Homemade isn’t always better. Whilst sometimes a vegetarian has to make their own, to avoid fish sauce or other specific ingredients, there are often alternatives available on-line. Especially when we’re talking about the Asian store-cupboard. Many ingredients, such as kimchi and gochujang, but also soy sauce and miso, take practised hands, and years of fermentation and knowledge to make.
Plus, they’re fairly easy to buy and, once bought, they obediently sit between the cupboard and the fridge like sleeping giants, ready to deploy big and instant flavour. This recipe is a version of Korean kimchi jiggae, a warming stew that is greater than the sum of its parts – happily, parts mostly pre-made and from the store cupboard.
Given that the main ingredient in this dish is kimchi, buy the best you can – we use Eaten Alive Spicy kimchee but their other varieties are worth trying. This recipe was originally written for tender stem broccoli.
Prep 20 min
Cook 40 min
Serves 4
3 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1.5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
300g good-quality kimchi
1 tbsp gochujang paste
1 tbsp brown rice syrup
200g oyster mushrooms, cut into 1cm strips
1 litre vegetable stock
400g extra-firm tofu, sliced
250g Tenderstem broccoli, halved
Salt
2 spring onions, trimmed and finely shredded
Noodles for 4
Heat the oil in a casserole dish and, when hot, add the onion and fry, until soft. Stir in the garlic, ginger and kimchi, fry until the kimchi starts to caramelise – about eight to 10 minutes – then stir in the gochujang and rice syrup. Add the mushrooms to the pot and fry for three minutes.
Pour in the stock, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to a whisper and simmer for 10-12 minutes, until it tastes like all the flavours have come together.
Layer the tofu slices in a fan shape on one side of the pot, arrange the Tenderstem on the other side, and prod both so they’re slightly submerged in the hot liquid. Leave to cook for another six minutes, or until the broccoli is cooked, then check the seasoning – add salt, if need be. Add a portion of cooked noodles to each bowl. Label the broth over the noodles in the bowls, scatter over the shredded spring onions.
Or serve with bowls of steamed jasmine rice.