Kimchi jjigae

Ingredients

• Over-fermented kimchi — with its liquid400 g
• Pork belly — sliced300 g
• Tofu — in thick slabs300 g
• Onion1
• Gochugaru flakes1 tbsp
• Gochujang1 tbsp
• Garlic3 clove
• Water or anchovy stock700 ml
• Spring onion3
• Sesame oil1 tbsp

Salt and spices grow more slowly than the rest: doubling a dish does not double the pepper.

Weight converts to ounces and volume to cups. Grams of flour are not turned into cups, because that depends on how tightly it is packed.

Method

1. 1

   Fry the pork in the sesame oil over medium heat until the fat has rendered and the meat has colour, about five minutes.

   5 min

2. 2

   Add the kimchi and fry for five minutes, until the edges darken. This step takes the raw edge off the acidity and rounds the flavour out.

   5 min

3. 3

   Stir in the gochugaru, gochujang and garlic, pour in the kimchi liquid and the water, and bring it to the boil.

   3 min

4. 4

   Simmer for twenty minutes, add the onion and tofu and give it five more. Do not stir the tofu; it falls apart.

   25 min

5. 5

   Off the heat, scatter over the spring onion and serve it in the pot, with a separate bowl of rice.

About the dish

The dish exists for kimchi that has gone too sour to eat as a side. Fresh kimchi will not do: there is not enough acid or depth, and boiling takes away its crunch without giving anything back.

The liquid from the jar goes into the pot with the kimchi. All the fermentation is in it, and pouring it away throws out half the flavour.

Use fatty pork, belly or shoulder. The fat renders into the broth and binds the acidity; on lean meat the stew comes out sharp.

Worth knowing

• — Kimchi a month old or more gives the best result. Fresh kimchi needs a fortnight at room temperature to catch up.
• — It needs almost no salt: the kimchi and its liquid are already salty. Taste before adding anything.
• — A vegetarian version works with mushroom stock in place of anchovy, but the richness has to be replaced — use more sesame oil.

Nutrition

Per serving at the base yield, calculated from the ingredients rather than measured in a lab.

Calories

470 kcal

Protein

28 g

Fat

32 g

Carbs

16 g

More from Korea

• Bibimbap — Rice under separately cooked vegetables, meat and an egg, mixed with gochujang right before eating.