Recipe: Pork Kimchi Jjim (김치찜)

While I was waiting for my name stamps to be made in Insadong, I went into this cute side alleyway to find a place to eat. I got their Ripe Kimchi Jjim (묵은지 김치찜) and it was SO good but unfortunately too spicy for me… That’s why when my mom said we had to make something with the ripe kimchi we had (to make more space in our fridge for new kimchi lol). We had a lot less kimchi than I thought but still, I decided to try and make my own pork kimchi jjim (jjim means steamed dish) that wasn’t too spicy!

I recommend this recipe to those who like spice but can’t eat really spicy foods. If you like spicy, you can just add more red pepper flakes! It’s really good I swear!

---

RECIPE

Ingredients:
-1 white onion
-2 cups ripe/aged kimchi
-1 cup kimchi liquid
-3 cups rice cake (used for tteokbokki/떡볶이)
-2 one pound pieces pork belly
-1 pack enoki mushrooms
-1/2 tbsp ginger (diced)
-2 tbsp garlic (diced)
-1/2 tbsp brown sugar
-1 tbsp soy sauce
-1/2 tbsp sesame oil
-2 tbsp soju
-1 tbsp pomegranate/plum extract
-black pepper
-salt

Directions:
1. Soak rice cakes in a bowl of water and set to the side.
2. Chop onions and scatter on the bottom of a medium-sized pot (helps prevent the food from burning and sticking to the bottom of the pot while adding flavor).
3. Add the ripe kimchi on top of the onions. You can put the kimchi in whole or cut into bite-sized pieces.
4. Cut pork belly into bite-sized pieces (~1 inch).

5. Make the pork marinade by mixing the ginger, garlic, brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, soju, and pomegranate extract together.

6. Mix the marinade with the pork and add some salt and crushed black pepper.

7. Add the marinated pork to the pot and add the kimchi liquid.

8. Clean the enoki mushrooms and add them to the pot.

9. Place the pot on medium-high heat and close the lid. Cook until pork is almost fully cooked (~20 minutes).

10. When it’s almost done, add the soaked rice cakes and cook until the rice cakes are soft (~10-15 minutes).

Bon Appétit!

---

I have to say, I was just cooking with my gut but it came out surprisingly really well! And tastes even better the next day after all the flavors get into the pork and rice cakes! Just waiting for my new kimchi to ripen so I can make this again~

---

#visitkorea #imagineyourkorea #hellokorea #KTONY #cooking #kimchijjim #yummy