Photo Credit: Saveur

If you haven’t read our blog post on the benefits of fermented foods (including kimchi) and our favorite recipe for kimchi fried rice, make sure you do! We continue our Kimchi Recipes series by highlighting our favorite kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew) recipe, another traditional Korean dish that’s a global favorite! 

Follow along for a delicious meal, for two servings: 

 

Ingredients

▢  6 ounces of tofu
▢  2 scallions
▢  2 cups of fully fermented kimchi (cut into bite-sized pieces)
▢  1/2 cup of kimchi juice
▢  1 tablespoon of cooking oil
▢  1 teaspoon of minced garlic
▢  1 to 3 teaspoons of gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper flakes) (optional; adjust to taste if using)
▢  4 ounces of fresh pork belly or other pork meat (the more fat on the protein, the better)
▢  Salt and pepper to taste (a dash of soup soy sauce or regular soy sauce can be substituted as well)

 

Instructions:

1. Cut your fully fermented kimchi into bite sized pieces.
2. Proceed to cut your pork belly (or protein of choice) into bite size pieces as well. Then slice the tofu into ½-inch sized bits, and chop the scallions.
3. Once the ingredients are prepared, heat your favorite small-medium sized pot with 1 tablespoon of oil. After pouring, add your kimchi, pork, garlic, and red pepper flakes in, then cook the pot over medium high heat for five to seven minutes. Test to see if your kimchi has softened (if it turns more translucent, that’s a good sign!)
4. Once you see the soup boiling, add the kimchi juice in addition to the 2 to 2.5 cups of water. After you bring it to a boil, continue to cook for about 20 minutes over medium heat.
5. Drop your scallions, tofu, salt, and pepper — all to taste. Watch the tofu, because you’re at the end if it is cooked through (roughly over five minutes).

 

Remember, the more fermented the kimchi the tastier (and healthier!). Our kimchi refrigerators are perfect for regulating the fermentation process, shop from our selection of kimchi refrigerators.