← Nouns Cooking · Korean

Ingredients

• 300 g well-fermented (sour) kimchi, cut into bite-size pieces
• 4 tbsp kimchi juice from the jar
• 150 g tinned tuna in oil (1 tin)
• ½ Onion, sliced
• 2 tsp Vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp Gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes)
• 1 tbsp Gochujang
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 600 ml water or anchovy stock
• 1 tbsp soup soy sauce or fish sauce
• 200 g medium or firm tofu, sliced 1 cm thick
• 2 Spring onion, cut into 5 cm lengths
• 1 green chilli, sliced (optional)

Method

1. Drain the oil from the tuna into a pot and add the oil. Fry the kimchi over medium heat for 3–4 min, until it softens and smells toasty.
2. Add the onion, gochugaru and garlic and stir for 1 minute so the chilli turns the oil red.
3. Pour in the water and kimchi juice, stir in the gochujang and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 min so the kimchi gives up its flavour.
4. Add the tofu and the tuna in big flakes, then simmer gently for 5 min. Season with the soup soy sauce, tasting first, since kimchi saltiness varies a lot.
5. Scatter over the spring onion and chilli, let it bubble for 30 seconds and bring the pot to the table with plenty of rice.

Tips

• Older, sour kimchi makes the best jjigae; fresh kimchi tastes flat, so add a pinch of sugar and a splash of vinegar if that is all you have.
• Stir the tuna in late and gently so it stays in chunks instead of turning to mush.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

FutureDish Seonkyoung Longest