Kimchijjigae is one of the most common stews, along with Doenjangjjigae (Soybean paste stew). I used to make it a lot, but I was never good at making really good home style stew.
However it is kind of weird to complement your own food, but it really rocked. I was so touched with my own stew. I think pork made the difference (it worked as a broth I think), because I never used meat in Kimchijjigae before today.
So here is the rocking recipe.
Ingredients for 2 people

- 200 g pork (shoulder loin)
- 1 tbsp refined rice wine
- 3 sprinkles ground pepper
- 2 fistfuls Kimchi (Longer fermented Kimchi is better for this meal, however if your Kimchi is new, add 1 tbsp of vinegar into the Kimchi. It is like instant fermenting.)
- 1/4 onion
- 1/3 tofu
- 1/2 stalk of a spring onion

- 2 shiitake mushrooms
- 1 green chili
- 150 ml water
For Sauce (Mix them together.)
- 2 tsp Korean chili powder
- 1 tsp Gochujang
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp minced garlic
- 2 sprinkles ground pepper
Preparation
1. Rinse the meat in running cold water.
2. Marinade the meat with the refined rice wine and ground pepper. (for 15 minutes)

3. Thin slice the mushrooms, onion and spring onion.
4. Cut the tofu into medium size cubes.
5. Make a long cut in the middle of the chili and wash out the seeds in cold water (Make sure you don’t touch them. Scrub it out with spoon or knife, if it is necessary. It makes you sting all night if you touch the seeds.) Then thin slice it.
Cooking (You will need a wok and a pot.)
1. Pre heat the wok then add some vegetable oil.
2. Add the Kimchi and stir it until it is cooked.

3. Put the marinated meat into the bottom of the pot. Add all the other ingredients (Kimchi, mushrooms, onion, tofu, water and the sauce) except chili and spring onion.

4. Boil the pot on strong heat until it boils.
5. Add the chili and spring onion near the end of boiling.
6. Serve it.

I had garlic chives buchimgae as a side dish. It was delicious and crispy. I am planning on posting this recipe some other time, however you can refer to my current recipe from this blog.

Buchimgae (Korean Pancakes Reference)
Tuna Pancakes (Chamchijeon in Korean)
Squid pancakes (Ojingeo Buchimgae in Korean)
Seasoned sesame leaves pancakes (Kkaenip Jang Ddeok in Korean)
Related Posts
Tofu Soybean Paste Stew (Dubu Doenjangjjigae in Korean)
Fish Cake Soup (Eomuk-Guk in Korean)
Shellfish and Chewy Noodle Soup (Bajirak Kalguksu in Korean)
Related posts:

안녕하세요,
너무 ë§Žì€ì´ 주셔서 ê°ì‚¬í•©ë‹ˆë‹¤! I am a “white” guy living in Korea YoungGwang to be exact, and came across your recipe while looking for this stew. Everyone says how easy it is to make, yet when others make it at home it’s never very good (to me). This recipe however was just as good if not better than my favorite places to buy it at. So Thanks again!
-Will
I just cooked this tonight with my boyfriend…it was fantastic and foolproof. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
This is the best recipe so far that I have found for kimchi stew. I love kimchi. Thanks for the recipe!!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I just made it today and it was delicious! Great for a cold night!
Hi
I just browsed your blog and am impressed with your recipes posting. I live in Canada and am not Korean but ultimately, LOVE most of the Korean soups/stew. I will be trying your “gamchatang” tonite. Thanks for sharing your Korean recipes.:)))Cheers
Hey,
I just posted my ultimate kimchi recipe and cannot wait to try it again. Your stew looks like the one I ve been looking for. I ll be trying it as soon as I ferment another batch of this goodness.
Hi Sue,
I managed to cooked it yesterday. It’s so delicious!!! Thanks for sharing with us.
Hi! Thank you for the awesome website! I love it! So many great recipes to make. I’ll be making this pork stew on X-mas day so I hope it turn out well. I got a question for you though, I love seafood; I was wondering if seafood can be added to the recipe? If so, should it be marinated with the pork+ rice wine + ground pepper?
Thank you! You’re an AWESOME COOK! keep it up!
(^__^) sunny
Sammi, I hope it works out well for you.
I made this stew on last Sunday as well and it was really great!
Hello there,
I am so glad that I just “bumped into” your website. It’s brilliant!! I have been dying for some Korean recipes but am not sure about buying books written in English coz I always they maybe some westernised dishes.
You explain everything really clearly and detail. I am going to try making this dish tonight as my homemade kimchi is finally ready! (I am not Korean tho but I wish I could read Korean then I would be able to read more recipes)
Hi! I just stumbled on your blog while trying to find korean recipes online. I am Korean who is married to a “white” guy and I LOVE LOVE my Korean food and want to try cooking more of it at home. But my mom lives pretty far from me so it’s hard to learn how to cook Korean food. I hve a question regarding your kimchee-jji-gae. I noticed that you use a little bit of soy sauce to it. Is that common?? I thought it was interesting. My mom never added it to hers.
I haven’t tried your recipes yet, but I am looking forward to it! It’s so hard to find authentic korean recipes written in English and I am very glad that you do it here on your blog! You will be helping many Korean-Americans (like me) and others to cook our cultural food, which is hard to do with limited English resources.
Thanks! I have bookmarked this site and will be visiting very often and trying out your recipes.
Hi Timmy,
That’s great that it still tasted good without the meat. It is not that spicy though.
Well, I must have got used to it.
Hi again Sue!
I finally tried this last Saturday and came up with a very, very hot stew…..whew! It was great though and my father in law loved it. One hitch though, since we were having grilled pork wrapped in lettuce, I decided not to put any pork in my soup. Nonetheless, my soup tasted great and it just came out fantastic.
I told them that i got the recipe from your blog….big help indeed!
Thank you again Sue!
Hi,Sandra
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you find it tasty.
Hi, I found you through Zen Kimchi, this meal looks great. I can’t wait to try the recipe.
Hi, baobaighost
I haven’t tried making Kong Guk Su yet, but I am planning to cook all kinds of Korean meals as long as I can.
Also Kong guk su is a summer time meal, so I don’t really feel like eating it and cooking it for a while. (It is winter, you know? unless you are in a tropical area or the southern hemisphere)
But I found someone else’s kong guk su recipe on the internet.
http://www.desertmodernism.com/blog/2006/05/ It was posted on May 07, 2006, so you need to scroll down a bit.
Most Koreans eat rice for nearly every meal, along with 3-5 side dishes and soup or stew. So, compared to western people, Koreans have very big meals from breakfast to dinner.
Kimchi is one of the essential side dishes, Kimchijjigae and Doenjangjjigae are very common stews as well.
If you specify the purpose (for guests, party, celebration, etc) I can give more specific answers or suggestions too. (There are hundreds of different side dishes).
Bye
Hi,
I found your website just today and really like it. Thanks a lot for sharing your recipes. Do you know how to cook KONG KUK SOO (somen with soybean milk)? What are very common dishes to eat for lunch and breakfast?