The whole house smells sooo delicious! (^^) And more importantly, this is a super-easy recipe! A spur-of-the-moment kind of dish! No defrosting! Almost no planning.. provided you always have some canned tuna, kimchi, gochujang, gochugaru and onions in the kitchen ^^
Honestly, I was sceptical of this stew/soup/jjigae when I came across it on the internet. I've had kimchi jjigae with meat before, but never with tuna (??!!)! Can't say it was an appetising thought ^^|| What was convincing however, was that all the pictures were always drool-worthy spicy, fiery-red! So my kind of soup/stew! (^^)
Cheat's easy tuna/chamchi kimchi jjigae (adapted from aeri's kitchen, koreanfood and patbingsoo)
1 cup or more ^^ kimchi (chopped), with juices
1-2 pips garlic, minced
1 yellow onion, sliced fine
1 tbsp gochujang, hot chili pepper paste (optional)
1-2 tbsp gochugaru, chili pepper powder
3 cups water (more if you prefer)
1 canned tuna chunks, discard oil or water
1 tbsp sesame oil
salt, for seasoning
1. Heat up some oil and saute minced garlic and kimchi for a minute or two or three ^^.
2. Add onions, gochujang and gochugaru. Then pour in water and let it come to a boil.
4. Add tuna to boiling stew/soup. Bring to a boil again, then lower down heat and let stew/soup simmer for at least 20-25 minutes.
5. Add sesame oil and salt to taste. Simmer for another 5 minutes or so. Serve hot ^^.
* The trick to bringing out the best flavors of this jjigae is seriously, in the slow and steady simmering process.
And how would I know? Well, it's because I tasted the soup every 5 minutes!!! ^^|| I can tell you now, the initial taste to the end result of this jjigae can be measured starting at a scale of 1, to end at a perfect 10! ^^ It's piquant, spicy, homey and robust! Everything I can ever ask for in a stew/soup! (^^)
It's amazing how something so simple can be so tasty! And know this, if fatty hubby can ask if I'm cooking this again for dinner tomorrow..and he asked again today, it's gotta be par excellence!!! (^^)
p.s this jjigae reminds me a teeny weeny bit of the very popular assam laksa.. which i'm not exactly a fan of (sorry, assam laksa lovers ^^||).. so please forgive me when i say that this tuna kimchi jjigae is much, much, much, much tastier and easier! in my opinion ^^
I love Kimchi jjigae with tuna! Mmmm I am craving some right now! :)
ReplyDeletehi there, sook ^^ you really must share a proper tuna kimchi jjigae recipe soon ^^ my interpretation is waaay too simple with toooo many "shortcuts"! ^^ but it's pretty yummy still ^^
ReplyDeleteIf I am having this during winter time, then it will be more super super yummy, isn't it so? Yes, I can see that this is real easy, cook in a jiffy. Good for a change when you feel like slurping hot soup in a cold day, don't feel like eating out.... hee...hee....Lovely!
ReplyDeletei was thinking of the same thing, mel ^^.. it'd be better than perfect on a cold, rainy day! ^^
ReplyDeleteMy husband will enjoy this! My kids and I are the only one who cannot eat spicy food so poor my husband has been eating out during lunch for spicy food! It would be nice if I can make this for him!
ReplyDeletenami ~ with the cool/cold season round the corner in your part of the world, this is a wonderful quickie spicy stew/soup for your hubby! and a healthier option to meats and cream based soup ^^ just a note, some kimchis can be a little over-powering, but don't worry.. it will be perfectly fused after you add the tuna and simmer for a bit^^ soooo yummy!
ReplyDeleteThis Jjigae and I are very well acquainted and I completely believe you when you boast of its deliciousness! YAY for the addition of tuna (my favorite way to prepare it!)
ReplyDeletehi angie/squishy monster ^^ thanks for dropping by. it's my first time making this jjigae and i was blown away!!! ^^ thanks for backing me up on this! i sometimes think i should really tone down on how delicious i find dishes/bakes for fear of the syndrome crying "wonderful" (replacement for "wolf") all the time! ^^ but i really can't help myself when i discover delicious-ness! ^^
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