Today let’s learn about cooking kimchi jjigae (김치찌개) at home! Kimchi jjigae is a delicious, flavorful stew in Korea that is just plain comfort food. You can find it in many restaurants and homes all across Korea.
About the South of Seoul ‘A Year to Learn Korean Cooking’ Series
Many of us live in South Korea for only a year. Time flies past faster than we can imagine. At South of Seoul, we decided to create a simple series that will offer 2-4 dishes to learn each month so that when you leave South Korea you have a slew of new dishes you feel comfortable making anywhere. In this post you will learn about cooking Kimchijjigae, a popular winter dish in South Korea.
This series is a collaboration with Kimchi Rednecks. In 2020 they created the first blog in this series Online Resources for Learning to Cook Korean Food. These two love to have adventures in the kitchen and share the results with their community. Be sure to follow Kimchi Rednecks on YouTube for other great videos about living life in South Korea.
About Kimchi jjigae
Kimchi jjigae could be considered a love language in South Korea. This spicy, warm, and tangy dish exists as one of the quintessential Korean comfort foods. When the weather is a bit off or your heart is a little sad, kimchi jjigae can make it all seem a little better.
The flavor profile of this dish will vary based on the quality and style of two key ingredients: kimchi and gochujang. If your kimchi is well-aged the flavor profile will be deeper and tangier. If you use less gochujang you will get a less ‘muddy’ taste. Each restaurant and person will have a slightly different style so you may have to adjust the recipe to find your perfect version.
Biggest Hurdle When Making Kimchi jjigae
Access to aged kimchi can be a hurdle for those new to Korea. Cooking kimchijjigae usually requires VERY old kimchi to get the best flavor and you may only have access to ‘fresh’ kimchi. Do not let this keep you from making your first kimchijjigae. The dish can still come out light and nice. Don’t get disappointed when your kimchijjigae doesn’t taste as deep and rich as those with 1-year-old kimchi available. Just put some kimchi aside for your jjigae next winter.
Three Recommended Videos to watch on Kimchi jjigae
The truth is, it’s hard to get kimchi jjigae wrong since you can simply keep adding a little of this and a little of that until you like it. We don’t usually use actual recipes or measurements. We just ‘feel’ it. However, before you can ‘feel it’ it’s nice to use a few recipes as a guide. We have chosen a few different cultural views of this traditional Korean dish.
Watch these three versions of kimchi jjigae and then attempt one of your own!
Korean American Kimchi jjigae
Korean Kimchi jjigae
American In Korea Kimchi jjigae
Let Us Know How It Turns Out
When you try cooking Kimchi jjigae for the first time, be sure to leave a comment and let us know how it went! If you live in Pyeongtaek you can even share your success (or failure) with us in the Pyeongtaek Food & Fun Facebook group.
Learn more recipes in our Year to learn Korean Cooking series
Join the Pyeongtaek Food & Fun Facebook Group
You are also welcome to join our Pyeongtaek Food & Fun Facebook Group. The South of Seoul moderated community of active and friendly Pyeongtaek international residents makes moving to Pyeongtaek easier. With so many different voices and opinions, it is always refreshing to see everyone’s adventures in our local community. In addition, all of the posts shared introduce our community to new places and old places that can feel new all over again.
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Founded in 2015, the South of Seoul team consists of volunteers on three continents working together to support English-speaking people traveling or living in South Korea. South of Seoul volunteers work with organizations and individuals across South Korea to improve equitable access to information across South Korea. Much of South of Seoul’s information focuses on Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.
Blogs published under the authorship of “South of Seoul” include blogs compiled by multiple volunteers to improve access to standardized information unrelated to individualized personal experiences.
