Vegan kimchi jjigae

Name: Vegan kimchi jjigae
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: South Korea
Ingredients: 400 g well-aged vegan kimchi, chopped, with its juice; 300 g firm tofu, in thick slices; 200 g mushrooms (shiitake or oyster); 1 onion, sliced; 3 garlic cloves, chopped; 1 tbsp sesame oil; 1 tbsp gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes); 1 tbsp gochujang; 1 tbsp soy sauce; 1 tsp sugar; 800 ml vegetable stock or kombu dashi; 2 spring onions, cut into lengths

Local name: 김치찌개

Korea's fiery, tangy stew, well-fermented kimchi simmered with tofu, mushrooms and chilli, eaten with plain rice.

Published on 18 November 2025·Updated on 10 September 2026

Vegan#kimchi#tofu#stew#spicy#mushrooms

AI-generated image, not a photograph of the dish

Prep: 10 min
Cook: 30 min
Total: 40 min
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Easy

Method

Heat the sesame oil in a saucepan. Fry the kimchi and onion for 5 minutes, stirring, until the kimchi softens.
Add the garlic, gochugaru, gochujang, soy sauce and sugar. Stir for 1 minute.
Pour in the stock and the kimchi juice. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes.
Gently add the mushrooms and tofu without breaking it. Simmer for 8 more minutes.
Scatter with spring onion and serve bubbling hot, with white rice.

The older and sourer the kimchi, the better the jjigae. Check your kimchi is vegan, many contain fish sauce.

The techniques this recipe uses

Sweat the aromatics
Medium heat, no browning: the onion should turn translucent and sweet, not toasted.

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Nutrition per serving

Calories: 226 kcal
Protein: 18.3 g
Fat: 11.8 g
Carbohydrate: 18 g
Fibre: 6.1 g

An estimate computed from the recipe quantities and the USDA food composition database. Real values vary with the products used.

Frequently asked questions

How can I tell whether my kimchi is vegan?

Many commercial kimchis contain fish sauce or fermented shrimp. Read the label or look for an explicit vegan claim, because that is the single thing standing between this stew and a vegan dish.

My kimchi is young. Will the jjigae still work?

Young kimchi gives a flatter, sweeter stew. The older and more sour it is, the better the jjigae. If yours is fresh, leave it a few more days at room temperature, or compensate with more gochugaru and a splash of rice vinegar.

How do I keep the tofu from breaking up?

Cut it into thick slices and lay them gently on the surface, then stop stirring. The last eight minutes should be a simmer rather than a rolling boil, so the tofu heats through without collapsing.

How to cook tofu so it is never bland
Why tofu is not a meat substitute but a carrier of flavour, and traditional Asian techniques to give it real depth and texture.
Umami without meat in China, Japan and Korea
Fermented pastes, kombu and dried shiitake, tofu and high heat — four sources of flavour that stand in for meat in Chinese, Japanese and Korean cooking.
Japanese vegetarian cooking, beyond sushi
Learn to make dashi without bonito, tell the forms of tofu apart, and build a Japanese vegetarian meal from small plates.

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