Kimchi Jjigae with Pork Belly
KOREAN · KOREA

Kimchi Jjigae with Pork Belly

김치찌개Soup

A bubbling, scarlet stew of aged kimchi and pork belly — sour, funky, porky and properly spicy. The older and sourer the kimchi, the better this pot tastes.

Total
50 min
Heat
4/5
Serves
4

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Flavour profile

Heat
Funk
Acid
Richness
Umami
  • Funky
  • Savoury
  • Sour
  • Spicy

The real deal

Region
Korea. The everyday home stew of aged kimchi simmered with pork.
Technique
Aged kimchi is fried in its own juices with pork belly first — that frying step builds the whole base — then simmered in the kimchi brine and stock until the pork is tender.
We kept
Aged, sour kimchi (never fresh), pork belly, gochugaru, anchovy-kelp stock, and a pot that keeps bubbling at the table.

Ingredients

4 Serves

stew

  • 400 g · well-fermented, sour; keep the brine
  • 400 g · skinless, sliced
  • 1 · sliced
  • 4 cloves · minced
  • 2 cm · minced
  • 2 tbsp
  • 1 tbsp
  • 1 tsp
  • 2 tbsp
  • 1 tsp

finish

  • 300 g · firm or medium, cubed
  • 3 · sliced on the diagonal
  • 1 tsp
  • 1 tsp · optional · crushed

Ingredients

  • 700 ml

Method

  1. Cut into thin strips about 0.5 cm thick — bite-sized pieces that will render and soften in the stew.

    Partially freezing the belly makes clean, even slices easy. Always slice against the grain.

  2. Cut into bite-sized pieces about 4 cm long, keeping the brine. Squeeze the pieces gently over the bowl — reserve every drop of the brine, it is the sour backbone of the pot.

    Older, more sour kimchi makes a better jjigae. Under-ripe kimchi gives a flat, sweet stew.

  3. Mince and together into a rough paste.

  4. Set a heavy pot over medium heat. Add the pork, spread it out, and render until the fat turns glossy and the edges begin to brown, about 5 min. Do not rush this — the fat is the base of the stew.

    If your pork belly is lean, add a teaspoon of neutral oil to get it going.

  5. Add the kimchi to the pot and fry hard for 8 min, stirring often, until the pieces turn jammy, darker and almost glossy. Add and the garlic-ginger paste and fry for another 1 min, until the whole pot smells sour, sweet and porky — this is the flavour base, so let it colour.

    Do not skip this or rush it: raw kimchi dumped straight into liquid gives a thin, sour, one-note stew. Frying it concentrates the funk and deepens the colour.

  6. Stir in , , , and until everything is evenly coated and the pot smells toasted and deep.

    The doenjang is a small Korean move — it adds a savoury backbone without making the stew taste like doenjang jjigae.

  7. Pour in 700 ml and the reserved kimchi brine. Bring to a boil, then drop to a gentle simmer and cook for 20 min, until the pork is tender and the broth is thick, scarlet and glossy.

    If the broth looks thin, keep simmering uncovered; the stew should be concentrated enough to spoon over rice.

  8. Cut into cubes about 2.5 cm and slide them in. Simmer gently for 5 min, without stirring hard, until the tofu is heated through and the stew is deep red.

    Use a spoon to push the tofu under the broth rather than stirring, so the cubes stay whole.

  9. Taste and adjust with a little more or brine if it needs salt. Scatter over , drizzle and finish with if using. Serve bubbling hot, with short-grain rice.

    This is better after it sits — but it never makes it that far.

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