Chicago chef Beverly Kim can't remember the first time she ate kimchi jjigae, the tangy, spicy and deeply savory Korean kimchi stew; in fact, she's fairly sure it predated her conscious life, coursing through her bloodstream in utero.
I, on the other hand, will never forget the first time I ate Kim's kimchi jjigae, a few weeks into the first pandemic lockdown, in spring 2020. Kim's two Chicago restaurants, Michelin-starred Parachute (closed till March for renovations) and seasonal tasting-menu spot Wherewithall, were quick to pivot to takeout, and comforting kimchi jjigae with rice, pickled vegetables and bing bread headlined one of the early fixed menus. The brick-red stew emanated the mellow tang of ripe, cooked kimchi; the lip-tingling fire of green chiles; and the dual umami bomb of anchovy stock and pork belly. I intermittently cooled my mouth on cloud-like cubes of tofu, and felt, for just a few minutes, like everything might be OK.
