Kimchi Stew (Kimchi-jjigae 김치찌개)

Finally, I've make my Kimchi Jjigae! I've been excitedly saving my last quarter of homemade kimchi specially for this dish. My kimchi has been sitting in my fridge for 4 months and it has fermented really well. The kimchi was sourish and spicy and they are just PERFECT for making Kimchi Jjigae.

This savory, sourish and spicy dish is amazingly appetizing. One can easily finished two bowls of rice with this jjigae. It is really simple to make! Two main factors in this yummy-licious jjigae are, to use a 'ripe' kimchi (at least fermented for 3 weeks) and use an earthenware pot to retain its heat throughout the whole dinner.

KIMCHI STEW (KIMCHI-JJIGAE 김치찌개)
(Recipe adapted from Maangchi)

Prep Time  : 15 mins
Cook Time : 35 mins
Total Time : 50 mins
Serves       : 2 pax

Ingredients:
300g kimchi, cut into bite size pieces (about 2/3 cup)
1/2 cup kimchi brine (*)
200g pork shoulder (or pork belly, pork neck slices)
1/2 package silken tofu, sliced into 1/2 inch thick (**)
1 stalk spring onion, chopped diagonally
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp gochugaru/ korean hot pepper flakes
1/2 Tbsp gochujang/ korean hot pepper paste
1 tsp sesame oil

Broth (***)
1/4 cup dried anchovies, heads and guts removed
2 spring onion roots
2 cups water

Directions:
1. In a small pot, add dried anchovies, spring onion roots and water. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and continue to let it boil for 15 minutes. Strain and you should have about a little less than 1 1/2 cup of broth. Leave aside.

2. (****) Marinade the pork slices with 1/2 Tbsp of soy sauce and 1 Tbsp of oil for 5 minutes. Sear the pork slices until both sides are browned.

3. In an earthenware pot, arrange kimchi, pan-seared pork slices, thinly sliced onions, chopped spring onions, kimchi brine, anchovies broth and seasonings accordingly in their respective order. Cover with lid and cook for 10 minutes over medium high heat.

4. Mix the seasonings around with a spoon. Gently add the tofu in the middle and scoop some of the stew onto the tofu. Cover the lid and let simmer over low heat for another 10 minutes.

5. Sprinkle with some chopped spring onions and off the heat. Serve immediately.

Notes:
(*) Since this is my last quarter of kimchi, I used up all the brine. If you do not have enough kimchi brine, you can reduce it to 1/4 cup and use more broth in the stew.

(**) You may use your preferred type of tofu. For Maangchi, she uses a firmer type of tofu. For me, I prefer the silken tofu, which is the softest type.

(***) If you have daikon and kelp, you may add them in the broth as well, about 1/4 cup thinly sliced daikon and 4 x 4 inch kelp.

(****) This step is not necessary. But searing the pork will give the stew a more flavorful taste.

● Serve this with white rice or tteok (korean rice cake), or even noodles.

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Bibimbap 비빔밥 (With BBQ Pork Belly And Kimchi)

Bibimbap is a well known signature Korean dish. When you visit a Korean restaurant, you will surely find this dish in the menu. Bibimbap literally means 'mixed rice' or better explained as Korean mixed rice with assorted vegetables and meat. Traditionally, it is served with raw meat (usually beef) and raw egg but for cooking at home, I would prefer to have the ingredients cooked first.

You can make many variations of Bibimbap depending on your preferences as long as it has namul (marinated or sautéed vegetables), meat and gochujang (red pepper paste) for sauce. Well of course, you can omit the meat if you wanted to make vegetarian bibimbap.

If you have a stone bowl, you can make Dolsot Bibimbap (돌솥 비빔밥, dolsot means "stone pot"). The stone bowl is heated until very hot. Then the bottom of the bowl is coated with sesame oil before placing the rice in it. The stone pot is so hot that it will browned the rice and create a layer of brown crispy rice at the bottom of the bowl. It is another experience eating a dolsot bibimbap.

For my version today, I am making my Bibimbap with seasoned spinach, sautéed carrots, cucumbers, bbq pork belly, my beloved homemade tongbaechu-kimchi, half-boiled egg and some seasoned seaweed strips. I am using bbq pork belly simply because I still have a packet of frozen marinated pork belly from my mom (in-law). You may use stir-fry ground beef or any other meat you prefer.

Making Bibimbap is also a great way to used up your leftover vegetables. Here I am using up my half packet of spinach which I've bought from tesco few days ago.

This is how my mom (in law) packed the marinated pork belly for us. She would pack 2-3 strips of pork belly in a ziplock bag, and handed 2 bags to us at one time. When we are almost 'out of stock', we just need to inform my mom and she would replenish a new batch for us. What a convenient way to have the BEST BBQ Pork Belly aka Char Siew at home! Thanks to my mom (in law)!

HOW TO EAT BIBIMBAP

To start with, add your sauce (gochujang or sesame oil) to give it more flavor. In my case, my sauce is the brine from the tongbaechu-kimchi. Then just toss and mix it thoroughly. You will get a little of everything in just a bite. Simply a yummylicious comfort food!

BIBIMBAP 비빔밥 (WITH BBQ PORK BELLY AND KIMCHI)

Prep Time  : 15 mins
Cook Time : 50 mins
Total Time : 1 hour 5 mins
Serves       : 2 pax

Ingredients:
2 serving cooked sushi rice
150g spinach
1/2 cup julienne carrots
1/2 cup julienne cucumbers
1/2 cup tongbaechu-kimchi (cut into bite sized)
1/2 cup sliced bbq pork belly
2 eggs (half-boiled or your preferred style)
Seasoned seaweed strips

Seasoning For Spinach
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds (crushed)

Seasoning For Carrot
Pinch of salt

Directions:
1. Start with cooking your sushi rice. For each pax, cook half a cup of rice. (Using rice cup measurement)

2. Place the julienne cucumbers in a bowl and sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt. Let it sit for 30 minutes before rinsing it thoroughly with running water. Squeeze out as much water as you can and serve.

Seasoned Spinach
3. Blanch the spinach and squeeze out any excess water. Arrange the spinach in a log and roughly chopped into three sections. This is just to shorten the length of the spinach.

4. In a medium bowl, combine the seasoning well. Add in the blanched spinach and mix well. To serve, sprinkle some toasted sesame seed on top.

Sautéed Carrots
5. In a pan, heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Sauté carrots with a pinch of salt for approx. 30 secs - a minute.

6. Place all your prepared dishes onto a bowl of rice. Arrange them nicely all around the bowl and lastly crack an egg in the middle of the bowl and garnish with seasoned seaweed strips.

7. Enjoy while it is hot!

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Milton of It's Me! Bluedreamer!

Kimchi Bread Roll

Since my hubby is so in love with my kimchi, I've decided to make him a snack with it. Using ingredients I found in my pantry, I make him this simplelicious Kimchi Bread Roll. The kimchi goes very well with the seaweed and the toasted sesame seeds give you a very nice nutty taste. To top it up, the melted cheese simply compliments the whole combination.

If you like, you may add some japanese mayo on the roll for a creamier taste.

KIMCHI BREAD ROLL

Prep Time  : 5 mins
Cook Time : 5 mins
Total Time : 10 mins
Makes       : 1 roll

Ingredients:
1 nori sheet
2 slices bread
1 egg
1/2 slice cheddar cheese
Some Tongbaechu-kimchi
Toasted sesame seeds (optional)
Japanese mayo (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven at 220°C; grilling function.

2. In a small bowl, beat in an egg and whisk briefly, then season with salt and pepper. Fry the egg on a pan in a thin layer. Dish up and let it cool before cutting it into thin strips.

3. Cut the nori sheet by half or approx. 13cm length.

4. Trim off all the 4 sides of the bread. Overlapped two slices together making it a rectangle shape, then flatten with a rolling pin.

5. Cover the sushi bamboo mat with a cling wrap. Layer the nori sheet, rough side up, follow by the previously flattened bread.

6. Start adding your filling in the center of bread - egg strips, kimchi and some toasted sesame seeds.

7. Using both hands, roll the mat over so that 2/3 of the bread and nori sheet is covering the filling. Compress the bread roll as firm as you can. Continue to roll so that both ends of nori sheet meets. Now you have form a cylinder. If it is not in a nice cylinder shape, just continue roll the bread roll inside the bamboo mat to shape it.

8. Cut the cheddar cheese into quarters horizontally and place them on top of the bread roll, covering the seam. Grill in the oven until the cheese melted and browned, about a minute or so.

9. Cut the bread roll into 1/4 inch and garnish with mayo and toasted sesame seeds.

Notes:
● You will need a sushi bamboo mat/ makisu to help with the rolling and compressing the ingredients. But if you don't have, you can do it with a tea towel.

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Napa Cabbage Kimchi (Tongbaechu-kimchi 통배추김치)

I've been following Maangchi cooking channel since a year back. She has a lot of good Korean food recipes that are really easy to follow. I've been watching Maangchi so many times that I felt like I've known her personally. Maybe it is because she really connects with her viewers thru the way she speaks. She is very friendly and fun, humble and generous in sharing her secrets and knowledge about Korean foods. For Korean food recipes, Maangchi is definitely the one I refer to (first)!

Last week, I make my first homemade kimchi. It may sounds like a lot of works but once you are into it, you wouldn't think so. I had so much fun making these kimchi!

Supposed the recipe calls for Saeujeot (fermented salted shrimp) but since I couldn't find it, I omitted this in my kimchi. And because my hubby love to eat leeks, I've added a cup of chopped leeks into my kimchi.

Making kimchi has many levels of excitement, I would say. Each time i turn the cabbages and see that it has soften, it excites me. And when the aroma from the combined ingredients comes together, it excites me as well. At every stage, each progress, I felt an adrenaline rush and it makes me more energetic.

Here are my cabbages. This is at the initial stage of salting. As you let it sits, it will release more water and the cabbage will soften.

And here you can see, the leaves are no longer looking as fresh as before. This is at the last stage of salting and the cabbages are ready for rinsing.

After few times rinsing, drain the cabbages well. You would want just the pure juice releases from the cabbages during the fermentation.

This is where I felt really excited. The smell from this paste is so aromatic that I couldn't resist to try some of the paste. It was already so tasty by its own even at this stage.

Here are all my kimchi, fitted into 3 containers. If you have an onggi, that would be a better choice to store these kimchi. But if you don't have, you can just use BPA free plastic container or glass container.

I had some of the freshly made kimchi immediately. As Maangchi said, fresh kimchi is yummy too! It is crunchy and spicy, very different from the fermented ones as it doesn't have the sour taste. And you can only get to enjoy these fresh kimchi if it's homemade.

TONGBAECHU-KIMCHI 통배추김치 (NAPA CABBAGE KIMCHI)
(Recipe adapted from Maangchi)

Prep Time  : 135 mins
Cook Time : NIL
Total Time : 2 hours 15 mins
Makes       : about 3.6kg of Kimchi

Ingredients:
For salting cabbage:
2.6kg napa cabbage (3 to 4 heads of medium napa cabbage)
1/2 cup Kosher salt

For making porridge:
2 cups water
2 tbsp glutinous rice flour
2 tbsp brown sugar (or white sugar)

Vegetables:
2 cups radish matchsticks
1 cup carrot matchsticks
1 cup chopped green onions
1 cup chopped chives
1 cup chopped leek

Seasonings and spices:
24 cloves garlic (about 1 1/2 bulbs)
2cm ginger
1 medium onion
1/2 cup fish sauce
2 cups hot pepper flakes (gochugaru 고추가루)


Directions:
Prepare the Cabbages
1. If the cabbage core stick out too much, trim it off. You will want a flat head.

2. To split the cabbage into halves, make a short slit at the base of the cabbage, around 2"-3", and gently pull the halves apart all the way until it splits open. Now you will have 2 pcs of halves.

3. Cut a slit through the core around 2". Do not make too long slit or else the cabbage leaves will fall apart, detaching from the core. You will want the cabbage leaves to be loose but still attached to the core.

4. Fill a large basin with water and give each halves a good dip in it, so that to get them wet for salting.

5. Sprinkle salt in between the leaves by lifting up every leaf. Use more salt on the thicker part of the leaves.

6. Place all the cabbages in a large basin and let it rest for 2 hours. Turn them every 30 mins for thorough salting. You may scoop some of the salty water from the bottom over to the top of the cabbage from time to time.

7. After 2 hours, wash the cabbages 3-4 times under the running water to remove the salt and dirt (if any). As you wash, split the halves into another halves along the slits you've cut previously. Now you will have quarters. Drain them well in a colander/ strainer.

Making the Paste
8. While the cabbages are salting for 2 hours, you can make the paste. In a small pot, combine water and glutinous rice flour. Cook under medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Add the sugar and cook for another 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let it cool completely. This is your porridge.

9. While waiting for the porridge to cool, cut your vegetables into the mentioned sizes. Blend the garlic, ginger and onion into fine paste.

10. In a large mixing bowl, combined the cooled porridge, garlic ginger onion paste, fish sauce and hot pepper flakes. Mix well with a wooden spoon.

11. Add the rest of the vegetables into the paste and mix well until all vegetables are well coated with the paste.

Make Kimchi
12. Spread the kimchi paste on each cabbage leaf. When every leaf in a quarter is done, you can either fold it half or wrap it around itself into a small parcel and place it in container/ jar/ onggi.

13. You may eat these kimchi right away or let it ferment for a 4-5 days first in the refrigerator. As time goes, the kimchi will becomes more sour.


Notes:
● For my hubby and family, this recipe has just the right amount of saltiness. But as for my SIL, she said that it is not salty enough. So, do adjust the saltiness to your own liking when making the paste.

● As Maangchi mentioned, you can keep this kimchi for almost forever. The longer you keep it, the more sour it becomes. But if your family who loves kimchi like mine, the kimchi will be gone in no time.

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Make this recipe? Don't forget to snap a photo of it and tag #msyummyliciousrecipe on social media! I would love to see them! Enjoy my recipe!

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