Kimchi Doenjang Jjigae

Jjigae is sort of like stew. There's a difference between jjigae and guk; jjigae is more salty and has less water, while guk is more soup-like, less salty and more watery. For this jjigae, I mixed kimchi and doenjang (Korean fermented soybean paste) together and it tasted great. Not only is it delicious when served with a bowl of hot rice, doenjang and kimchi are both well known for their great health benefits. But I must point out that this recipe is not for vegans, because I believe that most, if not all, commercial kimchi consists of fish sauce. Yeah, so unless you make kimchi at home... I have to say that vegans cannot eat kimchi.

I added a young pumpkin, but really, it can be subsituted with any vegetable of your choice, or you can add things like tofu. Serve with rice and a few side dishes. Enjoy this simple, yet delicious jjigae.



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Kimchi Doenjang Jjigae
or Kimchi Soybean Stew serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 1/4 and 1/8 cups Korean soybean paste
• 2 cups chopped kimchi
• 1 young pumpkin, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 and 1/4 cups chopped scallions
• 7 cups water or vegetable stock

Steps

1. In a pot on high heat, mix kimchi and onion with a little bit of water. Add more water if it evaporates, just a little at a time, until the onion is almost cooked.
   
   
2. Lower the heat to medium-high and mix with Korean soybean paste. Keep adding water a little at a time.
   
   
3. When kimchi and onion absorb the paste, add water or vegetable stock, a young pumpkin, soy sauce, and minced garlic. Turn to high heat, put on the lid, and bring to a boil. Let boil for 5 minutes.
   
   
4. Lower to medium heat, let it cook for 10 minutes. Add chopped scallions and let it cook for another 5 minutes. The more you cook jjigae, the better it will taste.
   

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Making Kimchi Doenjang Jjigae