Kimchi Jjigae with Pork Recipe (Kimchi Stew)

This pork kimchi jjigae serves two in about 40 minutes. Sour cabbage kimchi and pork belly are stir-fried in the pork’s own fat, simmered with water and kimchi brine, and finished with tofu. The one thing that decides the result is the kimchi: it should taste clearly sour.

This kimchi jjigae uses well-fermented kimchi that has become too sour to enjoy as a side dish. That tang is exactly what gives the broth its depth, so this recipe starts with distinctly sour kimchi that has been kept properly in the fridge.

Kimchi jjigae is thought to have begun as a way to use up leftover kimchi or sour winter kimchi. A 1931 cooking column in the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper already gave the name kimchi jjigae and a method that cooks kimchi with meat. In 1968, a Kyunghyang Shinmun article described sour winter kimchi simmered into stew for the winter table.

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• Pot, 18–20 cm (about 7 1/8–7 7/8 in), or ttukbaegi (earthenware pot)
• Wooden spatula
• Ladle

1. Cut kimchi into 3 cm (about 1 1/8 in) pieces. Reserve the brine.

   Well-fermented baechu kimchi (Korean cabbage kimchi) 300 g (10.6 oz)

2. Place pot on medium heat. Add pork belly. Cook 3–4 min until fat renders and surface turns light brown.

   Pork belly 150 g (5.3 oz)

3. Add kimchi. Stir-fry for about 5 min until kimchi softens and its edges turn translucent. Stir often.

   Well-fermented baechu kimchi (Korean cabbage kimchi) 300 g (10.6 oz)

4. Add gochugaru and garlic. Stir-fry 30 sec.

   Gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) 1 tbsp · Minced garlic 1 tsp

5. Add water and kimchi brine. Bring to a full boil on high heat.

   Water or anchovy stock 500 ml (about 2 cups) · Kimchi brine 60 ml (about 1/4 cup)

6. Reduce to medium heat. Simmer 10 min from this point.

7. Taste. Season with up to 1 tsp soup soy sauce.

   Soup soy sauce (guk-ganjang) 1 tsp

8. Add up to 1/2 tsp sugar only if the stew tastes too sour.

   Sugar 1/2 tsp

9. Add tofu and onion. Simmer about 5 min until tofu is hot through.

   Medium-firm or firm tofu 150 g (5.3 oz) · Onion 1/2 ea

10. Add green onion. Turn off heat. Serve with rice.

    Green onion 1 stalk

• Broth is red-orange and slightly glossy with fat
• Kimchi is soft, not crunchy
• Pork is fully cooked, no pink. For certainty, the center stays at or above 75°C (167°F) for at least 1 minute
• Tofu cubes are hot through and intact

Tuna kimchi jjigae

Canned tuna replaces the pork, sometimes added with its oil for a nutty richness.

Spam and tuna kimchi jjigae

Canned ham and tuna are fried first to release fat, then the kimchi goes in.

Kimchi guk

Kimchi guk is a broth-focused kimchi soup that can also contain gochujang (Korean chili paste), so it is not always clear or mild.

• Maangchi — Kimchi stew (Kimchi-jjigae)
• Korean Bapsang — Kimchi Jjigae (Kimchi Stew)
• My Korean Kitchen — Kimchi Jjigae
• Simply Recipes — Kimchi Jjigae (Korean Kimchi Stew)
• Beyond Kimchee — Kimchi Jjigae
• 10000recipe — Pork kimchi jjigae (Korean)
• Sempio — Soy sauce types and salinity (Korean)
• The Kitchn — Preventing fumes when cooking chiles
• FoodSafety.gov — Cold food storage chart
• MFDS — Safe holiday food preparation (Korean)
• 10000recipe — Tuna kimchi jjigae (Korean)
• 10000recipe — Spam and tuna kimchi jjigae (Korean)
• Better Korean — Differences between jjigae, guk and tang
• Maangchi — Kimchi guk
• USDA — Leftovers and food safety
• Encyclopedia of Korean Culture — Kimchi jjigae (in Korean)
• Dong-A Ilbo — Cooking column on jjigae, 1931 (in Korean)
• Kyunghyang Shinmun — Kimchi jjigae column, 1968 (in Korean)