Recipe: Sang’s Spicy Kimchi Soup Is Korean Soul Food at Its Best

Of Korea’s cornucopia of soups, kimchi jjigae might be the most popular. That’s because it’s yet another vehicle for kimchi, the country’s most essential dish. 

Sang, one of Sydney’s most beloved Korean diners, serves the spicy, comforting soup in typically idiosyncratic fashion – using tofu instead of the usual pork, canned tuna or mackerel pike. “This means our kimchi jjigae can be enjoyed by a larger audience,” writes Kenny Yong-Soo Son in the restaurant’s self-titled cookbook.

Son says the key to achieving a deeper gamchilmat – the Korean word used to describe savoury flavours, which sometimes overlaps with Japan’s umami – is to use bokkeum or stir-fried kimchi rather than fresh. 

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Kimchi jjigae by Sang

Makes 1 serving
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

200g bokkeum kimchi (see below)
50g firm tofu, cut into 2cm x 3cm rectangles
1 ½ tsp gochugaru (Korean chilli powder)
1 tsp coarse sea salt
1 tbsp finely sliced onion
¼ spring onion, cut into 4cm lengths
Rice, to serve

Bokkeum kimchi
2kg kimchi
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp gochugaru (Korean chilli powder)
2 tbsp gochujang (Korean red chilli paste)
1 ½ tsp coarse sea salt

Method

To make the bokkeum kimchi, chop the kimchi into bite-sized pieces and squeeze out any excess kimchi juice.

Preheat a large saucepan over high heat, then place the kimchi along with all the other ingredients into the pan and stir-fry for 5 minutes.

Turn the heat down to medium and continue stir-frying for another 3 minutes, until the colour has darkened a little and the kimchi has lost some of its texture. 

The bokkeum kimchi is now ready to use and can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. 

Put the bokkeum kimchi and 200ml of water into a large saucepan over high heat and bring to the boil.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the tofu, gochugaru, salt, onion and spring onion and cook, gently stirring, for 5 minutes.

If it reduces too much, just top it up with a tiny bit of water.

Enjoy with a bowl of hot rice.

Notes

Tip: The longer you cook the stew, the deeper the flavour gets.

Note: Using under-fermented kimchi will make this recipe slightly bitter.

This is an edited extract from Sang: Recipes From a Korean Family Table by Kenny Yong-Soo Son. Photography by Jiwon Kim. Published by Hardie Grant Books (RRP $50).