Baek Kimchi Jjigae (White Kimchi Stew)

By Eric Kim

Baek Kimchi Jjigae (White Kimchi Stew)
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.
Total Time
3 hours
Rating
4(224)
Notes
Read community notes

This burbling kimchi jjigae is an everyday comfort, with its deep savoriness and gingery bite. In this variation using baek kimchi (white kimchi), the same warmth of other jjigaes is evoked even without red chiles, and lets you taste the cabbage more fully, especially once it’s cooked down to a tenderness that’s almost spoonable. A hunk of braised pork is always a good idea, especially when braised in the salty, savory and gingery aromas of fermented napa cabbage kimchi. In this stew, the kimchi does most of the heavy lifting, but depending on how flavorful your batch is, you can season to taste at the end with additional fish sauce. Don’t skip the white rice; it’s the soft, familiar foil against the zingy stew.

Featured in: ‘If You Can Make a Salad, You Can Make Kimchi’

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1pound boneless pork shoulder
  • 1(3-inch) piece fresh ginger, scrubbed and thickly sliced lengthwise
  • Salt
  • 2packed cups coarsely chopped ripe white kimchi (about 1 pound), plus any accumulated juices
  • 1medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
  • 4garlic cloves, crushed and coarsely chopped
  • Fish sauce, to taste (optional)
  • 2scallions, thinly sliced at an angle
  • Cooked white rice, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

371 calories; 21 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 22 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 23 grams protein; 710 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large pot or Dutch oven, combine the pork, ginger and 3 cups of cold water. Season with salt. Bring to a boil over high, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook until the pork is tender and almost falling apart, about 2 hours. You should have about 2 cups of pork broth in the pot; add more water if you don’t.

  2. Step 2

    Stir in the kimchi, onion and garlic and continue simmering until the kimchi is very tender and the pork is absolutely falling apart, about 1 more hour. Taste the broth for seasoning, adding fish sauce as desired; otherwise season with more salt.

  3. Step 3

    Right before serving, garnish the top of the stew with the scallions, break the meat up and serve with the rice.

Tip
  • To make this stew in an Instant Pot: Add the pork, ginger, kimchi, onion, garlic and 2 cups cold water to a 3- to 6-quart Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker. Season with salt. Gently stir and cover with the lid. Pressure-cook on high for 1 hour and let the pressure release naturally. Taste the broth for seasoning, adjusting with fish sauce or salt or both.

Ratings

4 out of 5
224 user ratings
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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Danielle

Possibly the best soup ever. Absolute flavor bomb! My kimchi at 4wks.

emily

Left on low for 8hrs in my crockpot (2cups water). Added onions and kimchi at 6hrs (probably could have added them in sooner, but I didn't want them to be totally mushy). White kimchi from Ranch99 Pork shoulder from Whole foods

Rachelle Vanderwyst

Could you make this with chicken? Not a rotisserie chicken of course. On a sidenote, rotisserie chicken has some thing oily poured all over it when it’s roasting. I know I wouldn’t use that.

Esther

This was delicious as is, even my kids gobbled it up (and they generally hate cabbage, onions, etc.). Apparently, the pork was worth it. Adding it to the rotation!

Edna

I've made this twice so far and it's really good. Like simple Chinese home cooking, but with pickled flavor from the baek kimchi. The second time making this, I cooked only the pork and ginger first in the Instant Pot (40 min) then split the broth for a pork version and tofu and shiitake version. It's not strictly vegetarian, but hubby enjoyed it. I bet you could start with a veggie umami broth too. Scoop of rice, crack an egg, and ladle hot soup and soft tofu over.

Kelly

Quick, easy, and beloved by our family. I make it in the instant pot.

Sara B

My new favorite soup. Very easy to make, especially in Instant Pot, and it is an absolute flavor explosion. We used red kimchi and it was great.

Meg

Very good. I made it in the instant pot with a bit less than a pound of pork stew meat (cooked for 20 minutes at high altitude, with full natural release). It was delicious. I like spicy, so next time I’ll try either a spicier kimchi or add some gochujang or red pepper.

Salt

Maybe a dumb question, but how much salt?

Sally

That depends on a number of elements: how salty your kimchi is, how much you use in relation to the other ingredients, whether you use the fish sauce, and most importantly, your personal taste and judgement. Taste as you go and enjoy the process!

Susan

I made the baek kimchi in September and just now in April have finally made this stew. I wish I had made this sooner! Since it is an Eric Kim recipe, I doubled the recipe with confidence and am glad I did. On leftover night, I picked up some banchan and pajeon from a local Korean restaurant. I will definitely make more of the baek kimchi and look forward to making this stew again.

Ann

I made this with packaged white kimchi from an Asian market. It was pretty good, but when I reheated the leftovers with some overcooked rice, it became something more like a fabulous congee. Very satisfying with a dollop of of sambal, sesame oil, and scallions!

AnnieKAnchorage

So tasty! Had leftover kimchi from family Xmas relish tray, and I’d add more next time along w more cabbage, rice noodles and mushrooms. I think it works be just fine with roaster chicken. It’ll be on the permanent rotation.

Christine B

Could you make this with regular red kimchi?

Edna

I've made this twice so far and it's really good. Like simple Chinese home cooking, but with pickled flavor from the baek kimchi. The second time making this, I cooked only the pork and ginger first in the Instant Pot (40 min) then split the broth for a pork version and tofu and shiitake version. It's not strictly vegetarian, but hubby enjoyed it. I bet you could start with a veggie umami broth too. Scoop of rice, crack an egg, and ladle hot soup and soft tofu over.

Ann Barry

The stew was very tasty. I would like some help with a mystery, however. As I was simmering the braised prok with the kimchi the meat turned pink like ham. Why?

Danielle

Possibly the best soup ever. Absolute flavor bomb! My kimchi at 4wks.

David C.

Used bone-in pork shoulder for extra flavor. And provided chili oil on table for those of us who wanted it. Delicious!

Esther

This was delicious as is, even my kids gobbled it up (and they generally hate cabbage, onions, etc.). Apparently, the pork was worth it. Adding it to the rotation!

emily

Left on low for 8hrs in my crockpot (2cups water). Added onions and kimchi at 6hrs (probably could have added them in sooner, but I didn't want them to be totally mushy). White kimchi from Ranch99 Pork shoulder from Whole foods

Su

I think canned tuna would also work in this as it’s another classic choice of protein in kimchi stew. I would recommend soft tofu to make it vegetarian.

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