Kimchi Chigae Or Fermented Chili Pepper Cabbage So... |
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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 35 Minutes |
Ready In: 35 Minutes Servings: 6 |
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The first time I had this delicious soup was about a month ago at a Korean restaurant called Seoul Garden in Maitland - see My Places and expand the pictures - great place! This Kimchi Chigae is loaded with flavor thanks to the pork belly and kimchi and it has various levels of heat going on. Read more . Seoul Garden served it in a stone pot and it was still boiling when placed on our table. We ladled it out ourselves and added the white sticky rice that accompanied. Wow - we were blown away by the seemingly simplicity of ingredients, yet the complexity of flavors. So, of course, I set my course to try to recreate this soup and ended up pulling a darn close replication out of my culinary cap. This popular Korean soup could be made with beef, chicken or seafood. Or you could omit the meat altogether - it's your choice. This soup really has it going on - it delivers – enjoy. Ingredients:
16 oz pork belly*, sliced into 1/4 or a bit larger pieces (uncooked bacon can be used in a pinch, but if you can get pork belly - please use it. ) |
2 tbsp. of oil |
4 tbsp kochujang (korean chili paste) |
3-4 tbsp minced garlic |
2 cups kimchi (sometimes i add a little bit more because i adore kimchi) |
5 cups broth (use your favorite - i tend to use homemade chicken or veggie broth for this recipe) |
4 green onions, slice in a bias (save some for garnish) |
4 kochu (hot green chili), thinly sliced (save some for garnish) |
2 heaping tbsp kochukaru (korean pepper powder) |
1 tbsp soy sauce |
salt and pepper to taste |
1 pack dooboo (tofu) - i use the soft variety, cut into 1-inch cubes |
optional |
sticky rice (i like to serve this soup with it) |
* at my asian supermarket, woo sung, this is in the frozen meat section and it is sliced in packages like thick cut bacon. pork belly is not a smoked meat (like bacon) - and is really delicious. like i said, you could use bacon - or i think pancetta would work well here, too. |
Directions:
1. Place a Dutch oven (or large soup pot) on the stove, set heat to medium high. When pan gets hot, add 2 tbsp. of oil to the hot pan and swirl around to cover cooking surface.
2. Add pork belly (or bacon) and saute for about 8-10 minutes, until meat is fully cooked and starts getting a slight browned effect
3. **NOTE: Despite the visible fat content in pork belly, it does not render much fat, so even with the added oil the pieces have a tendency to stick to the pan - so stir often
4. Add chili paste and garlic and stir well into pork, scraping those delicious browned pork bits from the bottom of the pan; cook 1 additional minute over medium high heat, stirring once.
5. Add kimchi, broth, green onions, green chiles, Korean chili paste, Korean pepper powder and soy sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer for 30-35 minutes.
6. Remove from heat.
7. Place some tofu in each serving bowl and ladle soup over the tofu. Garnish with green onion and green chili slices.
8. Serve with rice.
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