Confessions of a Junkie

The craving is, at times, insatiable, but not to the point of nosebleed. When I go too long without my fix, I get anxious. The anxiousness turns to yearning, then to obsessive thoughts.

Ramen or yakisoba with shichimi togarashi. Spam or vienna sausages fried with sriracha. Spaghetti with crushed chili pepper. Most soups with ground cayenne pepper or Tabasco depending on the type of soup. Tacos with Cholula. Pho with peppers and beef dipped in sriracha. Then there's kim chee jjigae. Spicy soup with spicy vegetables served bubbling hot.

I'm a spicy food junkie.

At Asia Cuisine, kim chee jjigae is a spicy soup served with nappa cabbage kim chee, green onions, daikon, bamboo shoots, tofu, chicken, pork, and something that I'm afraid of finding out - it appears as a thin small whitish-pink curl. I don't think it's octopus, wrong texture.

The following recipe is from a Honolulu Star Bulletin article that I ran into while doing a Google search:

Spicy Kim Chee Stew
Kim Chee Jjigae
from Sorabol restaurant

1 12-ounce jar kim chee
3 cups water
1-1/2 teaspoon corn oil
4 ounces beef or pork, sliced thin
1/2 cup firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 teaspoon dashi
Salt, to taste

In a large pot, bring water, kim chee and oil to a boil. Add beef or pork, continuing to boil 3 more minutes.

Add tofu and dashi, boiling for another 3 minutes. Check for taste, correcting by adding more water or salt, if desired. Boil for another minute and serve hot. Serves 4.

Approximate nutrition analysis per serving: 150 calories, 10 grams fat, 3 grams saturated fat, 20 milligrams cholesterol, 740 milligrams sodium


This sounds simple enough. I need to try this recipe out!

Oddly enough, I don't care for wasabi.

- Cassaendra