This recipe marries an iconic Korean comfort food with Southeast Asian flavours: kimchi stew with an asam pedas broth. 

“The idea came to me when I made kimchi stew for my in-laws here in Singapore, who commented that the tanginess was similar to an asam soup. The source of the sourness is different for both dishes; one is achieved by fermentation, while the other gets its distinct sourness from tamarind. I got curious to see what would happen if I combined the two, and was delighted to find that the two flavours complement each other wonderfully, each bringing a different tangy profile to the dish.” – Saemmul Song 

The main protein typically used for kimchi stew is pork, but since asam pedas seems to be more associated with fish, we used the second most common protein, canned tuna. And tomato to add even more tang and a hint of sweetness. This recipe itself is ridiculously easy; you can simply dump everything into a pot and boil for about 15 minutes. If you want to really lean into the fusion, try adding okra and brinjal too!