One of my favorite foods of all time is a staple in Korea. It is Kimchi Jjigae, there are many variations of this stew, to me the simpler the better. I will share a very simple recipe of my own that I believe makes the most amazing Jjigae. Ox Tail is great, after a couple of hours it is beautiful melt in your mouth goodness! Give it a shot, a guaranteed party in your mouth!
Ingredients:
>Kimchi 3lbs (whole cabbage)
>Gochujang 1 to 4 tablespoons
>Coarsely ground red pepper 1 to 4 tablespoons
>Vegetable dashi 1-2 tablespoons (this is like beef bullion but made from veggies)
>Water
Step 1
Place Ox tail in a pan(L) Than fill it up with water about 4-5 inches above the Ox tail(R)
Step 2
Bring to a boil. You will be boiling the Ox tail for about 2hrs, you do not want it to boil violently. Every 30min you want to remove the brown foam that will accumulate.
You can see the brown foam on the sides in the picture above.
Step 3
While the Ox tail boils away, remove the whole cabbage Kimchi and chop it into desired size. save as much juice as possible and add the sliced Kimchi back into the container it came in.
Step 4
At about 2hrs go ahead and add the Dashi, Paste, and Ground Pepper. Add a tablespoon at a time according to your spice levels. The dashi contains salt, so no need to add any extra sodium. Depending on what kind of paste or pepper you use will determine the spice, some are stronger than others.
These are the brands I use. The left is the veggie dashi, the middle is HOT pepper paste, & the right is just coarsely ground red peppers.
Step 5
Add the sliced Kimchi along with the juices. Let that boil for 15-25 minutes. The longer you boil it, the softer the Kimchi gets. Some people like a little crunch to the Kimchi which is around the 15min mark.
After the Kimchi cooks a little it is Time to dish it up!! I like to garnish it with some sliced green onions and have a nice bowl of rice (of course)
MASHITA!!
