• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Closet Cooking

Cooking adventures in a small, closet sized, kitchen. - I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.

  • Recipes
    • Recipe Index
    • Top Recipes
    • 30 Minute Meals
    • 6 Ingredient Meals
    • Slow Cooker Meals
    • One Pan Meals
    • By Course
      • Main Course
      • Side Dish
      • Dessert
      • Appetizer/Snack
      • More
    • By Diet
      • Gluten-free
      • Low-carb
      • Vegetarian
      • More
    • By Meat
      • Beef
      • Chicken
      • Lamb
      • Egg
      • Pork
      • Seafood
      • Turkey
      • More
    • By Cuisine
      • Cajun and Creole
      • Chinese
      • Greek
      • Italian
      • Japanese
      • Korean
      • Mexican
      • Thai
      • Vietnamese
      • More
    • By Type
      • Burger
      • Cake
      • Cookie
      • Dip
      • Pasta
      • Pizza
      • Salad
      • Sandwich
      • Soup
      • More
    • By Ingredient
      • Avocado
      • Bacon
      • Cauliflower
      • Mushroom
      • Pumpkin
      • Quinoa
      • Shrimp
      • Strawberry
      • More
  • Cookbooks
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
Never miss a recipe! Subscribe to the email Newsletter!

Kimchi Jjigae (Pork and Kimchi Stew)

[heart_this] · Aug 25, 2007 · 17 Comments

Pork and Kimchi Stew (Kimchi Jjigae)

I was searching the web for recipes that used kimchi and I found several for Kimchi Jjigae or kimchi stew. The main recipes that I found were for pork and kimchi stew. I saw some variations of this dish that replaced the pork with canned tuna (which sounds good) and and some that used tofu in addition to the pork. Many of the recipes called for gochujang which is a spicy Korean condiment made of fermented soy beans, rice and chili powder. Keep in mind that both the kimchi and the gochujang are spiced with chili powder so be careful with the amounts that you use if you do not like it really hot. This stew was pretty easy to make and it was really tasty. I have really enjoyed the few Korean dishes that I have tried so far. I am going to have to start looking for a Korean cookbook.

Kimchi Jjigae (Pork and Kimchi Stew)

Kimchi Jjigae (Pork and Kimchi Stew)

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes Servings: 2
ingredients
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1/2 pound pork belly (cut into bite sized pieces) – samgyeopsal
  • 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
  • 2 cups dashi (or water)
  • 1 cup kimchi (cut into bite sized pieces)
  • 2 tablespoons gochujang
  • 1 tablespoon gochugaru
  • 1/2 package tofu (cut into bite sized pieces)
  • 1 small onion (sliced)
  • 1 cup zucchini (cut into bite sized pieces)
  • 2 green chilies (sliced)
  • 2 green onions (sliced)
directions
  1. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan.
  2. Add the pork and saute until it is no longer pink, about 5-7 minutes.
  3. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
  4. Add the kimchi and water bring to a boil.
  5. Mix in the gochujang and gochugaru and simmer for 20 minutes.
  6. Add the tofu, onion, zucchini and chilies and simmer until tender, about 5 minutes.
  7. Remove from heat and add the green onions.
Similar Recipes:
Kimchi Bokkeumbap (Kimchi Fried Rice)
Kimchi Quesadillas
Bibim Guksu (Soba and Kimchi Salad)
Sauerkraut Cabbage Roll Soup

More soup recipes!

Food, Korean, Pork, Recipe, Soup

eCookbook Bundle Cover

Get ALL 16 Closet Cooking eCookbooks in a bundle for 70% off! Enjoy some of the tastiest recipes from Closet Cooking along with exclusive cookbook recipes!

Get the Cookbook Bundle Now!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sara says

    August 25, 2007 at 11:17 pm

    What a delicious picture. This dish definitely looks like something to try.

    Reply
  2. Cynthia says

    August 26, 2007 at 1:12 am

    Kevin, your cooking is soooo good!

    Reply
  3. Pam says

    August 26, 2007 at 1:56 am

    Kevin, that looks so good! I can see the richness of the broth!

    Reply
  4. DeborahSW says

    August 26, 2007 at 6:34 pm

    Ha, my mom always made hers with diced Spam in it, that wonderous meat-like delicacy most Asians love like no other! I’ll have to try it with pork someday. 🙂

    Reply
  5. Maggie says

    May 1, 2008 at 2:05 am

    I’ve had the sniffles all day and this sounds like the perfect cure. I think I’m going to make it for breakfast!

    Reply
  6. Anonymous says

    May 31, 2008 at 7:50 am

    i know this is fatty but thick pork belly (sam gyup sahl) is tasty for kimchi jiggae. on the lighter side, tuna is good too.

    Reply
  7. Drew says

    June 22, 2009 at 10:55 am

    Pork belly (sam gyub sal as mentioned above) is a must. Render the fat out of it, add the garlic and ginger and gochujang (I add a bit more than 1Tbsp for added richness) and the kimchi, and then I top off with kimchi juice and Dashida (the common Korean beef stock from powder)… towards the end of cooking I add some rice cake slices, a tiny bit of soy sauce, then add the tofu in chunks, green onions, and spicy Korean green chili slices at the end, cook just til the tofu is done, and then add sesame seed oil. Pretty similar to Kevin's, but with the different stock as I prefer to keep my kimchi jjigae all-meat.

    Reply
  8. Kevin says

    June 24, 2009 at 2:45 am

    Drew: Thanks for the tips! I will have to try it that way next time.

    Reply
  9. Steve says

    August 31, 2009 at 8:16 pm

    I am a huge fan of kimchi and Korean food – this looks like a great recipe. Really nice blog.

    Reply
  10. mia says

    December 25, 2009 at 6:27 pm

    Hi Steve, I love kimchi and I usually eat it just like that (as a side dish, or even to 'snack' it while watching tv :D)

    I love to see this recipe. since I'm a muslim and we don't eat pork, so what best meat do you think I can use to substitute the pork belly?
    I'm also thinking about using shrimps 🙂

    Reply
  11. Kevin says

    December 27, 2009 at 10:27 pm

    mia: With the tofu in the stew you could easily just skip the pork but if you want to have a meat then chicken would work.

    Reply
  12. Anonymous says

    April 30, 2010 at 7:10 am

    Kevin, I love the fact that you make Korean food, but I have to tell you that you should probably reconsider adding gochujang to kimchi jjigae. I say this b/c I learned how to make kimchi jjigae from a real Korean grandmother (I'm Korean American). If you want to make it really authentic, you should add "gochu-kkaru" (which is the red pepper flakes) instead of gochujang; that is what Koreans use to make it spicier. Gochujang is a marinade that generally goes into other stews, daeji bulgogi, etc. but usually never in kimchi jjigae.

    Also, you should probably cook the pork and kimchi at the same time so that the kimchi retains its integrity (meaning, retains the juices). The pork fat will flavor and cook the kimchee nicely. If you just add water and boil the kimchi instead of cooking it first, it saps the kimchi of all its juices so that it turns white. You want your kimchi to look cooked, not blanched.

    I love your blog and I support your culinary endeavors! Keep up the good work!

    Reply
  13. Kevin says

    May 6, 2010 at 1:04 am

    Anonymous: Recently I have sauteing the kimchi along with the pork in a few dishes that use both. I will definitely be doing this in the next batch of kimchi jjigae that I make. Thanks for the tips.

    Reply
  14. Un-Ji says

    April 30, 2012 at 10:39 pm

    If you cannot eat pork, another authentic alternative is a can of tuna. Chicken or shrimp in kimchi jjigae sounds strange..

    Reply
  15. Vijay says

    September 19, 2012 at 4:45 pm

    One of my tricks in Kimchi Jigae is adding a tablespoon or two of miso to the broth. It adds a depth of flavor that makes it over-the-top good!

    Reply
  16. Kevin says

    September 20, 2012 at 4:58 pm

    Vijay: Good tip! Miso adds such depth of flavour to soups and stews like this!

    Reply
  17. Nancy says

    September 21, 2012 at 4:04 pm

    I LOVE Korean food. I'm looking forward to your Korean board. (hint, hint)

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to the free Closet Cooking email newsletter and get a FREE copy of the eBook:
The Best of Closet Cooking!

About Me

Kevin: I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.
Read More

The Best of Closet Cooking 2023 – FREE eCookbook

The Best of Closet Cooking Book Cover

eCookbook Bundle

eCookbook Bundle

Top Recipes

Chicken and Avocado Burritos
Ham and Potato Corn Chowder
Mexican Street Corn Nachos
Balsamic Garlic Grilled Mushroom Skewers
Baked Firecracker Chicken
Caprese Balsamic Grilled Chicken
Balsamic Soy Roasted Garlic Mushrooms
Cheesy Beef Enchilada Tortellini Skillet
Parmesan Roasted Carrot Fries
Asiago Roasted Onions
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
About | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy
Copyright © 2007-2023, Closet Cooking Ltd. All Rights Reserved.