Monday, June 23, 2008

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).

27 comments:

  1. omg, my mouth is watering and i already had dinner too! your jjigae looks good enough (or better) to serve at a korean restaurant! your husband is so lucky to have such a good cook as yourself!

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  2. Wow~ Im so glad you have a cooking site!!! Im sure Im gonna be your #1 fan keke =)

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  3. this kimchi jigae looks very close to mine~ but i like ur way of starting with the sesame oil to cook the beef! and i add shitake mushrooms which is good too =)

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  4. i'm making this right now...hehe! it already smells so good! :)

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  5. In recent years, I've grown to enjoy Korean food, especially their spicy stews. I've found there's nothing quite like a hot bowl of spicy soup to get you in a sweat (I mean perspiration) on a frigid day. Thanks for sharing. I'll be sure to try this sometime.

    Instead of using a stone bowl, do you see any problems with me using a claypot?

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  6. ^^ @ bentoist - you can just use any old normal pot also, doesn't really matter. I like using the stone pots only because they retain the heat while we're eating it.

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  7. i just discovered ur website...love it!! i love korean food but don't know how and what ingredients to use....ur website make it so easy for those who doesn't read korean to learn. i love the pictures you posted as well. definitely your biggest fan so far. I really like soondooboo...what is the diff w/that adn kimchi jjigae?

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  8. I made this last night for dinner and it turned out wonderfully! I couldn't find pork belly so I just had to regular smoked bacon; I also used vegetable stock for some added flavor. This is definitely going to be one of my go-to recipes for the fall and winter!

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  9. soooo happy i came across your wonderful site! everything looks delicious and so nicely described and photographed! So excited to get started. Thank you so much for the step by step instructions and visuals. Hope you are feeling great!

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  10. I just discovered this website... this recipe looks sooo yummy! I have a batch of Kimchi fermenting and will certainly be using some of it for this recipe when it's done. =)

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  11. I've been wanting some Kimchi jjigae for a while and you made it looks so easy :)I love this blog this will be my go to for Korean recipes. Thanks so much!

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  12. I definitely need to try this recipe.

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  13. Making this recipie right now with my grandmother's kimchi- I'm away at university and I miss home korean cooking so much! Thank you for this website. :) It makes me feel more at home!

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  14. Thank you for sharing your awesome recipe! I just made Kimchi Jjigae and it was DELICIOUS!!!! :) I also used your "time saving tricks"....THANK YOU!

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  15. I'm gonna try this now^^ thanks for share

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  16. I hope you don't mind but I posted a link to this post on my blog here: http://tokyokitchentales.wordpress.com/ I really liked this post because I've only ever made kimchi jjigae according to Japanese recipes, so it was nice to find a more authentic recipe. Thanks!

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  17. Thanks for this recipe! I was craving kimchee jjigae and this recipe was perfect. I didn't have pork, so I used some beef (which is pretty common). I also didn't have any korean chili powder, so I substituted crushed red pepper flakes. Came out delicious! My mom would always put in a dried anchovy to any of her korean soups/stews, and I'll add that next time.

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  18. Thanks for this post. I've been looking for this recipe for so long.. Now i can prepare this delicious korean dish in my country..

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  19. looks really yummy! i'm so gonna try this at home... thanks!

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  20. Thank you for this recipe and I will cook this for my lunch.. soooo mouth watering! Korean dish is one of my favorites, definitely!

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  21. Thank you for sharing! I wish you were my mom, so you can make delicious food for me! ><

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  22. I tried this recipe and it is best kimchi jigae I ever had. Better than most of Korean restaurants I go to. Thanks for sharing this great recipe!

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  23. to start off, i love how you took the pictures when posting recipes. And the simplicity - but very detailed writing - makes everything look so easy! ^^ Well Done!

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  24. I really2 love your version of kimchi jigae, Super super tasty and delicious =D

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  25. Thank you so much for your blog! It's making a big difference in my married life, inspires me to feed my family with food made with love and skill. It moves me that despite your struggle with cancer, you are finding joy in cooking for your family and sharing your love for food. Please find the strength to continue as long as you can.

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  26. I really like your blog! I am trying to make a Korean meal for my family but need recipies...
    How do you make Kimchi?
    Oh and this was soft tofu right?

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  27. i really love to eat kim chi jjigae <3 my ex-bf cook me that .. so i want to learn how to cook it :)

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