince the garlic cloves, chop the green onions and Korean green chilies, and set these aside.

Clean the anchovies by removing the heads and guts and place them in a spice bag to make it easier to remove them from the soup later, or leave them as-is and set aside with the dried kelp.

Next, slice the pork belly into bite size pieces. These can be purchased pre-sliced from most Asian grocers. Be careful, some come with the skin attached and if you aren’t into that (like me), then double-check the sticker. Pork butt (which is actually the pig’s shoulders, not it’s booty), pork shoulder or sometimes called pork shoulder butt (lol) can be used instead, but the more fat the better. After all, fat is flavor, and fat is fuel.

Unless you want kimchi brine everywhere, slice the kimchi last. We are going to be cooking the kimchi soon after the pork so don’t be too concerned about cross contamination. Gently squeeze out the liquid (so it’s not running all over your counter) and slice the kimchi into bite size pieces against the grain of the cabbage. If your kimchi is pre-sliced, skip this step.

Now heat up the heavy bottom pot or earthenware bowl on medium-high. Once it’s hot, add the pork belly and season with salt. I like to take care here and place them nicely so they have a little room—this will prevent steam from being trapped and for more browning to take place, an extra layer of flavor. Also, please leave your pork belly alone for a good minute or two and refrain from stirring wildly and instead use tongs or chopsticks. When the meat releases easily from the pot, admire the beauty that you created which is perfectly browned pork belly, and flip it over to brown the other side. Remember to control your heat to avoid burning and brown as many sides as you have the patience for. You do not have to cook the pork belly all the way through because we will be boiling everything later.

By now you should have a pool of shiny pork fat and bits of sucs (fancy French term to describe the brown bits at the bottom of the pot or pan after sautéing, searing or pan-frying). Lucky you—this is really good stuff.

Turn the heat to medium-low and carefully add the kimchi (you don’t want the hot pork fat to splash you!), 1 tbsp of Lankanto*, sesame oil and gochugaru if you like it extra spicy. Stir fry the kimchi until they lose their integrity just slightly. Bonus points if you get some brown bits on the kimchi! Add the onion and garlic and toss for just a bit. It should smell like a party by now—tangy, savory, and slightly nutty from the sesame oil.

Next we are going to deglaze all of the sucs that has developed on your pot with Kimchi brine and water. Add the dried anchovies and kelp. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer. After 15 minutes remove the dried kelp to avoid bitterness. Let simmer for an additional 30 minutes or so to let all of the gorgeous flavors meld together.

Before serving, remove the anchovies—if you don’t have a spice bag, then use a skimmer or chopsticks to fish them out. If you forget one or two, that’s okay. They’re totally edible and are great sources of protein and calcium. TASTE—ALWAYS TASTE and add the remainder of the Lankanto Sweetener, if too acidic, and salt as needed. Add a sprinkle of green onion and Korean green chili on top and serve. Adding the chilies at the end will give a cooling sensation as you sip the stew.

Good luck and please enjoy one of my very favorite childhood dishes.

If you’re short on time:
Throw everything in the pot except the Korean green chili and green onion. Boil for 15 minutes. Remove the kelp and boil for 20 additional minutes.  Garnish with Korean green chili and green onions. It will be delicious, and you will love it.

Traditionally kimchi jjigae includes squares of medium firm tofu and eaten with a bowl of rice.