This recipe was inspired by cHow Divine’s recipe (see link at the bottom).

I put this dish in my rotation as a quick meal that is still healthy. It heats up well the next day for lunches and you get all the benefits of the great fermented food (see link at the bottom). I took this out of dinner rotation for a bit because we were trying at low histamine diet for my very allergy prone hubby but at some points you just eat what you like and deal with the consequences later. This is a great dish “fake out versus take out” if you are craving some Asian flavor in your mouth. The coconut rice makes all the difference, you should definitely try it!

1 stock pot for Kimchi, Steak and Tofu with cover
1 smaller pot for rice

1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil
½ – ¾ pound of very thinly sliced steak cut into very small cubes (market basket does pre-cut stir-fry steak that is cheap)
1 bottle of Kimchi (I like the spicy kind) with all the juice– I used King’s Medium Spicy http://www.kingsasian.com/
2 tablespoons of low-sodium soy sauce
½ cup of water
1 container of firm or extra firm tofu – cut into ½ – ¼ inch squares

2 scallions chopped (greens and whites)
Sesame seeds

1 tablespoon of coconut oil
Jasmine rice cooked via package directions (do not use butter, substitute the coconut oil, so much nicer and they say better for you, but don’t over do it – its still white rice full of carbs)
http://m.carolinarice.com/en-us/products/39/JasmineRice.aspx

Cook the rice per directions and keep warm in the pot

Heat up the sesame oil and brown the steak (should only take a few minutes on medium to medium high heat but don’t over cook the steak, just brown it).

Add in the Kimchi and soy sauce and bring to boil / searing
Add water and bring up heat again

When everything is very bubbling and warm add in the tofu and cover with the kimchi/steak mix, be careful not to break up the tofu…gentle now. Put on the cover for medium heat and let everything steam up for about 3-5 minutes and the tofu is warm.

Makes about 4 servings over rice

Top with scallions and sesame seeds, add some sriracha if you need more spice

Options:
I have pre-baked the tofu dusted in ginger, garlic and turmeric and not added it into the soup but just laid on top of rice, kimchi and steak, this is a great option

No steak…rock the vegetarian route and do this with no meat

Ground beef – I had only ground beef in the house and it works okay…not the same mouth feel as the steak bites but add the meatiness that you want in the dish

http://chowdivine.com/easy-peasy-kimchi-jjigae-kimchi-stew/
http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20410300,00.html

By Emaly Hunt / @grapesandgarlic on the Instagram / grapesandgarlic.com