I don’t think I realised quite how much you loved Korean food, even though Kimberley Road in Tsim Sha Tsui had, for a long time, become our default go-to location for a meal out.
At first I thought we chose the Korean hangouts around there because they were close to your old flat and my favourite foot massage place, or perhaps because they were heavily discounted on the Eatigo app and we both like a bargain. But it was after one of our many trips to the grungy little area that felt like the back streets of Seoul that I finally twigged.
“This girl really likes Korean food” I realised in a moment of clarity, as we came back for the third time in about a month.
I wondered for a moment or two if you were actually Korean and had just been pretending to be Chinese American. I mean, who admits to visiting Korea on holiday five times other than a Korean going home to see their family?
I think it was after one of those trips to Ssal Bori Ssal, with its crispy af pancakes, amazing soups and sweet and spicy ttesokbokki, that we first had the idea to try and make one of your favourite dishes, kimchi jjigae, at home.
Would I have even tried to make it without your influence? Absolutely not. Am I glad I did? Absolutely yes.
Simple, yet incredibly satisfying. Homey, yet somehow exotic. Easy to make, yet with a depth and complexity that’s difficult to explain. A winter staple you could probably eat every day of the year without complaint. Are you sure you’re not Korean after all?
A&A’s TST Kimchi Jjigae
Makes enough for four people for one meal or four meals for one person!
SHOPPING LIST
Must Haves
1. Pork bones – One normal box from Oseki usually does the trick. About 500g?
2. Kimchi – Half a normal size tub from Ozeki, or one whole small pack. About 250g?
3. Scallions – 2 or 3 if buying a bunch, or a half a pre-chopped pack. Chopped however you like.
4. Half a regular onion or a leek – Diced normally, doesn’t need to be really small.
5. Ginger – Big chunk, washed and sliced into thick rounds. Skin on or off as you prefer.
6. Carrot – One. Peeled and chopped into 3 or 4 large chunks. NB. If you don’t use carrot it’s fine. Using it makes the broth sweeter.
7. Potato – One or two. Peeled and chopped into quarters.
8. Gochujang – Two big tablespoons (unless you’re also using ssamjang too, in which case use one tablespoon of each).
9. Dashi OR other stock packet – One packet. The anchovy or seaweed stock is good.
10. Soy Sauce – One circle. More to taste if needed.
11. Sake – One circle.
12. Fish Sauce - If using the good one, one tablespoon max.
13. White pepper – One shake.
14. Sesame Oil – To taste.
Optional – Other broth ingredients
1. Cooked ham – I usually buy one of the blocks from Ozeki, then cut off the fat and cube it. About 200g?
2. Daikon – Cut into rounds, then halves or quarters (like for miso soup).
3. Extra napa cabbage – You don’t need too much of this, and I often don’t put any extra as it is already in kimchi. If you do, remember it melts down and gives out water, so you can use less water when covering the broth.
4. Ssamjang – Korean bean paste (comes in a box like gochujang, but the box is green not red). If you have this, use one tablespoon of this and one (not two) tablespoons of gochujang.
Optional – Other serving ingredients
1. Green veggies
2. Beansprouts
3. Fried tofu
4. Silken tofu
5. Knot noodles
6. Ramen eggs
7. Fish balls/slice
8. Other fun things!
HOW TO MAKE
Make a flavourful broth with the base ingredients and then add the other ingredients at the right time so they are cooked how you want them.
Broth
1. Put the pork bones in cold water in a pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for a couple of minutes. Then drain the water and wash the bones in cold water. Fine for them not to be fully cooked at this stage.
2. Chop up all your ingredients in advance before starting to cook so you can dump them in as you go – it’s pretty quick once you get the pot on.
3. In a large pot (the black one is good), soften the onion or leek in a little regular oil for a few minutes.
4. Add pork bones, carrot, ginger and half the scallions and fry for a couple of minutes.
5. Add the kimchi, gochujang and sake (and, if using, cooked ham and daikon and ssamjang), stir well to melt the gochujang and fry for a minute or two.
6. Cover the mixture with water completely (and, if using, adding the extra napa cabbage). There should be a bit more water in there than you want in the final finished dish.
7. Add the soy sauce, fish sauce, dashi or stock, potato, white pepper and bring to the boil.
8. Simmer gently with a lid on for about 30 mins, or until you have the desired amount of broth. Simmer longer with a lid off if it is too watery after 30 mins. Taste it and adjust for salt.
Serving
1. To the cooked broth, you can add your serving ingredients, cooking them in the broth for the time you think they need (e.g. fish balls may need a few minutes, but green veggies, fried tofu and beansprouts cook almost immediately in the residual heat).
2. I prefer to put silken tofu straight in the serving bowls rather than the broth pot, to stop it breaking up.
3. Add a little sesame oil to the serving bowl, if desired. If you have them, also add a bit more fresh scallion.
4. A good “next day” version is to have kimchi jjigae ramen, cooking ramen noodles separately in water (cooking them in the broth sometimes makes the broth gluey) and then adding to warmed kimchi jjigae broth, with whatever ramen toppings you fancy.