Slow cooker kimchi stew with beef is a perfect comfort food for cold wintry days. It’s spicy, tender and delicious!
I’ve been wanting to try a slow cooker for some Korean dishes for a while. It seems like a great idea when I run out of time to cook meals most of these days. I first tried this slow cooker kimchi stew with beef two weekends ago and it turned out quite well.
After cooking this, I was almost about to publish the recipe on my blog on that same night. But I didn’t/couldn’t. Because my husband (aka, the taste tester) didn’t give me the ‘go signal’. He said it was a bit too sour. Well, hello~! You normally make kimchi stew with aged (sour) kimchi!
FYI, he hadn’t had kimchi stew for a very long time and he doesn’t normally like eating aged kimchi at all. (He prefers fresh kimchi that’s less than a week old.)
For the sake of pleasing my picky taste tester, I decided to revise it so that it accommodates people who are not used to the sour kimchi taste. So here is the taste tester approved Slow Cooker Kimchi Stew with Beef (Slow Cooker Kimchi Sogogi Jjigae, 슬로우쿠커 김치 소고기 찌개)!
It was very delicious with a slight spicy kick and it wasn’t sour at all. Both the kimchi and the meat was so tender and it melted away very quickly in our mouth. Even the microwaved leftovers were still tender and moist.
This recipe is just perfect for anyone on the go constantly. Once you put everything in a slow cooker, you can literally forget about it for a half day. How convenient! I hope you enjoy this warm and comforting dish. 🙂
Ingredients for Kimchi Beef Stew, 6 servings
Main
- 4 cups of kimchi, cut into bite sized
- 1kg (2.2 pounds) chuck steak – (This can be substituted with other kinds of meat e.g. pork. Meat with some sorts of fat would make the meat tenderer. I tried using fatless meat before and it was a bit tough.)
Sauce – mix these in a bowl
- 2 cup water
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp rice wine
- 2 Tbsp sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce – reduce/limit this if you’re using aged kimchi
- 1 Tbsp gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) – reduce this to make it less spicy
- 1 Tbsp gochujang (Korean chili paste)
(Note: In my opinion, aged kimchi is kimchi older than 2 weeks+.)
* 1 Tbsp = 15 ml, 1 Cup = 250 ml
** If you want to learn more about Korean ingredients, check my 30 essential Korean cooking ingredients list!
How to Make Slow Cooker Kimchi Beef Stew
1. Rinse the steak in cold running water to get rid of the blood. Pat it dry with some kitchen paper. Cut them into small chunk pieces.
2. Add all ingredients in a slow cooker. In the order of 2 cups of kimchi – steak – 2 cups of kimchi – Sauce. The order of placement shouldn’t really matter too much, but I thought steak would absorb the kimchi and seasoning taste better by being sandwiched.
3. Set the slow cooker on low heat and cook it for 8 hours. Stir it a bit occasionally. (The food is ready to eat from the 5th hour. However, an additional three-hour simmering makes the kimchi and the meat even tenderer.)
4. Serve the stew with rice once it is cooked.
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Slow Cooker Kimchi Stew with Beef
Ingredients
Main
- 4 cups kimchi cut into bite sized
- 1 kg chuck steak (2.2 pounds), This can be substituted with other kinds of meat e.g. pork. Meat with some sorts of fat would make the meat tenderer. I tried using fatless meat before and it was a bit tough.
Sauce – mix these in a bowl
- 2 cup water
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp rice wine
- 2 Tbsp sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce – reduce/limit this if you’re using aged kimchi
- 1 Tbsp gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) - can reduce this to make it less spicy
- 1 Tbsp gochujang (Korean chili paste)
Instructions
- Rinse the steak in cold running water to get rid of the blood. Pat it dry with some kitchen paper. Cut them into small chunk pieces.
- Add all ingredients in a slow cooker. In the order of 2 cups of kimchi – steak – 2 cups of kimchi – Sauce. The order of placement shouldn’t really matter too much, but I thought steak would absorb the kimchi and seasoning taste better by being sandwiched.
- Set the slow cooker on low heat and cook it for 8 hours. Stir it a bit occasionally. (The food is ready to eat from the 5th hour. However, an additional three-hour simmering makes the kimchi and the meat even tenderer.)
- Serve the stew with rice once it is cooked.
Notes
Nutrition Info (per serving)
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Are you able to cook this on the stove top?
I suppose you could if you’re using heavy based pot. (e.g. cast iron dutch oven). But without further testing, I can’t tell you how long to cook it.
Alternatively, you can use this recipe instead. https://mykoreankitchen.com/kimchi-jjigae/
Hi Sue – I’m dinky-di Aussie who happens to adore most Asian food but especially kimchi. I have it daily for breakfast and lunch with chopped up vegetables, usually 700grams a week. I am expecting kimchi for my next secret santa.
I cooked this amazing dish recently and would like to provide my feedback.
The flavours are totally delish however I felt the kimchi lost some of it’s oomph after cooking for 8 hours leaving the dish to be more of a chilli beef.
Next time when I make it, there will definitely be a next time, I will add the kimchi with maybe 1 hour to go so it doesn’t wither away. I will also be doubling the Korean spices, they’re amazing plus I’ve been using the paste to marinade various meat on the BBQ.
Thanks for this wonderful dish = bees knees!
Hi Barb, thanks for your feedback! I actually like the experience of when kimchi almost melts, but it is a good idea to add it later if you like to experience a more crunchy kimchi texture. 🙂
I made this today and loved it. I ended up leaving it in my slow cooker on low for 9 hours and warm for another hour because I forgot to make rice. I added zucchini when I switched it to warm and it was just right. It was delicious, thank you for the recipe!
Great! Adding zucchini sounds great too. 🙂
Love this recipe, it sounds delicious and I can’t wait to try it out! If I were to throw in glass noodles, at what point would you recommend adding them in? Thanks!
Hi Heather, because I haven’t tried it with glass noodles, I can’t answer your question with certainty.
But if you’re adding them, I would suggest, soak the dried glass noodles in warm water for about 15 minutes first. You can perhaps add it 30 mins to 1 hr prior to serving.
Though noodles soak up juice naturally. So just be mindful that you might not have much soup left if you add the noodles.
Hope you enjoy and let us know how it goes. 🙂
This provided me with a good place to start since I love never cooked Korean food before and have only used a crockpot once. I subbed one cup of chicken broth for a cup of water, used de-boned chicken thighs with skin on for the meat, used extra pepper paste because I didn’t have flakes, and added silken tofu at the last hour. It was yummy to me! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks! Great to hear it worked out well for you. 🙂
Can I use store bought kimchi for this? Thank you
Absolutely! That’s how I made this too. 🙂
Thanks for the recipe idea! I love kimchi and was so happy to see something actually pop up when I Googled “Kimchi + slow cooker”! I swapped Sambal Olek for Gochujang, as I don’t have any on hand (really need to get to H Mart!) , omitted the Korean spice powder as I don’t have any, upped the garlic, and added some vinegar, as my kimchi was not aged any (I don’t have the patience!). Came out very tasty! Have been eating this over rice and it is a hearty meal that’s not your “average” pot roast.
Wow, your description sounds so delicious! 🙂 I never tried sambal olek but I would love to try it to compare it with Gochujang. Funnily enough, I use gochujang as an alternative to sambal olek if a recipe calls for it. Anyway, I’m so happy that you enjoyed this recipe!
Hi, I can’t wait to try this recipe after making a big batch of my own kimchi. However can you please clarify the “rice wine” listed in the ingredients? Is this rice wine vinegar, sake, or perhaps something I’m unaware of that’s simply referred to as rice wine. Thanks
Hi Mike,
Rice wine used in this recipe is not rice wine vinegar. You can substitute with sake or mirin.
Sorry to ask this question again, but I’m also having trouble understanding the ingredient “rice wine”. Could you possibly write the name in Korean, so that I could do an image search and find it in my Korean mart? I would appreciate the help – thanks!
Hi Ben, You can check out what it looks like from my 30 Essential Korean Cooking Ingredients post here. https://mykoreankitchen.com/2015/07/11/essential-korean-cooking-ingredients/ Just use Ctrl + F to search “rice wine” as it contains long lists of items. 🙂 Hope this helps!
Just love this recipe!
Thanks Bill!
Oh Sue! This is to die for…I love love sour taste in stews, correction Korean stews! So yummy! Your pictures are making me drool! Delicious recipe
Thanks Sandra! I should make more Kimchi stew this weekend.
A slow cooker has been on my wish list for a while. Must be so convenient to let it cook for you and you can eat for two days (or more)…. so tempting!!! Your kimchi stew looks so good – meat will be so tender after long hours of cooking. 🙂
Don’t you have a slow cooker yet? Oh, you should get it! It’s really convenient to have. I haven’t used it much myself but I’m going to increase my usage with Korean cooking for sure!
The meat must be very tender and flavorful. I love eating kimchi but I’ve never had it in a stew form. It is a great and delicious idea. This is my first time visiting your site and I will sure come back often. Thank you. 🙂
You definitely should try the stew version. It’s very flavourful and it’s a great way to use up some aged Kimchi! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
Slow cooker is a perfect tool to cook kimchi stew in. I wish I can dig in to the bowl of this stew with some rice right now.
Thanks Holly! 🙂
I’ve pinned & tweeted this. Such an interesting recipe this is. I never thought of using kimchi in a stew.
Thanks Jayne! Kimchi stew is a very common every day meal in Korea. Though this is my first time using a slow cooker for Kimchi stew. I’m so happy that I tried this out. 🙂
What a great idea! I recently made a pot roast because I was craving beef. Then I made a big batch of kimchi-soy bean sprouts soup because I was craving Korean food. Your recipe combines the two beautifully! I am so making this. One question: Do you think it will make a difference for the better to brown the meat first or not that much? Thank you!
Hi Caroline, I have no idea about the browning side. I’ve never brown the meat first when slow cooking. Does that make any difference? What’s the purpose of it? Does the dish taste better in general? I’m so intrigued! I think you should try the both methods and let me know what you think of it. 🙂 The meat tastes beautiful without browning by the way.
Now thank you Sue for your recipes , and I will try this latest one with great fun, when I brown meat I tend to use my http://cookware.lecreuset.com Crock pot in the stove for 2 hours at 375’F to get the same result a 6 hours slow cooker, since my brains and work requires me to move along in the morning, the stove options works better for me in the long run, Ill let you know how it turns out.
Somewone asked ” why brown meat?” Being a cook in French Continental Cuisine, my perspective on Browning meat is ; “Strictly speaking, meat doesn’t need to be browned before it’s added to the slow cooker, The caramelized surface of the meat will lend rich flavor to the finished dish. And meat dredged in flour before browning will add body to the sauce (as in this Provençal Beef Stew). ”
InTexas (Houston) we are blessed with H-Mart in Little Korea, and I can get everything for an authentic Korean Meal from it.. kudos to the web site
I wish I live near H-mart too! I know it’s only in the US at the moment, but it would be so convenient to have near by. Lucky you!
Thanks for your insight on browning meat. I would love to hear about your little experiment.
Sue, almost a year past and I just bumped into your reply, I am so sorry I never replied to you in time, well I posted it on a blog page (only recipe actually) so you can see the result.
http://patsculinaryadventures.blogspot.com/2014/02/crock-pot-aged-kimchi-stew-with-pork.html
cheers
Thanks for your lovely post and feedback! 🙂