Pork Belly, Tofu, and Kimchi Stew
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour (10 inactive)
Cooking with kimchi. This was a foreign concept to me until I took a “how-to-make” kimchi class in 2018. In addition to making kimchi, we also cooked a few dishes with kimchi. Chopping up the kimchi and cooking it, as opposed to eating giant pieces of cabbage kimchi was a game changer that turned kimchi into one of my kitchen staples.
Since then, I have not made my own kimchi, but I have frequently made kimchi fried rice and kimchi stew. Kimchi stew – kimchi-jjigae in Korean (jjigae = stew) – is a flavor bomb with a budget friendly list of ingredients. To put it simply, the pork belly and tofu are stewed in a kimchi broth. But that is oversimplifying it. This pork belly, tofu, and kimchi stew is full of complex flavors yet the the process is fairly simple.
We start by rendering the fat from the pork belly. This creates a flavorful fat for us to use to cook and caramelize the kimchi. Once the kimchi is caramelized, we just add the onion and cook it for a bit, then we add almost all of the other ingredients, bring to a boil, and simmer. If you can chop and slice, you can make this kimchi stew. And anyone can chop and slice!
What creates the complex flavors or kimchi stew? That would be the fermented ingredients. Kimchi is fermented, and so is gochujang. That right there gives you complexity that could not be achieved without the use of fermented ingredients. Kimchi stew is also traditionally make with “aged” kimchi. Kimchi starts to age once you open the jar. Ideally, you could use kimchi that has aged around 30 days. But it will still be great with a just opened jar of kimchi. Then we also have the Kimchi juice/brine. This is packed with flavor and we will be using it in the stew as well.
Going back to the budget friendly part… The most expensive ingredient is the pork belly, and as of right now it is $9 per pound at Whole Foods. So at most, you are going to spend $4.50 on the pork. Then you may need to buy the onions and the tofu. Everything else you should have in your pantry. If you don’t, once you buy them for this recipe, you will have them again the next time you crave this pork belly, tofu and kimchi stew. And you will crave it!
Not to endorse Whole Foods, because I love shopping at the Asian grocery stores in Denver, but you should be able to get kimchi, gochujaru (Korean red pepper flakes), and gochujang (fermented Korean red chili paste) at Whole Foods. The point is, no matter where you live in the country you should be able to get the ingredients for this kimchi stew. But, if there are Asian grocery stores near you, I encourage you to patronize those stores.
Now get cooking!
Servings/Suggestions
More tofu? If you want to use the full block of tofu, that is fine
More pork belly? Let’s say you want to use 16 ounce of pork belly instead. That is fine, just cook the pork in two batches, and pour out half of the rendered fat before cooking the kimchi.
If you want to add garlic, go for it. If you add garlic, I would do it when you add the white onion. Although, I have heard it is traditional to add it at the very end.
To serve, just ladle over rice and top with sliced green onion
This makes 4 servings
Ingredients
8 ounces of pork belly, thinly sliced into roughly 1” x 2” pieces
Hopefully the width of your pork belly is around 2 inches
1 white onion, quartered and thinly sliced
1 cup cabbage kimchi, chopped
try to take out just the kimchi, leaving the brine/juice behind
2 tablespoons mirin or sake
freshly ground black pepper
2 cups water
1 tablespoon gochujaru
1 tablespoon gochujang
2 tablespoons kimchi brine/juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 bunch green onions
aka scallions
7 ounces of firm tofu
We want to use half the block of tofu. They are generally between 14 and 16 ounces.
1 cup cooked rice, per person
Mise en place
(Set yourself up for success before you start cooking)
Slice the pork belly
Put the pork belly in the freezer for 10 minutes before you slice it. Since there is a lot of fat, it will be easier to thinly slice when it is colder.
Directions
Step 1
In a small bowl, mix together the mirin (or sake), and the black pepper. Add the sliced pork belly and stir to coat. Let this marinate for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the onion and chop the kimchi. When you remove the kimchi, try to leave the juice behind. We will use the juice later, and the less liquid we have in our chopped kimchi the easier it will be to caramelize.
Step 2
Heat up a medium sized pot over medium heat. Remove the pork belly from the marinade and add it to the pot. Try to leave behind excess marinated, don’t just dump the whole thing in the pot. We want the pork belly to brown a bit, and with the additional liquid it will steam. Once the pork belly has some browning or color, remove it to a plate or bowl line with a paper towel. This will take around 7 minutes. Leave any rendered fat in the pot.
Step 3
Add the chopped kimchi. Cook, stirring every few minutes, until it starts to caramelize. This smell is amazing. This step will probably take between 8 and 10 minutes.
Step 4
Add the onion and stir very well to combine the onion and the kimchi. Cover and cook for three minutes.
Step 5
Add the water, the gochujaru, the gochujang, the kimchi juice/brine, and the soy sauce. Bring to a boil. Once it is boiling, add the pork belly back to the pot and stir well. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring once halfway.
Meanwhile, slice the tofu into 1” tiles. Also slice the white and light green parts of the green onions.
Step 6
Add the tofu and sliced green onion. Stir well. Cook for 15 minutes, covered. Stir once halfway. Meanwhile, slice the green parts of the green onion for garnish.
Step 7
Serve with rice, top with sliced green onion.
Pork Belly, Tofu, and Kimchi Stew
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces of pork belly, thinly sliced into roughly 1” x 2” pieces
- 1 white onion, quartered and thinly sliced
- 1 cup cabbage kimchi, chopped
- 2 tablespoons mirin or sake
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon gochujaru
- 1 tablespoon gochujang
- 2 tablespoons kimchi brine/juice
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 bunch green onions
- 7 ounces of firm tofu
- 1 cup cooked rice, per person
Instructions:
How to cook Pork Belly, Tofu, and Kimchi Stew
- In a small bowl, mix together the mirin (or sake), and the black pepper. Add the sliced pork belly and stir to coat. Let this marinate for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the onion and chop the kimchi. When you remove the kimchi, try to leave the juice behind. We will use the juice later, and the less liquid we have in our chopped kimchi the easier it will be to caramelize.
- Heat up a medium sized pot over medium heat. Remove the pork belly from the marinade and add it to the pot. Try to leave behind excess marinated, don’t just dump the whole thing in the pot. We want the pork belly to brown a bit, and with the additional liquid it will steam. Once the pork belly has some browning or color, remove it to a plate or bowl line with a paper towel. This will take around 7 minutes. Leave any rendered fat in the pot.
- Add the chopped kimchi. Cook, stirring every few minutes, until it starts to caramelize. This smell is amazing. This step will probably take between 8 and 10 minutes.
- Add the onion and stir very well to combine the onion and the kimchi. Cover and cook for three minutes.
- Add the water, the gochujaru, the gochujang, the kimchi juice/brine, and the soy sauce. Bring to a boil. Once it is boiling, add the pork belly back to the pot and stir well. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring once halfway. Meanwhile, slice the tofu into 1” tiles. Also slice the white and light green parts of the green onions.
- Add the tofu and sliced green onion. Stir well. Cook for 15 minutes, covered. Stir once halfway. Meanwhile, slice the green parts of the green onion for garnish.
- Serve with rice, top with sliced green onion.