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Kimchi and mackerel camping stew

Kimchi godeungeo-tongjorim jjigae 김치 고등어통조림 찌개

Today I’ll show you how to make kimchi stew with canned mackerel. When I was in university in Seoul, I often went on short camping trips with my best friends. This stew was among our repertoire of simple side dishes that we knew how to make. We always had it with rice, sharing it with each other until the rice was gone and the pot was empty.

I can’t help but feel nostalgic when I make this dish: I miss my old friends, and my university days. What fun we had! One of us would cut the potato, another would clean and cut the onion, and another would prep the can of saury or mackerel. The stew and rice seemed to cook in no time at all, as we never stopped chatting and laughing.

Soon enough it was: “Yay, let’s eat!” Yummy yummy omul omul we were eating together and chatting the whole time.

You can use canned herrings, tuna, or canned salmon in this recipe. The nice thing about canned fish is that it transports well in your backpack, and you can eat the fishbones, which get totally soft in the can. They’re totally chewable and full of calcium!

You could also use fresh fish if you wanted. Fresh mackerel or saury would work well, but just be sure to remove the bones first before eating!

This video was shot a few weeks ago at YouTube in Los Angeles, with my new friend Jenn from the YouTube channel Cookies, Cupcakes, and Cardio. We had a lot of fun making the video, and she loved the stew a lot. After that she showed me how to make a fruit pizza on her backpacking oven. It was a great day of cooking and filming.
kitchen

Ingredients (Serves 4)

  • 1¼ cup fermented kimchi, chopped
  • 1 onion (about 1 cup), chopped
  • 1 medium size potato, peeled and cut into bite size chunks
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons gochujang (hot pepper paste)
  • 1 green chili pepper, chopped
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 can of saury or mackerel

Directions

  1. Combine the kimchi, onion, potato, garlic, green chili pepper in a pot. Add the gochujang and mix well with a spoon.kimchi mackerel camping stew
    kimchi mackerel camping stew
  2. Add a can of mackerel or saury, and the water.
    kimchi camping stew
  3. Close the lid and boil over medium high heat for 15 minutes. Stir and mix with a spoon.  Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for another 15 minutes.
  4. Remove from the heat and serve immediately with rice.kimchi mackerel camping stew

Posted on Sunday, February 16th, 2014 at 12:16 pm. Last updated on August 10, 2021.
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15 Comments:

  1. [email protected] joined 7/15 & has 2 comments
    Posted August 4th, 2015 at 1:24 pm | or create a profile.

    it really good. I was sick and left alone.
    I wonder what Mangchi would cook with the mackeral. then I found this menu.
    Yummy and give me a lot of energy. I also have some perrila leaves so I wrap them like a roll. It also good with cucumber and avocado too.
    Thanks you.


    See full size image

  2. SynKatt USA joined 11/14 & has 1 comment
    Posted November 5th, 2014 at 2:08 pm | or create a profile.

    This looks so good and i wanted to make it for dinner tonight, but i have a couple questions.
    1) can i use cubed radish kimchi instead of the cabbage kind?
    2) can this be frozen after cooking?

    Thanks so much! 😺

  3. xerathemum KY, USA joined 4/14 & has 1 comment
    Posted April 30th, 2014 at 7:02 pm | or create a profile.

    Maangchi, I made this stew today for my grandmother and I, and we loved it! It’s so tasty and so simple. I’ll admit we had some reservations giving it a try, but I’m glad we did.

    Your recipes are always so amazing, keep up the great work! :D

  4. tamy23 Brasil joined 3/14 & has 4 comments
    Posted April 9th, 2014 at 7:05 pm | or create a profile.

    Maangchi I can’t find canned mackerel where I live. Can I use the frozen fish insted?

  5. hotbunsandmilk Los Feliz, CA joined 3/14 & has 2 comments
    Posted March 23rd, 2014 at 4:25 pm | or create a profile.

    Delicious and satisfying!!! I made this for dinner yesterday and it turned out great! I had just purchased a dozen cans of the Sempio mackerel from Zion Market last weekend. They sell them at a dollar more per can, which is still cheaper than a can of salmon. I eat fish everyday, making sandwiches, fried fish cakes for breakfast, adding to salads, and yes, right out of the can with dipping sauce. I was so happy to find this recipe. A few years ago, I used to mix cabbage with onions, garlic, canned salmon, Sriracha chili sauce and a drizzling of sesame oil towards the end. To my dismay, the salmon always crumbled. Using mackerel (or similar fish) is the best way to go because it holds its shape well during the cooking time. The kimchi and gochujang gives it a depth of flavor that is so good, while the potato gives it just enough carb tease. Thank you so much for this recipe.

    • Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,047 comments
      Posted March 24th, 2014 at 9:47 am | or create a profile.

      You bought a dozen cans of mackerel! Holly mackerel! LOL.
      It’s really fun to read your story. “Using mackerel (or similar fish) is the best way to go because it holds its shape well during the cooking time.” I have never thought about this, yes, it makes sense!
      Good luck with your Korean cooking!

  6. jasperridge San Diego, California joined 2/14 & has 7 comments
    Posted February 24th, 2014 at 3:53 pm | or create a profile.

    Holy moly, that looks good, and it combines my favorite things: kimchi, canned mackeral and camping!

  7. DomHyo Incheon, South Korea joined 8/13 & has 2 comments
    Posted February 20th, 2014 at 7:18 pm | or create a profile.

    Looks great. I’m actually looking for dishes to cook for my fiancee (Korean) to surprise her. I still haven’t decided, but I think I will add this to my list of dishes to consider. Thanks for sharing!

  8. peonygirl portland, oregon joined 8/09 & has 50 comments
    Posted February 20th, 2014 at 2:07 pm | or create a profile.

    This is looks so fabulous! And easy too. I like the potatoes- makes it more substantial. This seems an easier version of your other stewed mackerel dish with radish. I’d like to try both on a camping trip! Thanks Maangchi!!!

  9. Andrew Wellington, New Zealand joined 4/11 & has 6 comments
    Posted February 19th, 2014 at 2:32 pm | or create a profile.

    “Good job! I don’t want to torture you!” Hahaha Maangchi too funny! Well I like it Maangchi.

    Mackerel is such a pretty fish and it’s always in all the grocery stores. Your friend is kinda bossy but at least she knows how to peel a potato good. :-P

    Hey when you go camping like this do you bring cooked rice or you make it there?

  10. Zulumom Concord, CA joined 9/13 & has 35 comments
    Posted February 17th, 2014 at 5:24 pm | or create a profile.

    This looks so delicious, Maanchi!!! And you know what? I just bought a can of saury last weekend so make this yummy soup! I’ve got some rice ready too, so this is what I’m going to make tonight!!! Can’t wait!!! Thanks for sharing such wonderful recipe!!! xoxo

  11. Fortran Alexandria, VA joined 6/11 & has 6 comments
    Posted February 16th, 2014 at 1:12 pm | or create a profile.

    Mmm. Looks good! For a second I saw “camping stew” and thought we might be getting something a la budae jjigae. But I’ll take mackerel over Spam and hot dogs any day!

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