My favorite, Kimchee Chigae

Okay another food post. People who are not into food, I am sorry. I just love food so much, and Korean food is very good. This is my favorite korean dish of all time. It is a kimchee stew. It can be made in different varieties... but the basics are kimchi, tofu, and a tiny bit of garlicy pork (which I admit I usually pick out because it is usally some kind of tendon-y meat and even though I am not a vegetarian anymore, I still can't handle chewy meat products). Sometimes it has beef instead of pork. And if you buy it on post like this one, it has hotdog slices in it too. Sometimes it has slices of rice dumplings in it. It really depends on the maker and what they feel like throwing in.

Kimchi Chigae is not for the faint of heart. It is very spicy and will clear all traces of a cold out of your sinuses. Also people have been saying kimchi and sauerkraut reduce your chances of contracting the avain flu, so it is extreamly good for your health - just like 1,000s of Korean Grandmothers have been saying for centuries. Anyway it is yummy and I could eat it everyday.

Here is a picture of the Chigae (Chigae by the way means stew so you may see it attached to other words like Dobu Chigae - which is Tofu Stew)


Kimchee Chigae also always comes with a bunch of rice. You can dump the rice into the stew for quite a culinary delight! I try not to add in all my rice right at the beginning so that when my mouth is burning later on I can add new rice that won't be as spicy as the stuff that has been siting in the soup. Also there are some sides of kimchi. Because this is a take out place, the kimchi doesn't change a whole lot. This one (going clockwise starting on the top left) is bean sprouts (my fav), regular cabbage, radish, and fish.


You'll see that there are several different ways to spell things: Kimchee can be spelled with two e's, or as kimchi with an i. You will also see chigae spelled chiggae, chijjae, or chijae.
As long as it sounds the same, it is the same. :)
Cheers!