Kimchi Jjigae

My boyfriend made kimchi jjigae, aka kimchi stew, and it was delish and I'm not just saying that to score some brownie points with him.

Although it may appear scary to some but believe me it is not spicy at all even though it looks really spicy red. My tolerance for spicy food is pretty much on the low end but this was not hot at all. Then again we used the leftover kimchi from my inlaws. It was fresh so it hadn't soaked up all the spices for too long.

Last time my boyfriend made it he used the entire bucket of kimchi that he bought from the Galleria supermarket. It was definitely spicy but I ate a lot of rice with it so it wasn't too bad. Think the best Korean food are the really spicy ones so will have to build up my tolerance for it slowly in order to eat the really good dishes.

Just in case anybody wants to try to make this at home here is the recipe. It's very simple to prepare. Also it's very versatile so you can add things like tofu, seafood or scallions.

Also if you buy a bucket of kimchi from the supermarket if you like it less vinegary like me then try to choose the most recent date that it was made. Unless you like the more stronger taste then you can choose a later date. The more older it is the more fermented it will be and will contain higher amounts of the "good" bacteria that are also found in yogurt. Sounds disgusting but at least it's good for you.

Ingredients:

Pork shoulder butt

Sesame Oil

Kimchi

King oyster mushrooms

Enoki mushrooms

Salt

Chicken broth

Directions:

Brown the pork in sesame oil. Then add the remaining ingredients and stir fry for a few minutes.

Then transfer to a pot and add a few cups of boiling water. Depending on how much soup you make you will have to eyeball it and figure out how much water to add.

Simmer on low heat for 30-40 minutes.

Keep tasting the soup and season it to your liking.

That's it. Hope you enjoy the soup as much as I do:)