Dish · korean
Kimchi Jjigae
A stew of fermented kimchi and pork belly simmered until the cabbage softens and the broth turns rich and sour-spicy, with cubes of tofu added toward the end. Heartier and more sour than doenjang-jjigae.
Where it comes from
Like other Korean kimchi-based cooking, this stew developed as a way to use kimchi once it soured past the point of being pleasant eaten fresh, turning aged, funky kimchi into the backbone of a hot dish instead of wasting it.
What cooks argue about
Cooks disagree over how sour the kimchi needs to be: well-aged kimchi gives the stew more depth, while cooks in a hurry use fresher kimchi and compensate with extra gochugaru, shifting the balance.
Versions
Nobody has published a kimchi jjigae here yet. When somebody cooks one from a video and publishes it, their version appears in this list, with a link back to the original.
What goes in it
Each one opens everything else made with it.
firm tofu