Ever since making my own kimchi and doing research on kimchi recipes, I have learned that some kimchi contain extra/premium ingredients - raw oysters and squid. WHAT?!
Won't you get stomach problems with those ingredients? Apparently not because the kimchi juices and fermentation, preserves those ingredients and keep them safe for consumption.
Now let's take a look at my very brave and adventurous premium ingredient inside my kimchi.
Don't faint, ya...
Dig...dig...
What the .....
Pork belly!!!
I learnt this from Modern Pepper and this video below fascinated me. This lady, Helen, fermented a slab of raw pork belly for 14 days with her homemade kimchi. And I was like, wow! Got such thing, eh? And I was even more wow when I saw her kimchi jigae.
So I copycat and buried pork belly in my homemade kimchi for 7 days (instead of 14). This kimchi is of course not meant to be eaten raw (obviously) but cooked as kimchi jigae (kimchi stew).
When I dug out the fermented pork belly, I was expecting a whiff of what the CSI people call "decomp". I once had pork marinating in the fridge when my partner decided to haul me to the hospital because I had dengue. When I came home a week later, my marinated pork smelled fishy and stinky.
But surprise, surprise, with this kimchi fermented pork belly, there was none of that. It just smelled of kimchi.
And it became this.
A pot of tangy, savory and fiery deliciousness. Oh me oh my!
I had this for dinner and then for lunch the next day (it tasted even better).
I don't have a recipe for this (yet) because I just eyeballed my ingredients. Besides, most of you don't like kimchi and won't go anywhere near kimchi. Betul tak? Kimchi with raw pork belly buried underneath, you lagi freak out. Never mind. I will put up a recipe one day for my own reference because I simply must cook this again.
Kim chi? *runs far far far away!!!* LOL!!!
ReplyDeleteta..ta... LOL!
DeleteWah, you are early today. Your kimchi looks superb! Can sell already! I don't know how to write this without offending others but those who doesn't like kimchi is because they didn't give kimchi a chance. Like you have kimchi a chance and you love it now despite not liking it in the beginning. Like you say, kimchi is an acquired taste. It is their lost those who can't appreciate it like it is my lost for not knowing how to appreciate melt in the mouth fatty meat. Lolx! Keep it up! So tasty your kimchi dish. Please sell to me.
ReplyDeleteSome have actually tried kimchi but still don't like it, so kimchi is not for them. Pork belly lovers will say you don't know what you are missing but you have tried the fatty meat and still don't like it, so you have not lost anything, right? LOL!
DeleteI don't eat fatty meat cos I don't want it to clog up my heart but I understand why people love fatty meat because I do see their point when I tasted those fatty meat - so smooth, so wat. Those who said they don't like kimchi didn't give kimchi a chance although kimchi is good for health.
Deleteplease sell to me too!!! I like kimchi and pork belly! this really goes well with rice...yummzz!!! does ah girl come over to disturb u while eating this porky kimchi? This dish is so red and must be very spicy.
ReplyDeleteShe did. So I let her smell the kimchi and she ran away. LOL!
Deleteat this rate, you could start a separate blog for your kimchi adventures! :D coincidentally i just had the kimchi slaw from 4fingers as part of lunch today, and i have to admit, it's more enjoyably punchy than regular coleslaw :D
ReplyDeletePerhaps I should so that my regulars won't be bored with my kimchi posts hah..hah... Ooh! Kimchi slaw. I have yet to try that!
DeleteHa ha I am one that don't know how to enjoy kimchi. I must be missing out a lot of yummy food that contains kimchi. Really interesting to bury raw pork belly underneath the kimchi. Its okay since you are going to stew the kimchi with pork belly.
ReplyDeleteThe kimchi stew does not smell or taste of kimchi. It just adds some depth of flavor so you might like it!
DeleteHow wonderful....you've just put two things I don't like to eat in one pot...kimchi & pork belly...wakakakaka! :D Whenever I'm dining at Korean restaurants (usually for BBQ), I'd always taste a piece of the kimchi banchan given...and nope, still don't like any of the ones I've tried so far. As for pork belly, I'm ok with char siew & siew yuk (but not ok if it's overly fatty) but just can't stomach wobbly meat like those cooked in liquid (bak kut teh, pork belly in soups, those braised in sauce, hakka char yoke...and now kimchi stew with pork belly, of course). But if you enjoy them, by all means...you can have my share too....hehehe! ;)
ReplyDeleteI wonder why you need to marinade the pork belly in kimchi for 7 (or 14) days. To infuse the flavour of kimchi into the pork belly? Wouldn't simmering it in kimchi do the same thing? Maybe it's to tenderise the pork. Yup, you're right, I wouldn't dare leave pork to marinade in the fridge for a few days. Perhaps the kimchi (which is sourish) acts like some sort of pickling, that's why the pork didn't go bad.
LOL! I admit that generally speaking, I dislike kimchi at Korean restaurants because those kimchi are fully fermented (as kimchi should be). I am enjoying my own kimchi, fresh (not fermented) since I like the taste better. It stays fresh for up to 10 days and starts having the fermented taste by day 14. But of course for the stew, the kimchi has to be fermented or else it would not taste good.
DeleteThe marination tenderizes the meat and imparts some flavor to it. It's really delicious lah wahahaha!!!
I love kim chi and once upon a time, I contemplated on making my own.
ReplyDeleteBut never did! LOL
You are very rajin!
It's is easy to make but time consuming.
DeleteSo the whole box of kimchi went into your stew? That's quite a lot ler..... Or you keep some for other dishes later?
ReplyDelete