I am pretty excited when I find a new Asian soup that looks tasty, and so it was with this week's selection... Korean cuisine is my favorite, so when I stumbled across this kimchi stew (as I was looking for kimchi to serve with some Korean tacos I made earlier in the week), I knew I had to give it a try! Kimchi stew, with the right protein, can be rich, flavorful, and so comforting. I have wonderful memories of eating it during my time spent in the snowy Korean mountains in the middle of winter many, many moons ago. So, did this recipe help me recapture that feeling? Let's see...
This recipe came from: https://mykoreankitchen.com/slow-cooker-kimchi-stew-with-beef/
My Variations from Recipe as Written: I used pork belly instead of chuck roast (because the recipe said I could!), and I used toasted sesame oil (because it is what I had on hand). That's it!
General Thoughts: This one was pretty easy to prep as the only thing that required any work, really, was cubing the pork belly. Everything else was just dumped into the slow cooker, which then cooked on its own for eight hours (with just a couple of stirs). I love it when a recipe is super easy to prep! But, be warned if you make this one, it is going to be pungent! Kimchi is spicy fermented cabbage that has a distinct taste and smell, and it often gives off a strong (but delicious) odor when cooked. So, how did it taste?
Well, the soup was warm and hearty. It turned out a bit thicker than expected, but it still had enough broth to make it soupy, so no worries there. I served it over rice, as suggested by the recipe, which added some additional texture and heft to each bite.
Unfortunately, that is where the positives ended... Slow cooking fatty meat (such as pork belly or chuck roast) caused it to suffuse the soup and virtually "coat" my tongue, which wasn't terrible but led to an odd mouth-feel. More importantly, the taste was not great... I expected it to be PACKED with flavor, but it somehow managed to be simultaneously spicy and a little bland. I know, weird, right?! It was like it punched me in the mouth with an explosion of flavor (which wasn't even that good) right as I took a bite but then quickly dropped off into a bunch of homogenous flavors and an odd aftertaste. Now, I know you may be saying to yourself, "Well, Ryan must just not know good kimchi." No, trust me... I know kimchi, and I know kimchi stew, and this just wasn't very good. :-( The bottom line is, it was edible, but not very enjoyable.
Potential Improvements? Wow, I am not sure... I didn't want to eat any more than what I had put into my bowl the first time, and I didn't even bother keeping the leftovers, so I am afraid I wasn't even thinking about "improvements."
Polling the Fam: As I said, I found it edible, and I'd eat it again if someone served it to me, but I'll likely never make this one again, sadly. Hunter, likewise, did not care for it, saying he did not like the texture, it did not taste like kimchi (which he really likes), and it was kind of bland overall.
Verdict: Not a fan. (2 stars)
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