Simple – make Kimchi jjigae (Kimchi stew). It’s super easy! Throw in some Kimchi here, add some tofu there… and of course, you have to add Spam!!
Despite its popularity, I am not a big fan of Spam. What the heck is in it? I know some people who love Spam so much that their favorite part is the weird gelatin like thing that appears on the bottom. (You know who you are! I’m not going to mention any names). 
But I must confess that I will make an exception for Spam – only when it’s cooked with Kimchi. I know that’s like being a vegetarian 3 times a week. For some reason though, Spam is a must have ingredient in any dish that has Kimchi in it. Kimchi and Spam go together like peanut butter and jelly. Meat and potatoes. Sonny and Cher. California rolls and pizza. (Try it sometime.)
If you don’t want to add Spam, then you need to have some pork. This will help flavor the soup part. The flavors will be a bit more harmonious with pork, as opposed to ground beef. You can use sliced pork belly (Sam gyup sal) or other cuts of pork, like pork chops, cut into little pieces.
As you might have noticed by now, most of my Korean soupy dishes begin with basic broth. I don’t think many people will fry the Kimchi beforehand like I do, but it definitely makes the jjigae taste better.
Recipe: Kimchi stew – kimchi jjigae
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
2 cups of aged Kimchi (MUST be aged; older the better), cut into medium pieces
1.5 cups of water
1/2 can of Spam, cut into cubes (I usually buy the larger can and freeze whatever I don’t use)
1/2 carton of firm tofu, cut into cubes
1 tbs of corn oil or vegetable oil
1 tbs of red pepper flakes (optional)
1 stalk of scallion
Salt to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon)
Procedure:
1. In a medium pot, boil 1.5 cups of water to make basic broth. Remove anchovies and kelp. Add about 1 tsp of salt. Turn off heat.
2. In a warmed pan, fry kimchi until there is no more liquid, about 5 minutes or so.
3. Remove from heat and add Kimchi to the pot from step number 1. Turn heat on medium to low, covering most of the pot with lid. Let it simmer for 10 minutes, allowing steam escape. Otherwise, it will overflow.
4. Add Spam. Stir. Add tofu. Be careful not to stir too much as it will crumble the tofu pieces. Cook for another 5 minutes, or until Spam and tofu are cooked. Add red pepper flakes.
5. Place scallion in the middle of the pot, then turn off heat. Serve with rice.
*You can also add a can of tuna, with the water drained, instead of meat.
Just curious – do you have a favorite Spam recipe?
October 6, 2008
yes. just fry that baby up and eat it with bap.
I just had kimchijjigae today too! yummmmmm