Kimchi Jjigae Korean Kimchi Stew 🍲🔥

Description

Classic Korean kimchi jjigae with pork, tofu, and a clean gochugaru kick in a deep, tangy broth, rich, bold, and instantly comforting like a proper Seoul stew house. 🥬

Hook ✨

If you want the most searched Korean stew that tastes powerful with simple technique, kimchi jjigae is pure fermented comfort, fast, vivid, and restaurant worthy. 🔥

Ingredients

• Stew base
• 🥬 300 g well fermented kimchi, chopped (2 cups / 10.6 oz)
• 🥣 60 ml kimchi juice (¼ cup / 2 fl oz)
• 🐖 200 g pork belly or pork shoulder, thin slices (7 oz)
• 🧅 120 g onion, sliced (1 cup / 4.2 oz)
• 🧄 12 g garlic, minced (4 cloves / 0.4 oz)
• 🫚 6 g ginger, minced, optional (2 tsp / 0.2 oz)
• 🌶️ 8 g gochugaru (1 tbsp / 0.28 oz)
• 🥣 15 ml soy sauce (1 tbsp / 0.5 fl oz)
• 🍚 10 ml mirin or rice wine, optional (2 tsp / 0.34 fl oz)
• 💧 900 ml water or light stock (3¾ cups / 30 fl oz)
• Tofu and finish
• 🧊 350 g firm tofu, thick slices (12 oz)
• 🧅 60 g scallions, sliced (1 cup / 2.1 oz)
• 🟤 10 ml toasted sesame oil, optional (2 tsp / 0.34 fl oz)

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ Sear the pork
2. Heat a pot over medium high, add pork and cook 3 min until lightly browned and the fat renders. 🐖
3. 2️⃣ Add onion and garlic
4. Add onion and cook 2 min, then add garlic and optional ginger, stir 30 sec until fragrant. 🧄
5. 3️⃣ Wake up the kimchi
6. Add kimchi and cook 4 min, stirring, until it turns glossy and smells deeper, not raw. 🥬
7. 4️⃣ Season the base
8. Stir in gochugaru, soy sauce, and optional mirin, cook 30 sec to bloom the spice. 🌶️
9. 5️⃣ Pour the broth
10. Add water or stock and kimchi juice, bring to a gentle simmer on medium heat. 💧
11. 6️⃣ Simmer for depth
12. Simmer 15 min with a calm bubble so the broth turns rich and balanced. ⏳
13. 7️⃣ Add tofu
14. Slide in tofu slices and simmer 4 min so it warms through without breaking. 🧊
15. 8️⃣ Finish clean
16. Turn off heat, add scallions, and drizzle sesame oil if using, then rest 2 min before serving. 🧅

Total Time

⏱️ Prep: 15 min
🔥 Cook/Bake: 25 min
🛋️ Rest: 2 min
⏰ Total: 42 min

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