The Korean condiment provides bold flavor and probiotics.
Kimchi is so flavorful—tangy, tart, sour—that it makes an excellent base for a fiery, warming soup, explains New York City–based recipe developer Sarah Jampel. She recommends sampling the kimchi before you start, as its flavor will dictate the taste of your stew. Here, Jampel has included golden beet (red ones will turn the stew pink), carrot, and turnip noodles, but you can use any root vegetable noodle whether store-bought or spiralized at home. “For a richer stew,” Jampel says, “add an uncooked egg yolk to each individual bowl right before serving.” Gochujang (Korean fermented pepper paste) and gochugaru (Korean chili powder) are available online and in the Asian ingredients section of many grocery stores.
Ingredients
Directions
Step 1
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add tofu cubes and simmer until firm and puffed, about 3 to 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove tofu from pot and drain on a paper towel–lined plate. Empty pot.
Step 2
Return pot to stove and pour in vegetable oil. Heat over medium-high, and add garlic, ginger, and light green and white parts of scallions. Cook, stirring, until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in chopped kimchi, gochujang, and gochugaru and cook, stirring often, until ingredients begin to brown, 5 to 8 minutes.
Step 3
Add 8 cups water and reserved kimchi liquid to pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 35 minutes, until kimchi is translucent and broth is a rich red color. Taste and add salt as needed.
Step 4
While stew simmers, spiralize the beet, carrot, and turnip into noodles, using the crude shredding blade.
Step 5
Add soy sauce and tofu to the soup and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the vegetable noodles and simmer until the noodles are cooked through but still firm, 3 to 4 minutes.
Step 6
Divide soup between bowls and garnish with scallion greens, sesame oil, and sesame seeds.