kimchi jigae

When I was a little girl, I remember my dad putting a bunch of nappa cabbage in a brine. I asked him about it, and he told me he was making kimchi. I didn't want to try it because of the strong smell. Little did I know that I would fall in love with kimchi in my twenties. Kimchi is a fermented spicy cabbage that plays a huge part in Korean cuisine. Its a perfect combination of spicy, salty, and sour. And I guess I feel okay eating exorbitant amounts of it since its a vegetable. But anyway, back to the point. Caleb and I hadn't had Korean food in a while, so we went to a Korean grocery store in Ann Arbor to get the goods. We really needed two main things: kimchi and red pepper paste. We decided to make a kimchi stew called "kimchi jigae." It was to die for. Caleb and I almost finished the whole pot. We ate it with white rice. 

Caleb looked up several different recipes online to get an idea of what we were supposed to do. Here's what we did:

1. Saute several cloves of minced garlic and one finely chopped medium onion in oil. 
2. Add 1-2 pounds of sliced pork. Saute until pork is fully cooked.
3. Add two cups chopped kimchi
4. Add water until ingredients are covered
5. Add 1 tablespoon of red pepper paste. If you like it really spicy, add a little more.
6. We put in small white stringy japanese mushrooms. not sure what it's called. 
7. We then added sliced up andouille smoked sausage. This is not Korean whatsoever, but it really added a nice flavor. Caleb's idea. 
8. Bring to a boil, then cover and let simmer for 25-30 minutes.  
9. Add cubed tofu and let simmer for 5 minutes. 
10. Turn off the stove. Add in sliced green onions. Serve over rice. 

If you're not a huge fan of kimchi, you may still like this dish because the strong flavor of the kimchi is watered down and mixed with other ingredients. Caleb prefers this dish over straight kimchi. If you're not a fan of spicy flavors, I'd try some other Korean dish like beef kalbi or bimbimbap. 

Happy Cooking!

Jessie