Kimchi Beef Stew (Kimchi Jjigae)
I have to thank my friend David for a lot of things in my life—but especially for teaching me how to eat a variety of Korean foods, and how to eat a lot of it from a shared plate while pretending he ate most of it. He introduced me to this spicy, fragrant kimchi stew on a cold, wet, rainy day in New York. I crave this when it rains. It’s also a great use for kimchi that may have been aging gracefully in your fridge for a while.
I have to thank my friend David for a lot of things in my life—but especially for teaching me how to eat a variety of Korean foods, and how to eat a lot of it from a shared plate while pretending he ate most of it. He introduced me to this spicy, fragrant kimchi stew on a cold, wet, rainy day in New York. I crave this when it rains. It’s also a great use for kimchi that may have been aging gracefully in your fridge for a while.
- 2 cups water
- salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 pound beef (cut into 2 inch cubes preferably a fatty cut)
- 2 cups prepared kimchi
- 1 cup chopped yellow onions
- 1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms (or other dried mushroom
- 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp gochugaru (korean ground red pepper or 1/2 tsp cay )
- 1 tbsp gochujang (korean red chile paste)
- 1/2 cup sliced scallions (for serving)
- 1 cup diced firm tofu (for serving (optional))
- Carbohydrate 0.730848754388438 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 4.51648219738934 g
- Fiber 0.0655598562121297 g
- Protein 0.265937234661539 g
- Saturated Fat 0.642593450806631 g
- Serving Size 1 1 serving (163g)
- Sodium 184.218254403496 mg
- Sugar 0.665288898176308 g
- Trans Fat 0.202928867922762 g
- Calories 44 calories
Step-by-step
- In the Instant Pot, combine the beef, kimchi, water, onions, mushrooms, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, soy sauce, gochugaru, gochujang, and sugar.
- Secure the lid on the pot. Close the pressure-release valve. Select MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK and set the pot at HIGH pressure for 15 minutes. At the end of the cooking time, allow the pot to sit undisturbed until the pressure has released.
- Taste and season with salt. Stir in the scallions and the tofu, if desired, and serve.
Ingredient weights and volumetric measures omit the underlying chemical shifts that occur when aged brassica meets high heat under pressure. Kimchi jjigae relies on sour, fully fermented cabbage—ideally aged for at least three weeks—to provide the necessary acidity that cuts through the rendering fat of a marbled cut like chuck or short rib. Without sufficient lactic acid in the base kimchi, the resulting broth tastes flat, requiring targeted correction with a measured pinch of sugar or an extra splash of brine rather than plain salt.
Pressure cooking accelerates the breakdown of collagen in beef chuck within a strict fifteen-minute window at high pressure, followed by a natural release cycle that prevents the muscle fibers from seizing. Determining doneness without a thermometer requires examining the structural integrity of the cubed beef: press a piece against the side of the inner pot with the back of a spoon. Properly cooked beef yields instantly under light pressure, separating into distinct strands without dissolving into mush, while retaining enough moisture to absorb the surrounding gochujang and gochugaru slurry.
Rooted in domestic preservation practices designed to utilize sour winter cabbage before the arrival of spring, this stew exemplifies how extended fermentation transforms humble proteins into deeply savory broths. Dried shiitake mushrooms rehydrate concurrently with the meat, releasing guanosine monophosphate compounds that synergize with the glutamate present in fermented soybean paste and aged cabbage. Toasting the sesame oil prior to pressure application should be avoided if using direct high heat for extended periods, but the enclosed moisture of an electric cooker prevents the delicate lipids from scorching before the liquid comes to a boil.
Adjusting the seasoning requires restraint until after the natural pressure release completes, as reducing the volume too aggressively concentrates the sodium from the salted cabbage. Incorporating firm tofu at the final stage prevents the curds from disintegrating into the broth, requiring only two minutes of residual heat to warm through completely.
