The key to this dish is a rich broth, so cook the pork in chicken stock. You can replace the pork with beef brisket. Or, if you’re a seafood lover, you can use about 12 clams, mussels, or oysters, and/or 6 shrimp instead of or with the pork, along with the stock of your choice. This version is quite spicy, but you can adjust the seasonings to taste. For a much milder stew, use 1 tablespoon instead of ¼ cup hot pepper flakes. Koreans traditionally cook and serve this dish in a heavy earthenware pot (ttukbaegi) or stone pot (dolsot) but a regular pot will do.
SERVES: 2
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/4 cup Korean hot pepper flakes (gochu-garu)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 4 ounces pork belly or boneless pork shoulder, chopped into small pieces
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup chopped Napa Cabbage Kimchi
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 cups homemade chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 (11-ounce) tubes soft tofu (sundubu)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 scallions, chopped
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Mix the hot pepper flakes and vegetable oil in a small bowl.
- Heat a medium heavy pot over medium-high heat. If you are using an earthenware pot (1½-quart pot), this will take a few minutes. Add the sesame oil, pork, and garlic and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the pork is no longer pink and the garlic is fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the kimchi and onion and cook, stirring, until the onion turns translucent, about 7 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of the hot pepper flake mixture and mix well. Add the stock and salt, turn the heat down to medium, and cook until bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Cut the tubes of tofu in half and squeeze the tofu into the boiling stew. Use a wooden spoon to break the tofu into smaller pieces, then heat until the stew bubbles, a few more minutes.
- Drizzle the remaining hot pepper flake mixture over the stew, then crack the eggs into the stew, leaving space between them. Add the scallions and cook until the egg whites are set but the yolks are still runny, a few more minutes.
- Serve immediately.
