Kimchi Beef Chilli — Whip It UP!

Kimchi Beef Chilli 

By Chef Iskander Latiff, Coriander Leaf Group

This dish came up when I was really craving a good bowl of Chilli — sort of like a Mexican Chilli Con Carne — when I was living in Chengdu, China four years ago. There were no Mexican restaurants or shops around, so I had to make do with provisions from a Korean food store nearby!

I played around with the idea of incorporating Korean flavours into the basic cooking technique of Mexican style chilli. After a few attempts I finally got what I was craving for — a bowl of meaty and spicy chilli with a touch of Asian flavours.

The chilli keeps up to 30 days in the freezer, just store it in batches, and microwave a serving when you need a late night snack. Serve with a bag of corn tortilla chips for a hearty and comforting meal.

Cooking time: 40mins
Difficulty: 2/5
Cost: ≈ $20

Feeds: 4-6 people

Ingredients

A.
500g                           beef chuck (cubed small)
100 g                           ginger (sliced)
2 stalks                       leek (sliced)
200ml                         mirin

B.
5                                  tomatoes (cubed)
3 tablespoons            gochujang chilli paste
2 tablespoons            brown sugar
700ml                         chicken stock
1 tablespoon              chilli flakes

C.
300g                           daikon (cubed)
200g                           kimchi (chopped roughly)

5 tablespoons            canola oil

Spring onions for garnish

Directions

1. Heat canola oil in a medium pot, add A. (beef chuck, ginger, leek, mirin), and cook over high heat for 3-4 minutes or until the beef cubes are browned.

2. Add in B. (tomato cubes, gochujang chili paste, brown sugar, chicken stock, chili flakes) — cook for 30 minutes with a lid on over a low heat. Stir regularly every 10 minutes.
Note: Gochujang is a Korean fermented chilli paste that is available from most Korean supermarkets.

3. When the beef is fork-tender, add in C. (daikon, kimchi) and cook for another 10 minutes.

4. Once daikon is cooked through, remove from heat.

5. To plate — spoon into a bowl and garnish with finely sliced spring onions. Serve with corn tortilla chips of your choice!