Kimchi jjigae for me is one of pure comfort; just a spoonful of that flavourful broth is guaranteed to sooth the soul, throat and sinuses. This Korean dish is definitely best made with well-aged kimchi as it extra fermented which means it's going to add even more flavour to the broth
ingredients:
pork marinade:
- 150g pork belly (or other protein)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Soup:
- 1/4 onion, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 spring onion, sliced, separate greens and whites
- around 1/2 cup kimchi
- 1/2 -1 tbsp gochugaru (adjust to liking)
- 2 cup rice water (water from second rinse of rice)
- 1/4 cup kimchi juice
- 1/2 tbsp soup soy (or light soy but it will be slightly more salty so add little bit and taste) accordingly)
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp msg
- 1/2 tsp saeujot - korean salted shrimp (for that extra umami or you can skip or sub with a little oyster sauce)
- few slices tofu
- enoki mushrooms
Extra:
- 140g short-grain rice
- 140-150ml water (almost a 1:1 ratio)
method:
- Wash rice - Add rice into a bowl and give it a good rinse, making sure to discard the first wash liquid. Then as you continue washing the rice until the water runs clear, make sure to keep the water from each rinse so that you're left with 2 cups of water
- Cook rice - Add the washed rice into your rice cook along with equal amount of water then cover and cook.
- Fry pork belly - In a earthenware pot (ddukbaegi) or pot, add some neutral oil and heat it over medium heat. Add in the marinated pork pieces and let it brown on each side - around 1-2 minute
- Fry off aromatics - Add in the onions, spring onion, kimchi and fry everything for around 1 minute.
- Build the broth base - Add gochugaru, mix well and saute for a few seconds before adding in the rice water. The add in kimchi juice, light soy sauce, sugar, msg and saeujot and bring to a boil.
- Add in sliced tofu - Once brought to a boil, turn the heat down so it simmers then add in the sliced tofu, cover and cook for 6-10 minutes.
- Add toppings and serve - Uncover and add enoki mushrooms and let it boil in the broth for a minute before topping with green onions and serving with warm rice.
