.: evil jungle prince :.

I'm of the opinion that some dishes simply make themselves. A combination of weather and ingredients on hand seems to cause a sort of culinary kismet. Today my "destiny" dish was kimchi jigae (김치찌개), or kimchi stew with mushrooms and tofu.

I had to run over to Riverside today to inventory somebody's personal archives, which happened to be a in a dark, cold room. (The great irony of my career is that for somebody who detests the cold, I am always finding myself in cold environments.) After finishing up, it's all I could but think about some nice, hot meal that would warm up my insides. Back at home, the ingredients available in my refrigerator rang out like a symphony composed to tempt and taunt the salivary glands: tofu, kimchi, fresh mushrooms, garlic... of course I had to have kimchi jigae.

This batch was particularly delicious because the last batch of cabbage kimchi I made was my absolute best. If I continue the trend anyway, I believe I've finally learned the secret of top quality kimchi and this only lifts up such dishes to another level entirely.

1. I began by pouring 1-2 tsp of sesame oil into a ceramic vessel, heating the oil, and sauteing fresh onion and 2 cloves of fresh garlic. I then added some freshly cut mushrooms.

2. Once the mushrooms just began to lose some fluid, I added fresh kimchi, 1-2 tsp of powdered chili pepper, and a small amount of water that would fill the vessel about 2/3 full, and tofu. (I also added a little sea salt to taste.) The contents were then simmered until the stew was piping hot.

So easy, simple, filling, and delicious.