Kimchi Jjigae

Everyone has one of those foods.  You know what I mean, the "can't have in the house or else I just can't stop eating it" kind; the one that meets whatever your own permanent inner craving is; the one you can't resist sneaking a guilty bite of whenever you go past the fridge or cupboard, if there's some in there.  For some people it's chocolate; others, crisps or peanut butter.

Mine is kimchi.*

Yeah, I know.  Kimchi is one of those "eew" foods for more than a few people, something to be left discreetly at the side of the plate or at best tolerated in small quantities by most others.  Spicy, sour, pickled Chinese cabbage fermented with anchovy paste?  Presses most of the "eew" buttons that people who are prone to the "eew" factor tend to have (brassicas, pickles, fermentation, fish).

I, on the other hand, love anything pickled, most things crunchy, all brassicas in all forms, many fermented foods (not to mention drinks) and seafood generally, and am a chilli addict.  Kimchi may just be my perfect food.

I buy it in hermetically sealed packs from the supermarket.  (The most recent batch I bought, I forgot to put in the fridge for a couple of hours and when I remembered and went to put it in, the bag had inflated as tight as a balloon from the gases produced by its fermenting contents.  Mmmmm.)  Once open, you can store the rest of the kimchi in an airtight container, in a jar or in a bowl with clingfilm over the top; it doesn't matter, your entire fridge will smell of kimchi however you store it.  In fact not just the fridge but the area surrounding the fridge will be permeated with the delicate aroma of kimchi, making it even more tempting every time you pass the kitchen to have just a little bite.  This problem is, however, also its own solution: kimchi may smell up the fridge while it's in there, but in my fridge it seldom lasts longer than a day or two, so the smell doesn't stay long!

The propensity of kimchi to disappear rather fast in my presence is possibly the reason I've never made this dish before.  Various recipes I've seen all indicate that kimchi jjigae is a way of using up leftover, old kimchi that has become too strong to eat on its own. At my house, kimchi is never around long enough to get old and leftovers aren't a problem!

This souped-up, spicy, hearty concoction did sound irresistible, though, so this time I exerted serious willpower and saved some of my kimchi nearly a full week until I could try my hand at making it.  I had a lump of frozen pork mince that had been around for *cough* longer than it really should have, and that needed using up, so that went in instead of pork belly; I threw in some extra cabbage for crunch and freshness; and there was a carton of 'firm' (not actually very firm!) silken tofu in the fridge.

I was loosely following the norecipes.com recipe in terms of seasoning, but when I tasted the soup it seemed a little weak (perhaps my kimchi wasn't quite old enough) and lacking in umami and sourness, so I added some fish sauce and Worcestershire sauce, and some chinkiang vinegar.  That improved the taste considerably but I still wanted just a bit more heat and sharpness.  Fortunately, the results of my recent hot sauce tasting reveal that hot and vinegary is exactly the flavour profile of Tabasco sauce!  A few shakes over the bowl and it was perfect.

Kimchi Jjigae

golf-ball-sized amount of pork mince
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1-inch piece ginger, finely chopped
1 small (or 1/2 large) onion, sliced
1 1/2 cups kimchi
~1/4 cup kimchi juice (or however much you have)
1 tbs light soy
1 tbs white miso
1-2 tbs gochujang
2 cups water
black pepper
1 cup shredded white cabbage
1 tbs fish sauce
1 tbs chinkiang vinegar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 block silken tofu, sliced
sliced spring onions, to serve
(optional) extra Tabasco sauce

Heat medium saucepan and fry pork mince, garlic and ginger until meat is cooked.  Add onion and kimchi and continue to cook for a few minutes.  Add kimchi juice, soy, miso, gochujang and stir to mix; add water, a grinding of black pepper and cabbage; bring to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary with fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar.  Just before serving, add slices of tofu and simmer very gently for about 5 minutes to heat through.  Serve topped with sliced spring onions and with extra black pepper and Tabasco shaken over if you like.


*Another can't-resist food of mine, although not as compelling, is parmigiano; I'll shave a thin sliver off the block and just pop it in my mouth -- instant flavour hit.  I suspect I have chronic amine deficiency or something...