Last week’s recipe is gochujang stew from “Simply Korean” by Aaron Huh, a chef who shares Korean recipes on Youtube. I actually already made this stew from online recipes, but I wanted to use up some gochujang and highlight this book I just got recently as a gift. I obviously replaced some ingredients and it doesn’t look so appetizing in photos, but it’s hearty and spicy, perfect for the cold rainy weather which we’ve been having.
[photo of gochujang stew simmering in an enamel pot]
Ingredients Summary – easy to find at an Asian grocery store, but not at any other grocery store
- pork belly (I used leftover chicken), tofu
- spices: gochujang (chili paste), soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, beef stock powder (I used chicken stock), gochugaru (chili powder), garlic, pepper
- onion, potato, shiitake mushrooms, green onion, zucchini (I used bell pepper because I don’t like zucchini)
Steps Summary – easy
Mix seasoning paste ingredients. Brown pork and add paste (I just heated up the chicken). Add water and boil potatoes, onion and mushrooms until tender, then add tofu and remaining veggies and simmer until cooked. Serve with rice!
Taste Summary – tastes spicy and savory, a variety of textures
- Taste – I really liked the level of saltiness and spiciness in this recipe, it packs a kick but it’s not overwhelming to me, however, I don’t recommend for people who aren’t used to eating very spicy food. To me, it’s a perfect sinus-clearing 3 out of 5 spice level, but it may be closer to 4 or 5 if you’re from a culture that doesn’t eat hot peppers on the regular. You do need to eat this with rice, I know a lot of people say Korean stew is so salty because they aren’t eating it with plain rice or noodles, they’re just eating it by itself and that’s way too much salt.
- Texture – I had to cook a few minutes longer than the recipe because my potatoes were not getting tender, but I like the bell peppers for adding crunch. I probably should have used pork instead of already cooked chicken breast for a more authentic texture, but it still worked for me. No complaints.
Convenience Summary
Very easy and convenient to make, but only if you have access to gochujang and gochugaru. There are no replacements for those ingredients so you must get it from an Asian or Korean grocery or very large specialty grocery store.
Would I make this again? I made this stew twice already, but I probably only would keep repeating if I had an open tub of gochujang, which I don’t use very often. Most of these Asian sauces and pastes I don’t use too often except soy sauce and red miso, but I’m working on being better about open containers in my fridge. Got a fresh batch of ingredients for a new recipe from a new book, look forward to it!