Kimchi Jjigae - (김치 찌개)

My husband is quite pleased that I decided to start a food blog because it gives me more incentive to cook. =) The constant question of, "What should I make for dinner tonight?" is quite annoying for me. On the days that I don't want to think about dinner I end up resorting to kimchi jjigae. I'm sure everyone has their own version of kimchi jjigae but I thought I would share my version anyhow.



If I'm feeling particularly lazy, I'll just make it with kimchi, sesame oil, garlic, and water. It still tastes just as good, but today I had some vegetables and tofu (which expires today) to get rid of so I used them as well.



First I heat a dol sot (a pot made of stone) with about 1 tb of sesame oil and then I throw in 3/4 tb of minced garlic.



I cut sam gyup sal (pork bacon?) into small pieces and stir away until the pink is almost all gone.



Then I add some onions.



If your kimchi is really well fermented you don't really need to add gochujang (red pepper paste), but the kimchi I had isn't as fermented as it should be so I added about 3/4 tb of gochujang to make the soup thicker.



Mix around until everything is well coated and done.



Add some kimchi and I also add about 5-6 tb of kimchi gookmool (the juices from the kimchi). I often buy the Cosmos brand from the store.



Add just enough water to cover everything and then add the tofu and mushrooms.



I cook my kimchi jjigae for at least 45 minutes. The longer it cooks, the better it tastes. If you feel that you're running out of water, just add a little more and keep cooking! I finished it off with some green onions and some slices of gochu (Korean peppers).