Kimchi Jjigae

Kimchi jjigae cannot be made with fresh kimchi. It needs cabbage that has already turned sour after weeks of fermentation, because that sourness becomes depth once it is cooked. Fatty pork, sometimes tuna, tofu and spring onion go in with it, and the pot arrives still boiling. This is an everyday dish, not an occasion dish.

Rice comes separately and the rhythm is alternating: a spoonful of stew, a mouthful of rice, and back again. Tofu and meat are lifted out of the broth, and the kimchi leaves are cut against the side of the pot rather than bitten through. There is usually enough broth left at the end to tip the remaining rice into it.