More Korean Food! Kimchi Tofu Chigae

More Korean food!! I feel this year we are having an early winter here in the UK. Its so cold when it is not even December yet! It is always a good idea to have some hot and spicy soup/food to warm our bodies up and hence today's recipe is going to be Kimchi Tofu Chigae/Kimchi Tofu stew (김치찌개). I was going to post this recipe a lot earlier, however I forgot to take photos last time when I cook this>.< It's been awhile since I last had it, this time I made sure I got the photoshots before digging in:P

You will need:
(4 servings)

4 bowls of rice.
300g chopped kimchi (juice drained)
3 strips of Pork belly or about 200g mince pork
300g tofu
2 carrots
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
150ml Kimchi Juice (1.5 cup)
750ml rice water (~ 3 cups)
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp Korean red hot pepper paste (Gochujang)

Method: 
1. In a frying pan, stir fry the garlic and onions and kimchi. Add in the meat and stir fry until cooked.Add in the red hot pepper paste, some sesame oil and salt. 
2. Prepare the rice in rice cooker. Keep the water that was used to rinse the rice. 
3.Transfer the ingredients on the frying pan to a large pot and add 1.5 cup of the milky rice water into the big pot. Rice water is preferred as it thickens the soup a little as opposed to using just water.
4. Cut the carrots into thin strips of 5cm long and add them into the pot. Let it cook at high heat for 20-30mins. Taste it and adjust the taste accordingly. 
5. Add in the tofu and let it cook for another 5-8mins. Lastly add in some sesame oil.
6. Once the rice is ready, the stew is ready to serve. 

Tip: add a tbsp of soybean paste to give the stew a richer taste.

Picture taken as soon as it's cooked! See the smoke? Colour isn't as saturated because of it!