Friday, September 7, 2012

I cooked: Tuna Kimchi Jjigae (Korean)

It's been a while since we cooked kimchi jjigae at home, and while clearing our fridge we found that we still had some homemade kimchi left. Since it's been sitting in our fridge for quite a while, it is well-fermented which makes it very ideal for making kimchi jjigae.  Matured kimchi is better as the sourish taste gives a bit of 'body' to the stew/soup. The more mature the kimchi is, the higher the content of good bacteria too.


Tuna kimchi jjigae


Kimchi jjigae or chigae is one of the most popular Korean meals. Known as the mother of all Korean stews, it is a spicy stew made with kimchi, onions, diced tofu, scallions, pork or seafood and is to be enjoyed with a bowl of hot rice.

I was going to make kimchi jjigae using pork again, but The Unc suggested that I try chamchi kimchi jjigae (참치 김치 찌개) this time. Chamchi means tuna and usually canned tuna (in oil) is used for this dish. He even found me a recipe from Aeri's Kitchen for me to follow.



One of the adaptions that I made to this recipe was to add miso paste towards the end, something which I learnt when making pork kimchi jjigae the last time. The soup tasted a bit diluted but the addition of miso gives it an earthy flavour and a lot more body to the soup. I did not add gochujang or red pepper powder since I found it spicy enough, but do feel free to adapt to your own taste. Please remember to use tuna chunks in oil, instead of oil (or Arie will slap your fingers for not listening ;P - I chuckled when I read that comment in her recipe).

A healthy, nutritious dinner. 


Spicy, invigorating and appetizing... tuna kimchi jjigae is a one pot wonder for lazy days or simply when we want a comforting meal.




Tuna kimchi jjigae (참치 김치 찌개)
Recipe adapted from Aeri's Kitchen
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 2-3

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup matured kimchi (approx. 200g)
2 cup water
1 can tuna (I used tuna chunks in olive oil)
1/4 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 tbsp Kimchi juice
½ to 1 Tbsp gochugaru (optional)
Salt, to taste
1 tbsp miso paste
1/2 piece tofu (approx. 130g), cut into chunks
1 spring onion, green parts finely chopped and white parts cut into 1" length
1 red chilli, sliced thinly


1. Cut the matured kimchi into 1-inch pieces. I used a scissors to cut them since it's less messy.

Matured kimchi is usually a darker hue


2. In a saucepan over high heat, add the kimchi and water. Once the soup starts to boil, add the tuna, onion,  kimchi juice and minced garlic.



3. Taste it - if you find that it is not spicy enough, then add the red pepper powder (gochugaru) and more salt if it's not salty enough. I chose to add 1 tbsp of miso paste instead. If you use tuna in water instead of oil, add 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil.

4. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.

5. Add the tofu and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the white parts of the spring onion as well as the chilli and cook for a further minute.



6. Remove from heat and serve immediately with boiled rice. Garnish the tuna kimchi jjigae with the remaining spring onion.






Have a nice day! (nice flower craft by Baby C)

Full set of photos can be viewed on my Facebook page here.

22 comments:

  1. Love kimchi jigae. Best to have during rainy day!
    Tried once with tuna..But I still prefer the one with pork ;-)

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    Replies
    1. I like both, but tuna is more convenient. Always have a spare tin in the cupboard.. hehe. :)

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  2. Lovely...never knew the tuna version. I have always prepared with pork or beef. Will do this over next long weekend!

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    Replies
    1. My brother, who is an avid Korean fan, introduced me to this. It's quite common in Korea ;)

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  3. Looks good. Not a fan of kimchi...but sure would love to give this a try!

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  4. ahhhh...i spotted a heart shape bowl. so sweet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hahahah I always can't resist when I see cute bowls in the shops.

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  5. This is one of my favourite korean soups (along with Bulgogi Stew), I like putting more gochujang in it. Using Miso paste is a nice touch though. :D I should really try making my own kimchi next time!

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    Replies
    1. Yes you should... it's so much cheaper to make your own. We usually make a huge batch which lasts us months, and towards the end, those are perfect for making kimchi jjigae. ;)

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  6. ok, admittedly i'm not sure i'd be as much a fan of this as all the other wonderful recipes that you've presented so far. i don't actually like canned tuna and i don't like kimchi either, so i'd probably be really surprised if i ended up enjoying this. but i don't mind being pleasantly surprised, heh! :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hhehe I don't blame you, I know you're not a fan of spicy food either. I'll rmbr not to serve you this in my "restaurant" or you may give me a bad review. LOL!

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  7. I like your heart shape rice bowl. Is so cute. I'm a big fan of tuna, kimchi tuna sounds like my kind of dish. =)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's something u can easily whip up even after a long day at work.

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  8. Yummy, looks so appetising... I love kim chi anything...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heheh same here! Love kimchi so much, that we learn how to make it so we can eat it all the time at home.

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  9. This is good to serve especially when raining day.

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  10. I love a nice, spicy soup!! And this looks perfect for the cold that we're having right now :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We had two times last week, even though it was boiling hot in KL! I think we jus love how appetizing kimchi is.

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  11. Hi Baby Sumo, wow Glad I found yr blog. I lUV yr recipies and photography.
    I have a hidden talent of taking nice pictures bcos my sis and my gal always
    want me to take for them. I know I should try to develop this talent. Any tips
    on how to start....:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Miko, thanks for your kind words. I don't have any quick tips, I am also an amateur photographer and still learning everyday. I would say just keep taking photos, the more you practice the better you get. And also you will eventually find your own style. If u like taking food photos, then u can browse magazines as well as blogs to get inspiration - ie best angles etc. Good luck!

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