Cultural Post #1
Kimchi-jjigae
David Kim
30262888
david.kim123@richmond.edu
After watching an episode of the new popular Korean drama The Glory, Somyung cooked Kimchi-jjigae for me and my language partners. Kimchi-jjigae, or Kimchi stew, is a well-known Korean stew that contains Kimchi, vegetables, and Korean spices. As the name of the food contains, Kimchi is the main ingredient in Kimchi-Jjigae. Kimchi is a Korean traditional food, which is usually fermented cabbage with Korean seasoning. There are several versions of Kimchi, and all of them use different vegetables. Adding on to Kimchi, you can throw in additional ingredients in Kimchi-jjigae. The popular choices are tofu, pork, and tuna. Anyone who lives or lived in Korea can not deny the fact that Kimchi-jjigae is one of the best soul foods in Korea. Even my father’s favorite food is my mother’s Kimchi-jjigae.
When I hear or think about the word traditional, I expect to have a long time of history. Contrary to my expectation, the history of Kimchi-jjigae is not that long. The history of stew made with red-seasoned cabbage Kimchi is only over 100 years old. That's because it's only been 100 years since cabbage Kimchi became widespread. Korean people began to eat Kimchi in the ancient period before the Three Kingdoms period. However, the first type of cabbage came later from China in the 18th century. At this time, cabbage was a precious vegetable. Only the higher class could have cabbage Kimchi. During the 19th century, cabbage was cultivated nationwide. By the end of the Joseon Dynasty, Cabbage began to become an ingredient for Kimchi. Kimchi-jjigae seems to have been made after the cabbage Kimchi was completely settled on the Korean table, so its history should be considered after the history of cabbage Kimchi.
Jjigae is pure Korean. It is said to be a combination of jji and gae. In jjigae, "gae" usually corresponds to a suffix meaning "something.” There are two opinions about "jji." As mentioned earlier, there is an opinion that it means "steaming" because boiling the soup is considered to be steaming. On the other hand, there is also an argument that stew originated from the pure Korean word "dihi," which means Kimchi. According to this interpretation, the word jjigae itself means something that already has Kimchi in it. In other words, all jjigaes are stews with Kimchi. Not all Korean stews contain Kimchi today. However, if the etymology originated from Kimchi-jjigae, the impact of kimchi-jjigae on our food culture is greater than expected.
Kimchi-jjigae has several variations depending on the region and the times. There are Kimchi-jjigae that are boiled with dried anchovies, while in some areas add beef. With the development of deep-sea fishing since the 1980s, adding canned tuna became a new recipe. I also got to know that salmon Kimchi-jjigae is also getting popular recently with the release of canned salmon. I personally never heard about salmon Kmchi-jjigae, but I would happily try it. After walking through freezing weather or when you need a warm stew, Kimchi-jjigae is the best food for you.
English Resource:
https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/kimchi-jjigae
Korean Resources:
http://www.lampcook.com/food/food_healthcook_view.php?idx_no=154
Image : https://wtable.co.kr/recipes/zNcioPqkvQZ7q2TtHDFJeCDu
Comments
Kimchi-jjigae is probably a dish that can represent Korea. Its main ingredient is Kimchi, after all, and its a dish that can be enjoyed honestly by anyone. I personally look its spicy kick. Reading about all the different types and its history was interesting!
Wow!! That is so cool! I never knew jjigae meant the word kimchi and I never knew that would be one of the reason why all jjigae have kimchi in it. I thought jjigae just meant soup. I think my favorite type of Jjigae is duanjang jjigae which is a bean soup.
Hi David,
This is nice, concise history of kimchi! I never had kimchi-jjigae before, but after a quick google search, it looks delicious! Fermented foods like kimchi and radishes contain a lot of health benefits that can provide our digestive system with health bacteria that can aid in digestion, so this is another reason for many people to try this dish. I had kimchi before and I enjoyed it, but I preferred the pickled radishes way more.
It is so interesting to learn about the general history of Kimchi and your own personal history with it. This is making me want to try it myself!