Kimchi stew is one of the most-loved of all the stews in Korean cuisine. It’s a warm, hearty, spicy, savory, delicious dish that pretty much everyone loves. As long as they can handle spicy food, I never met a person who didn’t like kimchi-jjigae.
I learned this recipe from a restaurant famous for kimchi-jjigae in Korea. The restaurant was always full of people eating and sweating over kimchi stew. There was only one item on the menu, so everyone was there for the same thing: a steaming pot of spicy kimchi-jjigae, a few side dishes, and a bowl of warm rice. Customers would call out: “Please give me another bowl of rice!”
What really made an impression on me at the time was the fact that they brought the stew out to the table uncooked, and then fired up a burner and cooked it at the table. This way we could sit and talk and watch it cook. I could get a good look at the ingredients: kimchi, onion, green onion, thinly sliced pork on top, and seasonings. There was some white granules (salt, sugar, and probably MSG) and also they used water at the broth base.
From this I developed my own recipe to make at home, which was very delicious.
My kimchi-jjigae recipe served me well for years and years and I even made a video of it in 2007. But since then I developed this version, which is even more delicious. The secret is in the savory anchovy stock.
I hope you make it and enjoy it for years and years to come!
The difference between kimchi soup and kimchi stew
Kimchi stew is thicker than kimchi soup. Kimchi soup is less salty than kimchi stew.
Also, soup is always served in individual bowls, with rice. Traditionally in Korean cuisine stews were served in a big pot on the table, and the family would eat communally from the pot. These days, some people (including me) get a little freaked out by double-dipping, so for stews I put individual bowls on the table, and a large spoon so that diners can take what they like from the pot and put it in their bowls.
Ingredients
(serves 2 with side dishes, serves 4 without)
- 1 pound kimchi, cut into bite size pieces
- ¼ cup kimchi brine
- ½ pound pork shoulder (or pork belly)
- ½ package of tofu (optional), sliced into ½ inch thick bite size pieces
- 3 green onions
- 1 medium onion, sliced (1 cup)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons gochugaru (Korean hot pepper flakes)
- 1 tablespoon gochujang (hot pepper paste)
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 cups of anchovy stock (or chicken or beef broth)
For stock (makes about 2½ cups’ worth):
- 7 large dried anchovies, heads and guts removed
- ⅓ cup Korean radish (or daikon radish), sliced thinly
- 4×5 inch dried kelp
- 3 green onion roots
- 4 cups water
Directions
Make anchovy stock:
- Put the anchovies, daikon, green onion roots, and dried kelp in a sauce pan.
- Add the water and boil for 20 minutes over medium high heat.
- Lower the heat to low for another 5 minutes.
- Strain.
Make kimchi stew:
- Place the kimchi and kimchi brine in a shallow pot. Add pork and onion
- Slice 2 green onions diagonally and add them to the pot.
- Add salt, sugar, hot pepper flakes, and hot pepper paste. Drizzle sesame oil over top and add the anchovy stock
- Cover and cook for 10 minutes over medium high heat.
- Open and mix in the seasonings with a spoon. Lay the tofu over top.
- Cover and cook another 10 to 15 minutes over medium heat.
- Chop 1 green onion and put it on the top of the stew. Remove from the heat and serve right away with rice.
Wonderful!
I didn’t have green onions (and it was too hot to leave our flat) and used green zucchini instead.
And I made it in the microwave to avoid spending time in our tiny kitchen.
I cannot sing enough praise as to how good this recipe is! I am a long time lover of kimchi stew, I ordered one every Tuesday (Stews-day (; ) at the restaurant I worked at for a decade. This recipe is quite possibly even more flavorful! I didn’t have the ingredients for the anchovy broth, so I substituted with my rice water with a teaspoon of veggie stock base. I omitted the pork, doubled the tofu, and the store was out of green onions. Holy moly, this is a flavorful recipe, will make again and again! I’m excited to try with the anchovy broth next time. Thank you for the wonderful recipe. (:
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You’ve created a vegetarian version of kimchi stew! It looks incredibly delicious. Thanks for sharing those tips, especially about using a veggie stock base instead of anchovy stock.
I’ve made this recipe many times and my whole family love it. I want to potentially triple or quadruple the recipe to bring for a potluck next week.
Assuming a big enough pot, is there anything important to consider when making larger portions of the stew? Anything necessary to make sure all the parts are cooked?
Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!
Amazing recipe! I was skeptical that it would come out the same as my favorite Korean restaurant, but it was almost even better. I will probably cook the stew longer next time, as my pork belly was pretty tough. I didn’t have anchovy stock, so I used water, a stock cube, and a couple teaspoons of fish sauce for a quick substitute. Used my kimchi from your “easy kimchi” recipe as well. Will definitely make this often considering how easy it is.
It seems like your kimchi jjigae was delicious! If you make the stew again, consider either cooking the pork longer or slicing it even thinner for a better result. Good luck!
Hi Maangchi! I love this recipe. It is the first one I made after buying your big book of Korean food. However I have a question. I have made this using pork belly cut into medium size chunks and after cooking it around 25 min I feel the pork belly is still quite firm. Is it OK to cook it for longer (like > 2 h)? Or maybe cutting the pork belly into thinner slices would do the trick in less time? What do you think? Thank you!!
Yes, cook the stew longer until the pork turns tender. You may add more water or stock. Or cut the pork more thinly so that you don’t have to cook it longer.
Hi!!!
New registered user! I love this site and the recipes. Curious — for Jigae — I’ve seen about a tablespoon of soy sauce added…what are your thoughts on this?
Thanks!!!
It sounds good to me!
Thank you, Maangchi! I made this with homemade kimchi today and it is SO GOOD!
I had to change it a bit because I was either missing something (I was out of radish, for the anchovy stock, so I left it out, and also used little pieces of dried seaweed snacks instead of dried kelp) or because I can’t eat certain things (white onions and tofu/soy hurt my stomach – my homemade kimchi is even from a recipe that doesn’t have onions or garlic in it – so I just added more green onion stems and some 된장 because I can tolerate that better). I also had a tiny little bit of leftover sauces and juices from a few 반찬 (깍두기, garlic stems, dried seasoned radish) that I added in because I have a Korean ex who would do that so they wouldn’t be wasted and would add flavour. And wow! I love kimchi jjigae, and this was probably the best I’ve ever had (sorry to my ex, who made it pretty good, but not THIS good).
THANK YOU!
maangchi! i made this soup 4 times in the past 2 weeks it’s so good! thank you for sharing and i hope you share more soups and stews soon
Hi Maangchi!
I made your kimchi recipe and then this stew about 2 weeks later for my family and we all devoured it – it is so delicious!
We also had fresh spring onions in our garden which was great… hopefully in a few months time, I can make this entire recipe from produce grown in our garden
Thank you for sharing such great recipes.
The kimchi stew made with your own homemade kimchi should be precious and delicious! Congratulations!
My daughter and I enjoyed making this for supper tonight. We then enjoyed it with my wife. This was everything I hoped it would be. Thank you so much for creating this recipe!
I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a recipe on the Internet with a 5/5 rating and over 65,000 votes, but here’s one more 5 from me. This stuff is terrific. It’s the perfect dinner for a cold night (or what passes for a cold night in California). I followed the recipe closely; I did bump up the umami by adding a slug of shio koji to the stock, but it would have been just fine without it. I really wouldn’t change a thing. I did use store-bought kimchi; if I used homemade, which tends to run a little spicier, I might cut back on the gochugaru a bit, but the quantities here are perfect for the commercial stuff.
By the way, I just popped in to refresh my memory about how the recipe goes, and I noticed that it says “serves 2 with side dishes, serves 4 without.” Unless there’s a Korean tradition of serving double portions of stew when it’s accompanied by side dishes, I’m thinking that might be backward. ;)
Wow! I followed the instructions exactly and turned out a deep rich stew. I couldn’t be happier with the results. Thank you so much for sharing this with us all. Also, I’ve made a new friend at my local Korean Market. She was so thrilled I was attempting a new type of cuisine at home. Looking forward to discovering other recipes here. Bon Appetite!
Awesome! Happy cooking!
Hi
I’d like start experimenting with Kimchi and this looks like a good recipe -thanks. However I don’t eat Pork. What could I use instead? Also what would be a regular equivalent for the korean pepper flakes and paste?
Many thanks :-)
You can double the tofu and not use the pork. A lot of broth flavor comes from the anchovies and the sea weed.
You could sub regular hot pepper flakes for the Korean ones, but you will need the gochujang for the recipe. I wouldn’t substitute that.
Chamchi Kimchi jjigae is popular in my home as well. Chamchi = Tuna. Add some canned tuna. Mackerel and even canned sardines, I’ve seen. You can def keep it just tofu, too. Or add some kind of meaty mushroom. So many options.
Hi I want to ask if kimchi gets spoiled? Thanks
My neighbor brought me some VERY old kimchi that was in her fridge for a long time. I made 2 batches of bindaetteok (one of my favorite Maangchi recipes!) and thought hey, I need to finally take the plunge and do 김치찌개. I made the broth from a high quality stock bag a Korean friend brought me, but supplemented with some more anchovies and kombu. Used pork belly (the other half of the belly went into the bindaetteok, ground up to a paste in the food processor…50/50 fat/lean made the best pancakes!) I also used some very special gochugaru hand made from a friend, more of a fruity flavor. Thank you Maangchi, this came out spectacularly well! Even my dog was pacing the kitchen loving the smell :)
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This is easy to make and really satisfying. I found some Korean stock teabags that make the stock part of it a little more convenient.
i’ve always loved Korean food but have always hesitated cooking it due to the complexity and varied ingredients that weren’t staples in my pantry.
HOWEVER, with restaurants closed and unable to access delicious, soul warming stews right now (covid) i looked for recipes online and came across this.
Just finished enjoying my stew and i am so surprised at how easy it was, and how delicious it turned out. i pre made the stock yesterday so all i had to do was assembly today. With 2 kids and a full time job, i will definitely add this to my repetoir! maybe not for the kids … hehe
i added enoki mushroom and some fresh chinese cabbage bc they were in my fridge. and for my stock, i bought japanese kelp and anchovies and used chinese white raddish. with the left overs, i’ll add in some teokbokki and maybe a cake of ramen.. mmmmmm
thank you for the recipe! i will be trying more of them
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I made this tonight for supper and it was wonderful! I may have had to use some chicken broth and chicken in replace of the pork and anchovy stock and it was so yummy. I had some rice and black beans(both your recipe) with it, I would absolutely make this again. My dad and I loved it, thank you for the recipes!
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I’m making kimchi stew with pork for tonight’s dinner. Yours looks so good, too!
Made this recipe twice for my family and both times were a success! Thank you for sharing your amazing foods!!
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Successful! Wonderful!
I’ve been a fan for almost 10 years! Thanks. So, I made this recipe twice now. First time, I didn’t like the sugary taste, so this second time, two years later (!) during this quarantine, I made it a second time without the sugar. Still I feel like something is missing, like it’s not sour enough? What do you suggest?
Fantastic Recipe! So far, I have made the spicy pork stew, the kimchi-jjigae, and tteokbokki..All have been great. Really enjoy your recipes.. Reminds me of my time in Seoul, and the restaurants close to my company location in Yeoksam. Missing gopchang.. right now.
Question: I can enoki mushroom to the kimchi-jjigae as well, correct? I added to the spicy pork stew, and it was a nice filler for seconds.
Yes, adding some enoki mushrooms to your kimchi jjigae sounds good to me.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I substituted Hon Dashi for the stock, just to save time, and a frozen seafood mixture (shrimp, mussels, squid, and whitefish mainly) for the pork belly. It was delicious and easy to prepare, and I expect to be making it frequently! Love your site, and your recipes have never let me down!
It sounds great! Happy cooking!
Hi Madam,
Thank you very much for this recipe! Here’s our kimchi jjigae. We cooked it for our colleagues in the university, and they enjoyed it so much!
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Awesome!
I love your kimchi jjigae, Maangchi! Now I can have the perfect kimchi jjigae at home without having to go to a restaurant!!
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I used tofu, chicken and shrimp for my protein. I used shrimp shell and ancovies for the stock, the shrimp shell create heavier and richer soup. And I found it a bit bland when I add the tofu, so I add some soy sauce in it. Amazing, Thank you Maangchi
What size pan should this recipe be made in? My dolsot bowl is only 4 cups. I feel that this won’t be big enough and allow enough room for everything to be cooked properly?
Instead of making it in a stone bowl could it be made in a neofalm low 2qt saucepan? I would prefer to make it in a dolsot but the largest I can find is only 4 to 6 cups
The best recipe I’ve found online! I modified the ingredients a bit, substituting the anchovy stock with powdered Dashi stock (which is more accessible in my area because Korean stock anchovies are so expensive here) and frying the pork belly beforehand to remove the unpleasant porky odor. Thank you for the recipe, Maangchi! My family loved the jjigae so much!
Hello Maangchi, today I made kimchi jigae for the first time after I made Kimchi with your recipe :) I didn’t add any meat because I am vegetarian instead I used more vegetables. It was sooo delicious I really enjoyed eating it as well as making it. Thank you so much for all your recipes! I love cooking and thanks to you I can enjoy Korean dishes at home. <3
I’m glad your kimchi stew without meat turned out delicious! Great!
Hey, i made it but can someone help me? I used 6 month old kimchi (homemade), and because of this it’s extremely sour. Is there a way to make it taste more mild?
I think you could wash the kimchi to get rid of the sourness a bit ^o^
Wow! I liked this way more than I thought I would!!! I made your kimchi recipe about a month ago (half recipe) and still have about half left. I figured this would be a perfect recipe to use some up. I did use an “ultimate stock” recipe, but the heart of the recipe is yours. Thanks for such wonderful recipes.
Side note, I’ve had an aversion to fish for a couple of decades. I used to eat fish as a child but several traumatic incidents has left me phobic. Because I watch your videos, I have been able to start eating dishes with fish sauce in them. Big step for me, all thanks to you!
Hi, I noticed that most of your stew recipes call for the same stock. Can I make it in advance to use over multiple days?
Yes, you can make anchovy kelp stock in advance. Put it in airtight containers and freeze up to 1 month.
Hi there!
Can I use seafood broth instead of making my own anchovy broth?
Bruno
Hi. May I know what kimchi brine is? Is it kimchi juice?
Yes!
Hi Maangchi, I just tried this recipe for the first time, and even though I had to make some substitutions since I didn’t have all the ingredients, it was so delicious! This is my favorite korean dish and I never realized how easy it could be! I won’t ever have to go out to a restaurant now :D (I actually meant to take a picture, but I couldn’t hold myself back and I just ate it right away hahaha)
Hi Maangchi
My Korean husband has asked me to register in order to thank you for this recipe. We have been married for 22 years and I have cooked Kimchi Jigae many many times following different recipes, but this has by far been the best! We really enjoy it a lot.
Your blog is fantastic ! Thanks so much.
I read your comment a couple of days ago, and it made me happy all day. So now I’m coming back to reply to you. Thank you so much for your effort to send me a message!
Wondering if anyone can help me out. I recently was in Busan and the lady brought out kimchi jjigae with my ssamgypsal. She warned me though that it would be very different from the “Northern” style kimchi jjigae I was used to. She was right, it tasted like there was fermented soybean paste in it and not much kimchi. Can anyone help me find a name of the style or a recipe?