Winter Recipe: Easy Kimchi Stew (김치 찌개)

Woks of Life

I'm a sucker for Korean food. Truly - and a couple of years ago this would not have been the case. You see, I can't handle spicy food all that well. Blame it on my watered down Irish and Polish genes (there is no blander food on planet earth than potatoes, for real) but it's taken me years to really warm up to dishes that contain some heat, if you know what I'm saying...

About a year ago, the boy and I visited a Korean restaurant in the Twin Cities and since I adore kimchi, I decided to spring for their Kimchi Stew. Damn, was I in for a rude awakening - whatever chili flakes they used were hot enough to make it feel like my mouth was not only on fire but also bleeding. Even so, the stew was delicious.

Korean cooking is daunting - yeah, I have a rice cooker I use regularly and yes, the local grocery store sells at least three varieties of bulgogi sauce, but beyond marinating strips of beef and serving it with rice, my experience with Korean cooking has been, decidedly, limited.

So imagine my delight to come across this recipe, for an easy Kimchi Stew via The Woks of Life - a wonderful Asian cooking blog.

I don't have everything exactly right for this recipe, but I do have pork I can use. I do have tofu in my fridge, along with a new jar of kimchi. I probably have some red pepper somewhere in my kitchen. I also have garlic powder and dried onions. Perfect? Far from it, but let's get this experimental show on the road, shall we?

Woks of Life

1.) First things first - I halved everything. 1 1/2 cups of broth is easier to work with than 3 cups and since I'm the only one who will eat this stuff, I'm keeping the portion size small. To get a broth equivalent - I'm using a flavor packet from some instant Mi Goreng noodles. Sue me, it was all I had.

2.) So I sauteed the pork strips, garlic and dried onions in the oil. So far so good, but I can already tell that it would be so much better with actual chunks of garlic and onion.

3.) Alright, lets throw some kimchi in there. Since I halved the recipe, I don't quite need a .lb of kimchi. This amount looks good to me!

4.) In goes the sugar, salt, red pepper powder and broth. Time to let this baby simmer for about ten minutes.

5.) Now, let's chop up some tofu. In that goes! And simmer another ten minutes.



6.) I'll have to skip the sesame oil (I don't like it anyways) but I tossed some green onions on top after plating it up in a soup bowl and serving it with a side of white rice.

~ 여기