On the Cheap: Chamchi Kimchi Jjigae

I just couldn't wait any more and I broke into my kimchi tonight. First of all, it's good. Much better than the store bought stuff I'd been eating before. Second, I made it into soup that costs almost nothing. Rejoice!

A friend (the one who's getting the small jar of kimchi) passed along this website to me: a recipe for kimchi jjigae, or spicy kimchi stew. I made it a few weeks ago with the last of my store-bought kimchi and squid. She's since told me that her favourite incarnation of the stew is chamchi kimchi jjigae, made with canned tuna. I was skeptical, but curious. I'm not always a fan of canned tuna.

I was making my skeptical face as I surveyed that can of tuna, that's for sure.

It's a simple recipe. The only ingredients not  pictured here are one medium yellow onion, four green onions and hot pepper flakes.

I like things burn-your-face hot, but you could cut back on the pepper flakes or use more mild kimchi. You could also cut back on the gochujang, but that will change the taste along with reducing the spice.

And this is super cheap, since it's basically cabbage and canned tuna soup. But it's very tasty. Serve it with steamed rice topped with scallions and gaeran jim (Korean steamed eggs) to round out the meal.