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.

*Recipe for homemade kimchi can be found here. Recipe for pork kimchi jjigae can be found here.