Rich Gochujang Gamja Jjigae (Spicy Potato Stew)
A spicy stew made by stir-frying pork and potatoes, then simmering them in anchovy broth with sweet potato glass noodles.
Translated from Korean by AI and not yet checked by a native speaker. Amounts and numbers are taken directly from the original recipe. Read the Korean original →
This stew gets a rich, spicy broth as the potato starch blends with the gochujang. Stir-frying the pork and potatoes first brings out a deep flavor, and adding chewy glass noodles at the end makes it wonderfully hearty.
- Servings
- 2–3 servings
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spiciness
- Spicy
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Potato2, 200 g (medium)
- Pork150 g
- Onion1
- Sweet potato glass noodles (dangmyeon)50 g
- Large green onion (daepa)
- Cheongyang chili pepper (hot green chili), red chili pepper1 each
- Anchovy broth3 cups
- Perilla oil (or toasted sesame oil)1 tbsp
- Cooking oil1/2 tbsp
Seasoning
- Salt1/3 tsp
- Mirin (cooking rice wine)1 tbsp
- Ground black peppera little
- Regular soy sauce (jin-ganjang) (or brewed soy sauce (yangjo-ganjang))1 tbsp
- Minced garlic1/2 tbsp
- Gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)1 tbsp
- Gochujang (Korean red chili paste)1 tbsp
- Sugar1/2 tsp
- Besides tenderloin, you can use pork belly, picnic shoulder, or Boston butt, and mushrooms or tofu are also great.
- Pour hot water over the sweet potato glass noodles to soak them.
Steps
Prepare the ingredients
Slice the potato and onion thickly, and thinly slice the large green onion and chili peppers.
Pour hot water over the sweet potato glass noodles to soak them.
Stir-fry the potato and pork
In the pot you will cook in, add 1/3 tsp salt, 1 tbsp mirin, and a pinch of ground black pepper to the pork to remove any gamey odor and season it, mix well, and let it sit briefly.
Add 1 tbsp perilla oil or toasted sesame oil, and 1/2 tbsp cooking oil...
Since I used pork tenderloin, which has little fat, I added a fairly generous amount of oil.
If using fatty pork belly, you can reduce the amount of oil when stir-frying.
Stir-fry thoroughly until the pork is mostly cooked and the edges of the potato turn translucent...
Simmer
Pour in 3 cups anchovy broth.
Once it comes to a rolling boil, neatly skim off any messy foam.
Add 1 tbsp regular soy sauce, 1/2 tbsp minced garlic,
1 tbsp gochugaru, 1 tbsp gochujang, and 1/2 tsp sugar, then boil so the seasonings blend well and the potatoes and pork cook through completely.
Add the soaked glass noodles, onion, large green onion, and chili peppers together...
Give it a quick boil until the glass noodles turn translucent and chewy and the onion and green onion are cooked through.
Finish
Gochujang gamja jjigae is finished.
As the fresh potatoes cook, their flesh melts slightly into the broth, making it thick and rich.
It is so delicious to eat the glass noodles first, then mash the potatoes into the remaining broth and mix it with rice.
The pleasantly spicy broth stimulates the appetite, making you eat your rice in no time.
If you have not decided on tonight's dinner menu, try boiling gamja jjigae with glass noodles.
There is nothing fancy to it, but it makes a perfectly hearty and wonderful meal.
Ppunwife's tips
- If using fatty pork belly, you can reduce the amount of oil when stir-frying.
- Once it comes to a rolling boil, neatly skim off any messy foam.
FAQ
What cut of pork should I use?
Besides tenderloin, you can use pork belly, picnic shoulder, or Boston butt. For fatty cuts like pork belly, you can reduce the amount of oil used for stir-frying.
How do I season the pork beforehand?
To remove gamey odors and let the seasoning soak in, mix 1/3 tsp salt, 1 tbsp mirin, and a pinch of ground black pepper into the pork right in the cooking pot.
Are there other ingredients that go well with the potatoes and pork?
Adding mushrooms or tofu also works very well.
Can I substitute plain water if I do not have anchovy broth? AI-generated
Generally, you can use plain water instead, and since the stew includes seasoning, you can make up for any missing umami by adding a little seasoning or soup soy sauce.
