prologue: mitsuwa and nijiya do not have gochujang (korean red pepper paste). they have this vinegar-y kimchee paste. i made the mistake of calling nijiya and then believing them when they said they had it. so, left with no choice, i tanked up with gas at costco and headed to ktown. only about 15-20 minutes each way on the wide open freeway. takes about as long as it does from weho taking surface streets. i went to the galleria market: 3250 w olympic blvd 90006. this may or may not be the one i intended to go to, but was not disappointed. the market was huge. mushrooms were on sale. there was a great korean optometry store just outside the market. lots of brightly colored frames in unusual shapes. next time…

armed with 3 recipes and some instinctive cooking acumen, i am making kimchi chigae right now. one recipe says fry the beef then add the kimchi. JP’s mom’s recipe says fry the kimchi then add the beef. the third recipe calls for meat but doesn’t say when to add it in the directions. the way i figure it, i can do it however i want and it will come out. JP’s mom’s recipe calls for dried anchovies (she calls them maerichi). i think this is the real secret ingredient that will make this stew pop. and my inherent knowledge of korean cooking, of course.

so here’s what i did, in case i want to replicate it: added 12 cups of kimchi and about 1/4 cup of juice. added 1 TBSP of sesame oil. added 1 TBSP of gochujang (add another .5 – .75 TBSP of gochujang – see note below). started boiling. added 4 tsp crushed garlic and 1/8 tsp ground ginger (because i forgot to buy fresh). added 22.4 oz of short rib beef cut into thin slices. boiled/mixed for 5 minutes. poured water over the ingredients, just enough to cover. cut heads off and put 2 anchovies into a spice ball and brought to a boil. am boiling for 30 minutes (it is currently bubbling vigorously like a little geyser). then i will turn down to a simmer for 10 minutes. JP’s mom then advises to add sliced tofu (optional) and take the anchovies out. longer boiling = softer stew. i figure if it needs more fishy flavor or heat, i can add more fishies and paste and pepper flakes as needed and continue boiling adding water if necessary. it’s just stew – it can handle it.

epilogue: i just tasted it. it’s perfectly fishy but, surprisingly, it needs salt. it would definitely benefit from some onion. the garlic i added was either not enough or has no effect. had a slight burn, but is pretty mild. i added another 3/4 TBSP of gochujang. i’ll taste test in another 10 minutes.