Kimchi-jeongol (Kimchi Hot Pot)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide shallow jeongol pan or 28 to 30 cm shallow braiser
• •Portable tabletop burner
• •Fine strainer
• •Kitchen scissors or sharp knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the broth

   Put the water, kelp, anchovies, and radish in a pot over medium heat. When the water reaches a gentle simmer, pull out the kelp right away, because kelp left too long turns the broth slick and bitter. Simmer the anchovies and radish for 10 minutes more, then strain. Measure out 4 cups of broth for the jeongol.

   Remove the dark guts from the anchovies before they go in. That small bitter line can make the whole pan taste tired.
2. 2

   Prepare the kimchi

   Cut the sour kimchi into 2-inch pieces and save 1/2 cup of its brine. Use kimchi from the sour end of the jar, not fresh kimchi. The aged kimchi is the seasoning here, so the pot needs its acidity, salt, and fermented depth before it needs anything from your hand.

3. 3

   Season the pork

   Toss the pork with 1 tablespoon of the kimchi brine, 1 teaspoon of the gochugaru, and 1 teaspoon of the minced garlic. This is not a heavy marinade. It only wakes the pork up enough to meet the kimchi without making every bite taste the same.

4. 4

   Mix the liquid

   Stir together 4 cups anchovy broth, the remaining kimchi brine, soup soy sauce, the remaining 1 teaspoon gochugaru, and the remaining 1 teaspoon minced garlic. Taste it before it goes into the pan. It should be lightly salty and tart, not fierce, because it will reduce and the kimchi will keep seasoning the pot as it cooks.

   Do not add gochujang. Kimchi-jeongol should taste like aged kimchi, pork, tofu, and broth, not like a pot of chili paste.
5. 5

   Arrange the pan

   Set a wide shallow jeongol pan on a portable burner, still off. Lay the onion on the bottom, then arrange the kimchi, seasoned pork, tofu, mushrooms, and soaked dangmyeon in separate sections around the pan. Put the sturdier ingredients near the broth and save the minari, scallions, and chili for the end. Jeongol should arrive at the table arranged by color before the broth goes in; once it simmers, it becomes food, but first it shows the cook paid attention.

6. 6

   Simmer at the table

   Pour the seasoned broth around the sides of the pan, not straight over the tofu. Turn the burner to medium and bring the pan to a steady simmer. Cover for 5 minutes to get the pork cooking, then uncover and gently separate the pork pieces with chopsticks so none stay folded raw inside. Simmer 7 to 9 minutes more, until the pork is fully opaque with no pink and the kimchi has softened into the broth.

7. 7

   Finish and taste

   Add the scallions, minari, and green chili, then simmer 1 minute, just until the greens relax. Taste the broth. If it is flat, add soup soy sauce 1 teaspoon at a time. If it is too salty, add hot water 2 tablespoons at a time. If it is dull, add kimchi brine 1 tablespoon at a time. 손맛 is real, hand-taste is real, and I still measure it, so it can be handed on.

8. 8

   Serve communally

   Keep the burner on low and let people serve themselves from the pan, taking pork, kimchi, tofu, and broth together. Eat it with hot rice and a few quiet banchan. As the pan thickens, add a ladle of hot water or spare broth. Jeongol is not carried out finished like jjigae; it lives in the middle of the table, changing as everyone eats.

Chef Tips

• •Use kimchi that is properly sour. If the kimchi still tastes fresh and crisp, leave it for eating cold and cook something else tonight. This pot needs the end of the jar, where the cabbage is sharp enough to season the broth by itself.
• •Pork belly gives richness, pork shoulder gives a cleaner broth, and both are correct. Slice it thin so it cooks safely at the table without forcing the tofu and mushrooms to overcook.
• •The portable burner is the honest modern vessel. A charcoal brazier is not coming back to most apartments, and it doesn't need to. 시대가 바뀌면 음식도 바뀌어야 해요. When times change, food must change too.
• •Keep the noodles modest if you use them. Forty grams of dried dangmyeon is enough to catch the broth without turning a kimchi hot pot into a noodle pan.
• •Leftover broth is good with rice the next morning. Boil it hard in a small pot, add a beaten egg if you like, and stop before it turns muddy.

Advance Preparation

• •The anchovy-kelp broth can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Bring it back to a simmer before mixing it with the kimchi brine, so the table pot comes up quickly.
• •The kimchi can be cut and the pork lightly seasoned up to 8 hours ahead, kept covered in the refrigerator. Keep the tofu, mushrooms, and greens separate so they stay clean and firm.
• •Leftovers keep 2 to 3 days refrigerated. Reheat in a pot until the pork and broth are fully hot, adding a little water because kimchi-jeongol grows saltier as it sits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 515g)