Chickpea and Pork Rib Kimchi Stew

October 13, 2022 Corinn Blackwell

With traditional kimchi jjigae as a base, this stew boasts, briny olives and tender chickpeas making for a stew that is hard to place culturally but absolutely delicious.

Chickpea and Pork Rib Kimchi Stew

Serves 8

Sometimes, I have terrible insomnia. On nights when I cannot sleep I like to watch classic food television on Youtube. Recently, I watched an episode of “The Two Fat Ladies” (one of my all-time favorite shows) where Clarissa made a classic Spanish stew. I do not remember the name of the stew but it had beans, three or four types of meat, cabbage, potatoes and smoked paprika.

I wanted to create a hearty stew inspired by what I watched Clarissa make. I decided on well-fermented kimchi as my base. Pork ribs and dashima for the rich flavor the bones would give to the broth, shiitake mushrooms for depth, chickpeas as my bean of choice and sausage to add a smoky flavor. This kimchi jjigae may not be something someones’ halmoni (Korean grandmother) would make but, I tried to stay true to the tradition of kimchi jjigae while giving it a bit of a spin. If you’d like a more traditional kimchi jjigae recipe you can click here.

Recipe Tips: *1. Using well-fermented or aged kimchi is important when making kimchi jjigae as the sour flavor mingled with the fat from the pork is what makes the dish special and delicious. If your kimchi is not yet well fermented, I would suggest holding off on making kimchi jjigae until it is to get the full flavor experience. 2. Admittedly, this makes a huge amount of stew. Cutting the recipe in half is easily done for smaller crowds. 3. To cut the kimchi I suggest weighing the kimchi into a bowl and using a pair of kitchen scissors to cut the kimchi to the desired size. Putting the kimchi on a cutting board can be quite messy. Using the scissors is easier and cleaner. 4. What kind of ribs to use? I bought pork spareribs cut into approximately 2 in chunks, however, using baby back ribs cut into individual or double ribs is also yummy. For baby back ribs, you may want to test the ribs for doneness after 45 mins rather than 1 hour 15 mins.

Ingredients

Chickpea Broth

1,000ml (5 c) water

300g (1.75 c) chickpeas, soaked overnight

1 t kosher salt

35g (4 medium-large) dried shiitake mushrooms, rinsed well

Flavor base

2 T vegetable oil

1kg (2.25 lbs) pork ribs

*1kg (2.25 lbs) kimchi, chopped into large pieces

120g (6 T) gochujang

10 garlic cloves, minced

10g (2 t) ginger, minced

Seasoning

500ml (2.5 c) water

7g (3 in piece) dashima

6 T kimchi brine

3 T soy sauce

2.5 T gochagaru

2 T mirin

2 T Korean rice syrup or sugar

1 T sesame oil

1 t ground black pepper

1 t kosher salt

0.50 t MSG

Fillings 1

568g (2 large) onion, sliced 0.25 in thick with the grain

300g (about 4 medium) sausage, sliced 0.50 in thick on a bias

Reserved chickpeas

Fillings 2

454g (1 lb) white cabbage, cut into 1.5 in pieces

454g (1 lb) potato, cut into 1 in pieces

90g (0.50 c) olives with pimento, sliced

Finishing

50g (5) scallions, sliced

2 cheongyang or serrano chilis, sliced

Recipe Know-how

1. In a medium pot place the water, chickpeas and salt.

Bring to a boil covered.
Reduce to a simmer and cook for 45 mins to 1 hour.

Be careful of pot boil over.

The chickpeas are cooked when tasted, the skins and bean are tender. If not yet tender, allow to cook longer testing the chickpeas in 10 minute intervals.

Off heat add the mushrooms and allow to sit, covered for 1 hour.

Do not remove the chickpeas.

After 1 hour, remove the stems of the mushrooms and cut into bite-sized pieces.
Drain the chickpeas and reserve the cooking liquid.

2. In a large pot, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high.

Working in batches, brown the ribs well on all sides.
Remove the browned ribs to a bowl and set aside. Repeating until all of the ribs have been well browned.

Reduce the heat to medium if the pot or fond begin to burn.

The browning step should take 15 – 20 minutes in total.

Pour off all but 3 T of the fat from the pan.
Add the kimchi and gochujang.
Cook stirring occasionally for 4 minutes.
Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute longer.
Add the pork, seasonings, mushrooms and chickpea broth.

Do not add the chickpeas here.

Bring to a boil covered.
Reduce to a simmer and cook 1 hour 15 minutes or until almost tender.

The ribs are ready when pierced with a knife there is almost no resistance.

If there is too much resistance, continue to cook.

Add the fillings 1 ingredients and return to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes longer.
Add the fillings 2 ingredients. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary.

Remove from heat and allow to stand covered for 30 - 45 minutes.

Allowing the stew to stand is an optional step. If I have time, I like to let it sit for the flavors to marry before finishing.

Return the stew to a boil.
Add the scallions and chili, cook for 5 minutes.

3. Serve with rice and banchan.