There are many ways to prepare korea’s most popular side dish, kim chi. One of the more popular ways is to make Kim Chi Jji Gae. Kim Chi Jji Gae is basically a sort of soup; it has water and kim chi and some type of meat and tofu. It is enjoyed all around Korea and there exists almost no one who doesn’t know how to make it. Here is the classical way of preparing Kim Chi Jji Gae.
First you’ll need to get your ingredients. The ingredients are: kimchi, crushed garlic, salt and pepper, meat (usually done with pork but can substitute with spam), tofu, and water.
After you’re done getting the ingredients, it’s time to prepare all the food before you start cooking. Cut the kim chi, tofu, and pork (or spam) into bite size pieces. This is about it for preparations.
Cooking Kim Chi Jji Gae is really simple. First you put the sliced kimchi into a large pot of water. Put the heat on high and let it cook. The primary reason of doing this is so that the kimchi can become soft, but another reason is to bring out a different flavor from the cabbage side dish.
While the kimchi is cooking, add in the other ingredients. Start with the salt and pepper, and then add in the crushed garlic.
Once the kimchi is relatively soft, start adding the cut up pork and tofu. Lower the heat to about medium and let it cook for a while. For Kim Chi Jji Gae, the longer you cook it the better, but not so much to burn the Jji Gae.
Now, you’re done cooking! Serve it to your friends and watch as their faces light up with glee from the delicious Kim Chi Jji Gae.
