When one thinks of Korea one of the first foods that come to mind is definitely kimchi. So today I want to teach you how to prepare one of the most famous dishes made with the famous fermented cabbage: the kimchi jjigae. This dish, usually accompanied with a bowl of rice, is a great choice for those who love spicy and soups.

Difficulty: medium

Duration: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 180 grams of sliced bacon;
• 15 ml of rice wine (mirin);
• a pinch of black pepper;
• 200 gr of kimchi cut into pieces;
• 30 g of finely chopped onion;
• a stem of spring onion (the green part) finely cut;
• 2 small shitake mushrooms without stem and finely cut;
• 150 gr of tofu cut into cubes of 1 cm;
• 250 ml of water.

Spices to mix:

• a spoonful of chili powder (gochugaru);
• a spoonful of soy sauce;
• a teaspoon of spicy sauce (gochujang);
• half a teaspoon of minced garlic;
• a pinch of black pepper.

Preparation

• Cut the bacon into small pieces and put it to marinate with the rice wine and pepper.
• Sauté the kimchi in a pan until it softens, then put the marinated bacon, the tofu, the onion, the mushrooms, the kimchi and the previously mixed spices in a pan with high sides leaving only the stalk of the onion cut.
• Then add the water and start cooking over high heat. Once the soup begins to boil, lower the heat and cook until the meat is cooked (it will take about 10/15 minutes). To make sure that the ingredients are well soaked in the sauce, occasionally use a spoon to cover the ingredients with the sauce not completely immersed.

Once the meat is cooked, turn off the heat and add the stalk of the onion and your kimchi jjigae will be ready to be eaten strictly with a nice bowl of rice!