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Kimchi jjigae
Also known as 김치찌개 · kimchi chigae · kimchi stew · kimchee jjigae
A bubbling red stew of sour aged kimchi, tofu and scallions, served still boiling in its stone pot. Hot in every sense.
Typical serving
380 kcal
usually 300–480 kcal
 Protein | 22 g |
|---|---|
 Carbs | 33 g |
 Fat | 18 g |
Reference figures for a dish as it is commonly cooked — never a measurement of your plate. The range is the honest part: two kitchens make this differently. In the app, a photograph replaces the guess.
Before you start
- sour kimchi — the older the better, and the juice from the jar as well
Ingredients
Serves 2 · dimmer marks are storecupboard
- 250gcabbage kimchi — with a good splash of its juice
- 200gfirm tofu
- 80gbeef sirloin — or leave it out and use more tofu
- 90gshort-grain rice
- 500mlchicken stock
- 1 tbspgochugaru chilli flakes
- 1 tspgochujang
- ½ tbspoil
- 3garlic cloves
- 3spring onions
- 1 tspsesame oil
Method
6 steps
boil · 15m walk awayRice rinsed and on with its lid, lowest heat, while the pot gets going.
chop · 7mKimchi cut into short lengths, beef sliced thin, tofu into thick slabs rather than cubes so it survives the pot, garlic crushed.
fry · 8mBeef browned in the oil, then the kimchi in with it and fried properly for five or six minutes until it darkens and the edges go soft. Fry the kimchi, not just the meat — skipped, the stew tastes raw and sharp all the way through.
simmer · 18mGochugaru and gochujang stirred in for a moment, then the stock and the kimchi juice, and left at a steady bubble to come together.
- simmer · 6m
Tofu laid on top and pushed just under the surface, then given a few minutes without stirring — moved about, it breaks up and clouds the pot.
finish · 2mSpring onion and a few drops of sesame oil at the end, off the heat, with the rice beside it rather than in it.
Worth knowing
The dish demands old kimchi — fresh is too polite. Koreans keep a separate fridge shelf for kimchi destined for the stew.
Kimchi is a live ferment; the lactic-acid bacteria that sour it are the same family found in yoghurt.
More from the East Asian kitchen
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Browse macros for every East Asian dish Foodakl can log: Korean · Japanese · Chinese
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