Hearty and Nostalgic Kimchi Jjigae

Submission

Sze Vei, London, United Kingdom

The Story

"This is one of the meals I love to make when I’m craving something hearty and is reminiscent of the flavours I love from Southeast Asia — sour and spicy! I made this iteration of a kimchi jjigae for my vegetarian father, replacing the sweetness that comes from the pork with other flavourful vegetables that simmer away in the pot (he thinks my recipe is better than the vegetarian ones in restaurants so I’m quite proud of it).

It’s also a great stew to make for a cold rainy day, which is a shared experience for many of us in London!"

Ingredients

• 4-5 cloves of garlic  

• 2 thai chillies

• 1x 500g of kimchi

• any vegetable found in your pantry (onion, carrots, mushroom)

• 2 stalks of green onion

• 1x box of silken tofu
  

• Neutral/vegetable oil

• Red pepper paste (gochujang)

• Red pepper flakes (gochugaru)

• Sesame oil

• Soy sauce

• Chinese vinegar

• Mirin

Steps

• Prepare your vegetables

  • Finely chop the garlic and chilli.

  • Tip: You can cut the chilli in half and remove seeds for less spice

  • Dice the onions and mushrooms, then finely slice the carrots.

  • Wash and finely chop green onions (separating the whites and green parts).

• Heat up a medium sized pot with 100ml of oil (medium-high).

• Fry the garlic until yellow (and fry the chillies for extra kick)

• Add onions and white parts of green onions and stir fry until translucent (add a sprinkle of salt).

• Add your kimchi and stir fry for around 3 minutes (lower heat if needed).

• Add around 3 bowls of water to pot (or just over half of the size of the pot).

• Add 1 heaping tablespoon of gochujang, one tablespoon of gochujaru, 1 tablespoon of Chinese vinegar and 1 tablespoon of mirin.

• Let the mixture boil. Once it is boiled, add carrots and mushrooms (other pantry vegetables are optional) to cook for around 7 minutes on medium heat (at a boil).

• Once the vegetables are cooked, turn off the heat and put a lid on the pan.

• Then, add 2 teaspoons of sesame oil.

• Rinse tofu and slice the tofu into the pot, close the lid of the pan, and let the residual heat cook it for a few minutes.

• When serving, add the green parts of the green onions and enjoy with a steaming bowl of rice!

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