김치 감자탕 (kimchi gamja tang)

My mother never made gamja tang for some reason. I discovered it in Korean restaurants in my late teens. Since then I have loved it from afar all these years. But why wait to go out to a restaurant when I could (theoretically) make it at home? Good question, me. It doesn't seem too hard to make, considering it's simply a spicy meat stew base with potato. Although kimchi isn't necessary, I decided to throw some in. If I could've gotten my hands on some 깻잎 (perilla leaves), that would've gone in too.

Ingredients
- <1 pound baby pork spare ribs (pork back bones would be better)
- 2 scallions
- 2 hot red peppers
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 stalk celery
- 5 black peppercorns
- 2 slices ginger
- 1 small onion (or 0.5 regular onion)
- 2 spoonfuls go chu jang
- 1-2 spoonfuls soy sauce
- 1-2 spoonfuls go chu ga ru
- 1 package enoki mushrooms
- 3-4 small yukon gold potatoes
- 1/2 carrot sliced on a bias
- <1 cup old kimchi
- sesame oil
- salt & pepper
- (optional) firm tofu

Soak the ribs in cold water and change the water a couple of times. Then place the ribs in a stew pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil with 1 scallion, 2 slices ginger, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 sliced hot red pepper, 5 black peppercorns, and 1 stalk celery. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook about 1 hour while skimming off any fat. Add more water if the water level seems too low.



Place the ribs in a bowl and strain the liquid. Discard any solids. You can separate the meat from the bones and discard the bones too. Or bury them in the backyard if you're a dog.



In the pot, add the go chu jang, go chu ga ru, sliced onion, soy sauce, 1 minced garlic clove, 0.5 minced scallion, and the strained broth. Add the meat back in. you can adjust these things to your taste.



Bring to boil and reduce heat to medium. Add kimchi. Add peeled whole potatoes. Cover slightly and cook about 20-25 minutes (add tofu, if using). Then add 0.5 sliced scallions, 1 sliced hot red pepper, and sliced carrots. Add some sesame oil (about a teaspoon). Taste for seasoning (salt and pepper). Simmer for about 5-10 more minutes. When ready to serve, place enoki mushrooms on top. In restaurants, they use them for decoration, so you'll find a few thin strands of enoki mushrooms. But I love them, so I placed a big handful of it on top. (Imaginary) Chiffonade of perilla leaves go on top as well.



Serve in bowls and eat with rice.



Try not to fight over the potatoes.