Theme Recipe: Pork And Kimchee Casserole

My dad often told stories about the food he was served in the Navy during the Korean war.  He often spoke about having Chipped Beef On Toast, "affectionately" known as "Shit On A Shingle" for the first time, thinking that it couldn't really get any worse than that!  That was, until he had the bread on board ship-- which apparently had more weevils than flour in it!  I few years back I remember stumbling on a story about how the Chinese and the US equally had a hard time getting Korean soldiers to fight without their kimchi!  Seems reasonable!!  I love Korean food.  In behind Filipino cuisine, it's my favorite Asian cuisine period.  So a kimchi dish it is!

This is a household favorite!  It's one of two pork and kimchi dishes that we make a lot, but this is really my favorite because it contains tofu as well.  We are lucky that our local "Asian grocery" is run by Koreans, the lady who owns it is no paragon of polite conversation, but boy (!) does she make really, really good kimchi!!!  If you can't get the local stuff, don't worry, the jarred type works just a well with this.

Kimchee Chighe

1/2 lb. boneless pork chop (or, and this is what I like, 1 country style rib)

14 oz. Cabbage Kimchee

3 cups beef stock (either homemade or boxed)


1 package instant Dashi stock (or a Fish stock cube) (or you can boil some bonito in water and season with salt)


1 or 2 crushed garlic cloves


Salt to taste


Ground red chili pepper


12 oz. tofu


4 dried shitake mushrooms (soaked in water) or use fresh


2 scallions (green onion) or small leeks (I really like the leek)


1/4 bunch or about 1 cup watercress (the traditional calls for Asian chrysanthemum leaves, but these are hard to come by if you don't live in a big city or grow you own.)  Arugula works too!


3 tbsp. oil

1.  Slice pork into thin slices.

2.  Very roughly chop the kimchee, place in a colander to drain and press.  Save the liquid. (my note:  in my opinion the draining step is irrelevant).

3.  In a large pot, heat the oil and sear the pork well on both sides. Add the drained kimchee and cook for about 2 minutes.  Add the kimchee liquid back and add the stock.  Bring to a boil and remove from heat.  Season with salt and a little red pepper, stir in the garlic.  

4.  In a Korean metal "casserole" dish or a shallow saucepan, arrange the soaked mushrooms (my note:  I like to add the soaking liquid to the beef stock), you decorate them with a cross in the top.  

5.  Cut the tofu large chunks and arrange in the pan with mushrooms.  Slice the onions or leeks on the diagonally and arrange as well.  Spoon in the pork and kimchee mixture, heat slowly.  As soon as the tofu starts to bubble it's ready to serve.  Garnish with greens, and if you like it hot, top with more red pepper.

Variations:

This is easily made vegetarian by not adding the meat and using vegetable stock.  Other stuff that is good in it include tempeh, soy bean cakes and vegetarian sausage or bacon (fakin bacon).

It's good make with chicken.

It good made with other types of kimchee, like Daikon, either alone or with the cabbage kimchee.

If you like really sour dishes, add a little rice vinegar.

It can be made with ham, or even, as above, with Spam, which is strangely popular in Korea, although not as much as Hawaii!

Add some cooked Asian noodles.