Kimchi Jjigae (김치 찌개)

Today's dish is the famous 'Kimchi Jjigae', or Kimchi stew. There are plenty of recipes out there for Kimchi Jjigae. The dish is highly adaptable and everyone (both foreigner and Korean alike) seems to have their own version. Prior to making it, I investigated a wide sample of Korean recipes and came up with my own. Although it's my own recipe, I've stayed true to the Korean style of cooking to maintain authenticity.

Kimchi Jjigae (김치 찌개)

Ingredients	Ingredients for jjigae stock base
600 g Pork ( I used 뒷다리)*	juice from the old kimchi
2 Med-sized onions (양 파)**	1 tsp black pepper (후추 가루)
3 Leeks (대파)	1 tbsp red pepper paste (고추장)
800g old Kimchi (묵은 김치)	2 tbsp red pepper powder (고추가루)
8 shiitake Mushroms (표고)**	1 tbsp soup soy sauce (국간장)
500g Tofu (두부)**	1 tbsp sesame oil (참기름)
2 L water (8 to 9 cups).	1 tbsp fish sauce (생선을 간장)
	1.5 tbsp minced garlic (다진 마늘)
	1 tbsp minced ginger (다진 생강)

*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 hind quarters of the pig.


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

How to...

1. Slice the leeks diagonally into 1-2 inch strips. Set aside.
2. Slice the mushrooms. Set aside.
3. Onions are usually halved and sliced. In my case, I diced one of the onions and did the other one traditionally. Anyways cut them and Set them aside.
4. Cut the tofu into small cubes and set aside.
5. Save the kimchi juice in a bowl (you can squeeze the kimchi a bit first to get more juice). Cut the kimchi into bite-sized pieces, and... can you guess? Set the kimchi aside.
6. Mix the stock base ingredients, and yes... set aside.
7. Cut the pork into cubes or small strips. 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).
8. Add the kimchi and cook for a few more minutes (five or six minutes should suffice).
9. 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.
10. Add the tofu and cook for another few minutes (just long enough for the tofu to heat up and take on the jjigae's flavor).

Serves: A small Army! Actually this will be enough to generously serve 5~6 people with leftovers.

Note: If you're feeling lazy, you can cook the pork first and then just dump in everything else and cook for about 45 minutes. It'll still be tasty.