Korean food is extremely popular now due to the Kpop wave. Any type of Asian cuisine that’s mercilessly spicy will definitely appeal to Singaporeans! Boneless Kitchen is our go-to for vegan Korean food made without alliums. Sadly Boneless is too far for me, so when cravings hit, here’s a rather straightforward recipe for a comforting, hearty stew for monsoon season.

Kimchi usually has fish sauce, but luckily for us, NTUC has one brand that is 100% vegan (has alliums) and very tasty. If you like to make your own, check out my (not the most authentic but easy) recipe here. It’s fun, full of active probiotics and you can customise it to your liking!

kimchi-jjigae (Kimchi Stew)

Ingredients (serves 1)

• 1/2 cup kimchi, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1/8 cup kimchi brine
• 4 pcs shiitake mushroom, cut into half, stems removed (keep for stock)
• ½ block of firm tofu, sliced into bite size pieces
• 3 green onions (chopped)
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 1 tbsp gochugaru (Korean hot pepper flakes, available from Korean supermarkets, try chilli powder if you don’t have)
• 1 – 2 tbsp gochujang (Korean red pepper paste, available at NTUC)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2-3 cups of stock (see below)

For stock (makes about 2-3 cups):

• 1/2 tbsp vegan belacan (from neighbourhood vegetarian grocery shops)
• 3-4 pcs shiitake stems
• 15x3cm dried kelp (from dried goods shops in market/neighbourhood areas)
• 3 thin slices of ginger
• 3 green onion white stems, cleaned
• 3 cloves garlic, roots removed, crushed slightly
• 4-5 cups water

Directions:

1. Make stock:

Put all ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20mins over low-medium heat till liquid is reduced to 1/3 or half. Remove from heat and strain.

2. Make stew:

In a pot, sautee ginger and kimchi till kimchi softens. Add gochugaru, gochujang, mushrooms, kimchi brine and stir till ingredients are evenly coated red. Add stock and bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 mins. Add sesame oil and cut tofu on top. Simmer covered over low heat for 5 mins. Remove from heat. Garnish with spring onions. Serve hot with rice.

Notes:

• For variety, try adding seitan, other soft soy items like tau pok, tau kee, other mushrooms like enoki, oyster, king oyster, shimeji etc.
• For my friends who can’t take alliums – unfortunately this recipe needs gochujang, I have not seen any brand that is allium-free. Thus this recipe I didn’t omit alliums as onion & garlic are quite essential in Korean cuisine. If you ever find allium-free gochujang, please let me know and I can try a new recipe without alliums.