Aeri's Kitchen

Korean Food and Recipes

Tuna Kimchi JjiGae

참치 김치 찌개, ChamChi KimChi JjiGae

by 91 Comments

It would be weird to hear that somebody doesn’t like kimchi or kimchi soup in Korea, except for maybe young kids. Of course once they grow up, they like it. Kimchi is the most famous Korean food. It is thought to be one of the healthiest foods in the world. Like some other Korean food, there are different types of kimchi soup, depending on the ingredients: tofu, tuna, pork, bean sprout, etc. Today, I will post one of them, tuna kimchi soup.

Yield: 3 Servings

Short Korean Lesson

  • ChamChi (참치) = Tuna
  • JjiGae (찌개) = A way to cook: it is a type of stew, but it has more broth than stew and less broth than soup.

Video Instructions


Main Ingredients

  • 1½ Cups Kimchi
  • 2 Cups Water
  • 1 Cup Tuna
  • ½ Tofu
  • ¼ Onion
  • 1 Green Onion
  • ½ Green Hot Pepper
  • ½ Red Hot Pepper

Seasoning Ingredients

Directions

 

Cut 1½ cups of kimchi into 1-inch pieces. It is important to use well-fermented kimchi for kimchi soup. Sour (old) kimchi works good also.

 

Slice ½ of a pack of tofu, ¼ of an onion, and the chilly peppers into ½-inch pieces. Cut 1 green onion into 1-inch pieces.

 

Prepare 1 cup of tuna. I recommend tuna packaged in oil instead of water. If you get a Korean tuna can, 1 medium sized can will be enough. Use all of the oil and tuna from the can for the soup.

 

In a pan, add the kimchi and 2 cups of water. Boil it on high.

 

Once the soup starts to boil, add the tuna.

 

Add the onion.

 

Then add ⅛ cup of kimchi broth, ½ to 1 Tbsp of red pepper powder (depending on your tastes), 1 tsp of minced garlic, and 1 tsp of salt. Adjust the amount of salt depending on the saltiness on your kimchi. If you use tuna packaged in water instead of oil, add 1 Tbsp of vegetable or canola oil, and slap your fingers because I told you to use tuna packed in oil! =P

 

Cover the lid, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until the kimchi is cooked.

 

15 minutes later, add the tofu, green onion, and hot peppers.

 

Cook for 5 more minutes and turn off the heat. Enjoy! 😉

Related Posts

Tuna Mayo & Tuna Kimchi Triangle KimBap Pork Kimchi JjiGae Tofu Kimchi North Korean Style Tofu Bap

Comments

  4. Hi, Aeri, I have been following your website for quite a while now, have to say that I really like the way you cook, everything looks so neat and pretty, well and of course yummy too! I have tried at least three dishes that you have introduced. And today I am going to cook this special kimchi soup since I luckily have some leftover kimchi and tofu, would be a waste to throw away. I can’t wait to get heaten up by the spicy soup!

    Reply

    • Hi, DJ
      oh..Nice to meet you..and thanks for your comment ~~
      Then do you have tuna or pork also?? Since this recipe require tuna,, if you skip tuna, you have to change the amount of some ingredients such as water, salt, red pepper powder ..like that..usually if I make just tofu kimchi soup without meat in it, I make broth first with kelp and anchovy.. oops..sorry for poor explanation.. I hope you have tuna..:D

      Reply

    • Hi, DJ
      oh..that’s good ~~
      I hope you enjoyed your soup. I will post vegetarian version.. or pork kimchi stew also later..someday ~~hehe.. thanks !!

      Reply

  8. Hi Aeri.
    My first comment on your blog although I have been following for a few weeks now. I made this dish tonight as we had cans of tuna in the pantry. First time I’ve had this dish … normally I have it with pork. Can you post a pork recipe too? Hope you’re pregnancy is going well.

    Reply

    • Hi, crzycpl
      wow.. you left many messages for my blog.. thank you very much. Yes..I like kimchi jjigae with pork also.. okay..someday I will post it. thanks again..:)

      Reply

  9. made korean food for dinner today, this was one of them. we love kimchi chigae. just read that korean kids don’t like them??? that’s a shame….it’s sooo good. maybe we should promote foreigners eating and loving kimchi chigae to those kids,heh?

    Reply

    • Hi, layping
      haha.. you are amazing !!!! you cooked many Korean food for your meal.. great !!! aha.. usually almost everybody love kimchi chigae.. just some of kids don’t like plain kimchi (not cooked)… hehe. thanks

      Reply

  10. made this stew today, but pepped it with some vegetables and some other stuff…super yummy. could eat it the whole day!!

    Reply

    • Hi, jiayue
      ^^ very good !!! I was hungry for kimchi stew also..but didn’t have any tuna can or meat.. so I used made kimchi stew without any meat. I just ate it for lunch.. awesome delicious. 🙂 I agree .. I can eat it the whold day too..hehe 🙂 thanks !!!

      Reply

  11. Hi Aeris,
    I made this for the 2nd time, and I love it! I like it even better than my kimchee+pork ji gae. 😀

    Reply

  12. Me again, from the bulgogi post. I made this for tonight’s dinner. A bit spicy (which is good, otherwise I would have eaten the whole pot), but it was very, very good! It’s very healthy too. I was surprised because I thought the combination of canned tuna and kimchi in a stew was weird, but not anymore.
    Thank you. 😀

    Reply

    • Hi Sam,
      aha… after you make kimchi, you let it be fermented for several days, then it will get kimchi broth. No, you don’t have to separate the tuna from the oil. THANKS !!!

      Reply

  16. It’s hard for me to make kimchi so i just buy it at the store but there isn’t much broth that comes with store-bought kimchi. Is there anything I can use in place of kimchi broth? Or is there an easier way to make it?

    Reply

    • hi Sam,
      oh.. you have that problem.. hm.. I will say.. add more kimchi …and red pepper powder (if you can’t handle the spiciness.. no more red pepper powder).. reduce a little bit of water amount.. that will help give more flavor for your soup without extra kimchi broth.. good luck .. thanks

      Reply

    • also, there’s tuna made for making kimchi jigae.. you can get it at korean stores or online at koamart.com. 🙂

      Reply

  17. This kimchi jjigae is my favorite recipe! I’ve tried other versions before and this one turns out the best. Even the little boy I babysit likes it.

    Reply

    • Hi Samantha,
      Wow, you tried many of my recipes.. thank you so much.. haha the boy you do babysit is lucky to have you.. so he can try Korean food.. 😀 He can handle the spiciness ?? cute.. I can’t wait for making kimchi jjigae which is one of my favorite Korean food for my son … maybe have to wait several years though..hehe

      Reply

      • No thank you. I love your website. It’s one of my favorites. I and I’m sure all your readers are really appreciative of you. The little boy apparently can. I was surprised too. Awww I’m sure he’ll enjoy it then. I hope in the far future my kids would eat your kimchi jjigae too. 🙂

        Reply

    • hi Koreandoll,
      Pork sounds good.. if you use pork.. add the pork from the beginning when you fry the kimchi.. fry the pork with kimchi together.. and make sure the pork is completely cooked before you finish cooking it.. hehe thanks 😀

      Reply

  20. Hello again. I’m trying to make this but can I use pork and spam instead of tuna? And how would I use those ingredients? I’ve seen on some youtube videos that some people just boil all the ingredients in water or they stir fry and then boil it. I want to know, what is the difference if you boil everything and if you stir fry before you boil?

    Reply

    • hi hellokitty08,
      if it’s pork.. fry it with the kimchi.. and if it’s spam.. add it as you add the tuna.. and other parts will be almost same.. good luck ^^ I like it fry before boil.. I think that gives better flavor.. my opinion.. hehe

      Reply

  21. hi aeri i love to see your all of the recipe.i love korean food too.I really happy for you that you making best movie making food and delicious side dishes.I already tried most of the foods.but i have question for you that where from I can buy the kimchi broth????/??
    thank you 😛

    Reply

    • hi maryam,
      You don’t buy kimchi broth separately.. it’s the liquid you get from your kimchi. Whether you make kimchi or buy it, the kimchi jar will get some liquid..that’s kimchi broth. thanks

      Reply

      • hi aeri thank you for answer to me.so I did good to make kimchi jigge.I am so happy make this food correctly.thank you so much.today I had kalbi jjim for dinner.I did from all your recipe.It tasted so good.thanks again

        Reply

          • hi aeri.thanks for your answers to me.I’ve already tried most of the recipes.ex: kimchi jigge,chabchi,cheyug buggum,tak turitan etc and also tried side dishes too.my husband did like for potato side dish and kimchi jigge a lot.Iam so happy to cook all those too.I always waiting your new anything.thank you 😀

  22. Hi there! I chanced upon your site while trying to find recipes for tuna kimchi jjigae.
    I tried out this recipe and boy did the jjigae taste good! I like how you have youtube videos to demonstrate as well!
    I am your new fan and I cant wait to try out more recipes! 😀

    Reply

  23. I made this JjiGae for my brother, and he proclaimed at how awesome my cooking has become 🙂 I told him it was thanks to you!! He even claimed it was better than our mother’s! >.<;; hehe

    Reply

  24. :mrgreen: I made this for lunch, and it was sooooooo good! I didnt have all the ingredients, like the chili peppers or the pepper flakes, but it still came out great!! Thank you!! 😀

    Reply

  25. Thanks for the recipe Aeri !!
    it was so delicioussss 😉 😉 !!
    this is my first time eating kimchi jjiggae and it turned out so good..
    I did add some tomatoes though, coz i want it to be more sour hehe.. 🙂
    I got a question for you,
    what kind of onions do u usually use?
    is it yellow/brown onion or white onion?
    I saw it in the video, the color of the onion was white.. but im not quite sure..
    Thanks again, aeri ^^v
    God bless u 🙂

    Reply

  26. hi grace,
    are you talking about the skin color for the onion? yellow.. brown.. or white ?? if that’s your question.. actually for korean food.. i think.. any kinds of onion works except.. red onion.. (the onion color is red..) I usually buy yellow or brownish skin onion.. (I think.. inside onion color is white..) thanks

    Reply

  28. Thanks for another simple and easy to follow recipe. I substituted tuna with pork belly like our local Korean restaurant, and some Korean mushrooms instead of green pepper. It worked well and tasted really good. I am so proud of myself thanks to you:)

    Reply

  29. Hi !
    Thanks a lot for all your recipes ! I tried this one and I really liked it and my mom too. I wonder if it is normal that the jjigae is sour ?

    Reply

  30. These instructions are a bit difficult to follow if you’re not American, do you have the measurements in metric?

    Reply

    • hi Dave,
      My husband suggested about it.. not right now..but we want to improve our blog.. like.. have a tool to convert measurements for different country people.. but..sorry right now.. I don’t have it in metric…

      Reply

  31. Hi i wanted to know if i can put noodles in my kimchi jjigae ? I’m talking about the noodles of a pack of ramyeon.Thank you:grin:

    Reply

  33. Ah….I don’t know what it is but I can’t make Kimchi Jjigae for the life of me. 🙁
    I just tried it but it was a fail for me. I know it’s not your recipe so I might just have to make my husband make it for me. HAHAHAHA!!!

    Reply

  34. Ah….I don’t know what it is but I can’t make Kimchi Jjigae for the life of me. 🙁
    I just tried it but it was a fail for me. I know it’s not your recipe so I might just have to make my husband use your recipe and make it for me. HAHAHAHA!!!

    Reply

    • I just tasted my Kimchi Jjigae and it tasted sooooo good! I guess I needed it to cool down or something. My 2 year old ate it with me and she loved it too! Mine didn’t look as pretty as yours though.
      😛

      Reply

  35. OMG I JUST TRIED! I DON’T REALLY KNOW HOW TO COOK BUT I FOLLOWED STEP BY STEP AND IT TASTED GOOD!!! 내가 대구에서 참치찌개 먹었어요!!! 너ㅓㅓㅓㅓ 무 맛있어요!!! 오머 진짜 감사해요! 대구애 다시한번 가고싶어요! 오 내가 싱가폴학생예요! 맛있어요! 짱!

    Reply

  36. Aeri,
    This recipe is truly my favorite…It’s so delicious and Seoul satisfying:))) Ever since I started to cook Korean food my palate has changed completely, I only crave Korean food…I’m Italian Loving only Korean Spicy delicious exotic foods:)))
    Thank You Seoul very much for your wonderful cooking videos, I am delighted:)))
    Your cooking follower for life,
    Mayani:)))))))))

    Reply

  37. Aeri,
    I’m looking forward to buying a stone dolsot for making a hot pot bibimbap so that I can follow your recipe…I love a hot pot bibimbap which I ate in Korean restaurant and when I visited Korea…now that I am following your good cooking recipes I will make a hot pot bibimbap at home…I will call it my Bibimbaptism:)))
    Aeri, I have a small request from you, can you demonstrate on video a hot pot bibimbap?
    Thank you Seoul much in advance:))))
    Mayani, the Korean food Lover Girl:)))))))

    Reply

  38. Hi,
    I would like to try and make one..since I have a very well-fermented kimchi..can I substitute tuna with chicken? Does the taste will be weird?

    Reply

  39. i just found your blog and i am so excited! you have recipes i have always wanted to try. i had a korean friend who gave me instructions on how to make some of them but no measurable quantities so they always turn out different than hers. i also got some from one episode of shinhwa broadcast show (epi 50) but again, not everything is listed cause the show is too short to do that but now i can really try making them. anyway, i am really happy. 고맙습니다! 😀 😉

    Reply

  40. Heey! I love your blog, one of my biggest inspirations really!^^ Ive been wanting to make this at home for a long time and your recipe is so easy to follow!
    I have a question, There is a dish like Tuna Kimchi JjiGae but instead it is only the tuna and kimchi and then there is fresh rice at the side to eat with. It is not a stew. Do you know what it is called in korean? 🙂

    Reply

  41. Great site, and thank you for posting such wonderful and easy recipes. I just wanted to say that my hairdresser’s assistant is from Incheon and absolutely hates kimchi, but will eat sauerkraut. She says that her family including her younger cousins still tease her about it. I didn’t think any Korean could hate kimchi either but there you go, there’s at least one of them, haha.

    Reply

    • hi Patty,
      haha that’s right. I didn’t meet any Koreans in person yet who hate kimchi. lol So it is interesting to know about it. I think though.. more and more young Korean generation get western diet and taste.. so that can prove that… more and more koreans actually can start to stop eating kimchi because they don’t like the flavor. oops that’s sad.. ^^ anyway.. so far.. we Koreans love kimchi. aha about sauekraut, when I was hungry for kimchi in my parents in law’s house.. (where I can not find any Korean food.. lol) during holidays… my mother in law made sauerkraut..and that smell made me think of kimchi stew in Korea.. wow.. I like it too. 🙂

      Reply

  42. I tried this recipe today and really, really like this. I bought a jar of kimchi a while back and wanted to try it in a soup. I used a bell pepper and hot banana peppers from our garden and no tofu. I also used two small cans of tuna. The kimchi goes very well with tuna. Awesome recipe…glad I bought your cookbook.

    Reply

    • hi Dawn Cook,
      Thank you very much for trying my recipe. 🙂 Yes, tuna matches great with kimchi so there are other Korean food with both of them like tuna kimchi fried rice, tuna kimchi jeon.. etc.. 🙂 Hope to see you more often here.

      Reply

    • Hi Giuila,
      The tuna makes this kimchi stew flavorful.. so the flavor will not be the same without tuna… If you have some seasoning to give umami flavor such as..Sempio YonDu (I will provide you a link for it.) you can add it to the stew. if you are vegan, this sauce can be helpful for Korean cooking. https://amzn.to/3xF377s THanks.

      Reply

  45. I’ve been making this recipe for several years now and love it. Aeri’s Kitchen is my favorite Korean recipe site

    Reply

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