Chickpea and Kimchi Curry

COURSE: Main dish, vegetarian

SERVES: 4 - 6

TIME: 30 Mins

Cooking Tips: I like to use instant pot to make this curry, because that allows me to completely walk away for about 15 - 20 mins. However, the instant pot is not required. Since the ingredients are all canned or pre-soaked, any pot will do.

Ingredients:

• 2 Cans of chickpeas (or 1 1/2 Cups of dried chickpea, pre-soaked), rinsed and drained

• 1 Can of diced tomatoes (prefer no salt)

• 1/8 - 1/4 Cups of Kimchi

• 1 small onion, diced

• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

• 1 or 2 bell pepper (optional), diced

• 4 - 6 stalks of celery, diced

• 1 Tbsp fresh ginger (minced) or 1 Tsp ginger powder

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 Tbsp olive oil

• 1 Tsp of sugar

• 1 Tsp cumin

• 1/2 Tsp ground cloves

• 1 Tsp turmeric

• 1 Tsp ground coriander

• Salt (to taste, I use about ¼ tsp )

• 1 Can of coconut milk

• ¼ cup coarsely chopped cilantro (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat instant pot using "Saute" function. Pour in the olive oil and heat till hot.

2. Add onion, garlic, and ginger to the hot oil and stir for a couple minutes.

3. Add Kimchi to the pot stir quickly for a min or so to avoid burning.

4. Add celery and carrots (also bell pepper if using), and cook for about 5 mins till the carrots are a soft.

5. Add the spices (cumin, cloves, turmeric, coriander, sugar, and salt) and stir until the spices are distributed evenly.

6. Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, and coconut milk, stir to combine.

7. Close the instant pot lid and set the "Soup" function to 10 mins.

8. Once the instant pot cooking is complete, let out the steam and open the lid. If the curry looks too watery, use the "Saute" function to cook it down for a few minutes.

Recipe inspiration:

This recipe is inspired by Grits and Chopsticks' "Instant Pot Chickpea Curry".

Other tips:

• Tomatoes and Bell Pepper: Tomatoes are good base for the curry, however, it can be a little too acidic. I propose to add 1 Tsp of sugar to counter the acidity and have 1 or 2 bell pepper to have a different flavor dimension. However, if you prefer more acidic flavor, 2 cans of tomato also works. They give nice colors to the dish.

The Back Story:

I purchased a large jar of Kimchi from Costco based on an off-handed comment from my husband about something he wanted to make. As it turned out, he was only looking for some kimchi flavored spice mix. Ok, that maybe difficult to find. What do I do with the Costco-sized kimchi? I have never cooked with them before!

I had a Korean roommate when I was in college. I remembered the wonderful dishes she put together, including the time she was trying to impress some friends in order to help another roommate. I can't precisely remember what happened to the kimchi dish that night, but I believed it has expanded the flavor profile for all of us at dinner that night. Korean food always hold a special place in my heart.

Back to my Costco-sized kimchi, I started googling recipes for it along with other ingredients that was in my fridge and pantry at the time. Sometimes, when you read enough recipes, the amazing ideas come to you. I have cooked the chickpea curry per the recipe on Grits and Chopsticks before. The Grits and Chopsticks recipe is great! Even my pickier child did not complaint too much when eating it. The recipe from Grits and Chopsticks called for garlic, ginger, and coriander. Since these are the spices used in many Asian dishes, adding kimchi to it probably won't mess it up too much. I tried and it worked! The dish is a little more pungent, and alienate my children, but it's a hit with the adults.

If you ended up with more kimchi than you know what to do with, I am planning on posting more recipes that helps use it up.