Looking for a way to spicy up your week? This spicy Korean chili with kimchi packs a punch of flavor and heat, thanks to the gochugaru, chipotle peppers, and cumin!
Ok I know that talking about the weather is boring and considered small talk, but can we please talk about the rain that happened on Saturday??
4 INCHES. In one day!
It was insane. There was tons of lightning and I kept freaking out about how ridiculous this storm was. Pat thought I was being crazy, but it was intense. And because rain and storms and bad weather in general make me not want to leave the house, that is precisely what we did.
And we made chili, because… chili.
This is not your average chili. No sir. There are no beans. #sorrynotsorry It is not made in the slow cooker, but could be if you really wanted. And it spicy as s***.
Spicy, thanks to:
- Gochugaru – or red chili flakes. Goghugaru is a key ingredient in many Korean dishes and is made by drying Korean red chili peppers in the sun, de-seeding them, and crushing them into flakes. (I obvs didn’t do this myself, instead I bought it here.)
- Kimchi – fermented napa cabbage with lots of spices including chili powder, scallions, garlic, and ginger.
- Chipotle pepper in adobo sauce – with the seeds!
You can actually see the seeds from the chipotle peppers in a few of these pictures and lemme tell you – THE SPICE IS REAL.
But that’s how I like my chili. Super spicy and cooled down with a few sliced scallions and coconut yogurt.
In other news, Pat and I will be leaving tomorrow night for 10 days in Europe!! We will be visiting Prague, Salzburg, and Hallstatt. I will be sharing the trip on Instagram – so make sure you follow along!
And don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about you! While I’m away, I have a few friends that will be guest posting here and sharing recipes with you.
I hope you love this chili as much as I do (I’m eating leftovers for lunch today!!) and cannot wait to check back in with you after my trip!!
xoxo, Ellie
When you make this Spicy Korean Chili with Kimchi post a picture on social media and use the hashtag #imhungrybynature for a chance to be featured!
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Spicy Korean Chili with Kimchi
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 6
- Category: Main
- Method: Stovetop
Description
Looking for a way to spicy up your week? This spicy Korean chili with kimchi packs a punch of flavor and heat, thanks to the gochugaru, chipotle peppers, and cumin!
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup kimchi
- 1/8 cup gochugaru
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 3 cups vegetable stock, divided
- 1 (14 oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 chipotle pepper from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
- 1 large sweet potato, diced
Toppings
- coconut yogurt
- scallions
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef over medium-high heat in a large pot, and season with salt and pepper. Saute until cooked through. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a bowl and set aside.
- Add the onions to the pan with the remaining fat and cook over medium-high heat until soft. Add the garlic and kimchi and cook 2 minutes. Add the gochugaru and cumin – cook another 2 minutes.
- Add 1 cup of veggie stock, scraping up any brown bits. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-high and cook until reduced and thickened – approximately 10 minutes.
- Return the beef to the pot and add the sweet potato, remaining veggie stock, tomato sauce and chipotle pepper, and 1¼ teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium. Simmer, uncovered for 20-30 minutes – until you have reached the desired consistency.
- Serve with coconut yogurt and scallions.
Keywords: soup, chili, korean, kimchi
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It’s fall, and that inevitably means that I’m craving chili 99.99999% of the time. And this. Looks. AMAZING. Such a great way to put a twist on your typical recipe!
Right?! I am the exact same way! And thank you Karly – I hope you like spicy chili because this one is killer!
Hello. Koreans use a variety of sweet potato with brownish purple skin and yellow flesh. It is more dense than the typical red sweet potatoes we prefer. It is also drier when it is baked. Which potato is used for this recipe, or does it matter? Also, is the sweet potato precooked in any way or is it added raw? Thanks for this recipe and your help.
I used the orange skinned/orange flesh sweet potato and it is added in raw! Let me know what you think of the recipe!
Turned out great! I’m heading to Korea soon and will be cooking for friends. Bringing this one with me. Thank you.
★★★★★
This won me first place at a chilli cook-off – thanks!
★★★★★
That is AWESOME Samik!! Thanks for sharing!
I was at the event and refilled my bowl 3 times… so tasty!
★★★★★
That makes me so happy! Thanks John!!
Just made this for a chili cook-off at work. It was delicious! Of the 10 chilis, this was my favorite (though I may be bias since it was the one I made).
Yay – that makes me so happy Allison! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Never used Kimchi before. Suggestions on where to buy and recommendations would be appreciated. Another question, what does the sweet potato do for the recipe? Not a fan and was trying to decide to add it or leave it out….Thanks
You can buy kimchi at any grocery store! And if you have an Asian market near you, I would pick some up there. You can totally remove the sweet potato if you are not a fan! I like adding it because I don’t do beans and the potato gives the chili a little more substance. But you could swap it for another potato or beans too!
This won me “Most Unique” at my companys chili cookoff! (There were 25 entries so 1st place was tough to get) Now I have to make a second batch for folks who didn’t get any and a vegetarian girl. Even my parents liked it and my parents don’t like anything I make!
★★★★★
That is amazing Michelle! I am so thrilled everyone loved it!
Thank you so much for this recipe! It won me the “Most Unique” award at my company chili cookoff and there were over 35 entries! Also, I only made one crockpot full and had 5 requests afterwards for more and one vegetarian (I used vegan kimchi and morningstar crumbles). Thank you for this recipe!
★★★★★
Sorry! I should’ve reiterated that this was for my same company but different department. (Same vegetarian girl though… LOL!) You are clearly my go to! 🙂
★★★★★