GOAT Kimchi Jigae

Kimchi Jigae is what I almost always ask for at Korean restaurants. It’s also how I judge a Korean restaurant ; if they offer one, they’re authentic. If they don’t, I'm not interested. Kimchi Jigae outclasses any other Korean dish in my eyes. It has such a complex taste. The balance in flavours is unusually perfect : the sourness and savoriness come from the old kimchi and the gochujang, which are both fermented and quite salty ; the onion, with added sugar, and fat from the pork round it all out. You don’t really know where to stand, because you get such comfort from this perfect broth, and one second later you get that spice kick right in your face. I love it. Everyone talks about the umami, this « fifth taste ». From what I’ve tried, if there is one dish with crazy umami, it’s this one. Once you start, you can’t stop getting back at it, and your pleasure grows instead of disminishing as you eat it ! I’d go so far as saying you have not tried Korean cuisine if you have not tasted one of their stews. The average Korean eats Kimchi Jigae at least once a week ; when they go abroad, they cannot stay without it for long. The same goes for Doenjang Jigae ; if you can’t eat spicy food, try this one instead.

GOAT Kimchi Jigae - Recipe

Ingredients - Advice & key points

• Kimchi : You need to use old kimchi for this recipe, or it just won't be tasty. The sourer, the better !
  • If you only have fresh one, leave it out of the fridge for 2-3 of days, it will ferment much quicker. If you taste it and find it too sour to be pleasurable as is, you're good to go.
  • You can use store-bought or homemade, so long as the kimchi is sour. Of course, I recommend homemade, which is what I do. I'll post my Kimchi recipe someday !
• Pork :
  • You can buy your pork pre-sliced at the frozen section of your Asian grocery store, if the store is large enough.
  • If you cannot find it, it's ok ; you can easily slice the meat paper-thin at home ! You will only need to freeze your cut around 1 hour to make it easier to cut. It should be quite solid, but not rock-solid.
  • I used a mix of pork belly and pork shoulder. Either one if fine, but if you need to choose, I recommend pork belly, which is fattier. It will make for a tastier broth, and since we're really using a small amount, it remains quite healthy.

• I recommend you to go to a specialized Korean store, or large enough Asian store, to make sure you find all the ingredients you need (especially for the fresh Daikon, kelp, gochujang, gochugaru and dried anchovies).
• If you can take a bit of heat, but not necessarily much, just remove the gochugaru and try to pick or make a kimchi that is not too spicy. It should be enough, as the recipe is definitely spicy, but not crazy spicy.

Cooking and eating GOAT Kimchi Jigae

• You don't need to use a Dolsot like I do. The cool part about Dolsots is that they retain the heat well, so your Kimchi Jigae will remain piping hot as you eat it. But simply use any pot you have ; I'm sure it won't turn real cold, because you will devour this dish in no time !
• It is nice to eat some side dishes to go with your Kimchi jigae. If you're brave enough, you could cook 1 or 2 vegetables banchans along with it, such as simple spinach, bean sprouts or cucumber ones. I simply tend to buy them from the Korean mart -because they are delicious !
• I often eat my Kimchi Jigae with rice only, and it's still the best thing ever.

Trust me on this one !