Not long ago, we won Michael Natkin‘s cookbook Herbivoracious at an Austin Food Bloggers‘ event. The book starts with a great introduction to ingredients and equipment, and its collection of recipes includes many international dishes with tons of variations and side suggestions. James and I have really enjoyed reading it and tonight we finally got around to trying a couple dishes.

Kimchi Stew sans Kimchi with Spicy Stir-Fried Squash

It finally dipped below freezing in Austin last night so we decided to tackle Natkin’s Kimchi Stew with Shiitake and Daikon. Thanks to JBG and some luck, we had nearly all of the ingredients in the refrigerator except for the title Kimchi! James loves to make this all-important fermented Korean staple and, surprisingly, we were out. Even more surprisingly it does not appear kimchi is stocked at Central Market!

Working with what we had, we doubled down on the ginger and garlic and added a bunch of broccoli rabe  to to the soup to stand in for the kimchi. It turned out really well and I can only imagine how delicious the more authentic soup is. We paired the soup with a side of Natkin’s Spicy Stir-Fried Zucchini (or in our case, calabaza) and cold soba noodles. Even without the kimchi, I think Psy would have approved (maybe).

Here is James’s Variation:

Kimchi Stew with Shiitake and Daikon (sans Kimchi)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 cups daikon radish, sliced into thin half moons
• 1/2 cup baby carrots, sliced into thin rounds
• 5 or 6 shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and cut into chunks
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 1/2 large cayenne pepper (or other hot red pepper), diced
• 4 large cloves garlic, grated
• 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
• 4 cups water
• 3-4 tablespoons Sriracha (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon Better-than-Boullion paste
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce (gluten-free if required)
• 1 pound hard tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 bunch broccoli rabe, roughly chopped
• salt to taste
• diced spring onion for garnish

Preparation

1. In a large pot, saute the daikon, carrots, and mushrooms in the sesame oil over high heat for about 2 minutes.
2. Add onion, cayenne, garlic, and ginger and continue to saute until the onions are soft, 2-3 minutes more.
3. Add the water, Sriracha, Better-than-Boullion, and soy sauce, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
4. Add the tofu and broccoli rabe, bring back to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes more.  Season with salt to taste.
5. Serve garnished with diced scallion.