Gloria Nakea’s mother reinvented the classic Korean dish of kim chee soup, adding nontraditional ingredients and developing a cooking process that keeps it just spicy enough, with all the ingredients the right texture.

Nakea makes her own version of the soup at her home on Kauai, each huge pot kindling fond memories of her mom, who died in 2009 at age 89.

The soup is a stand-out — spicy from kim chee and kochujang, or red-pepper paste, and simmered until all the ingredients are tender, but not so long that they become mushy.

Nakea’s late mother was Ruthie Wee Becht of the large Korean Wee family in Wahiawa. Becht was also the bartender at the Kemo‘o Farms restaurant for more than 25 years, until 1992.

Becht served the soup often, but always on Christmas Eve. Friends and family would gather at her Wahiawa home to slurp the soup at midnight.

Her process was exacting.

Nakea says she cubed the pork, zucchini and tofu so each had its own distinct taste and texture in the soup. She also used konnyaku, a gelatin-like ingredient made from the konnyaku yam that is tasteless but added for its chewy texture. Cubes of aburage, deep-fried tofu, also went into the pot.

As for the critical ingredient — kim chee — Brecht bought a strong-flavored homemade version, but Nakea relies on the Korean brand of won-bok kim chee called Chongga, which is sold at Costco and some supermarkets. For best results, Nakea says, use a kim chee that looks heavily flavored with red chilies.

The kim chee must be soured first, by leaving it unrefrigerated for one or two days.

“I remember her sour kim chee bubbling on the counter,” Nakea said. “My mother would never throw out the kim chee liquid. She would keep it and add it to the next batch of kim chee soup.”

The soup’s heat — from the kim chee, kochujang paste and jalapeno peppers — is just enough to make you perspire but not enough to cause pain.

Nakea has continued her mother’s Christmas Eve soup tradition since 1985 at the Wailua Homesteads home she shares with her husband, retired Circuit Judge Clifford Nakea.

“I used to be strict and not let anyone take home soup before midnight, but now our friends are older and some cannot stay up until that time, so we let them take home soup early,” she says.

It is not a complicated dish, but Nakea says certain things make it perfect.

You need to take the time to cook the kim chee until it softens. Rush this part and the kim chee will not be the right texture. Always add honey when using kochujang. And don’t stir once you’ve added the tofu, so the chunks remain whole.

This recipe duplicates what Nakea remembers of her mother’s creation. But she does take one extra step that was not part of her mother’s routine: She adds a few tablespoons of butter, copying the French technique for adding a bit of richness. Her mother probably would have approved.

Keep in mind when making this soup that you must first allow time for the kim chee to sour. Let it sit unrefrigerated for one to two days.

RUTHIE’S KIM CHEE SOUP

By Ruthie Wee Becht

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 pounds pork butt, cut in 1-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 4 quarts chicken broth
• 42 ounces strongly flavored won-bok kim chee, Chongga brand preferred, allowed to sour
• 1 cup kochujang paste
• 1/4 cup miso, Korean or Japanese red miso preferred
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 to 2 jalapenos, sliced (optional)
• 2 (14-ounce) containers firm tofu, cut in uniform cubes
• 1 (3.17-ounce) package aburage, cut in uniform cubes (see notes)
• 1 (9-ounce) container white konn­yaku, cut in uniform pieces (see notes)
• 2 zucchini, cut in uniform cubes
• 1 cup garlic chives, cut in 1-inch lengths
• 3 tablespoons butter
• Chicken bouillon cubes, to taste (optional)
• Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large stock pot, heat oil on high and brown pork, working in batches. Sprinkle each batch with salt.

Return all browned pork to pot, add chicken broth and heat on high for 10 minutes.

Add kim chee, reduce heat to medium and cook 10 minutes.

Add kochujang, miso, honey and sesame oil; cook another 10 minutes.

Taste for spiciness and add jalapenos, if using. Cover and bring to a boil, then lower heat; simmer 10 minutes.

Add tofu, aburage, konnyaku and zucchini. Do not stir, to keep tofu pieces intact. Continue cooking for 10 minutes, then turn off heat.

Stir in garlic chives and butter. Taste and add bouillon cubes, salt or pepper, if needed. Serve hot. Serves 20-plus.

>> Vegetarian variation: Omit pork and bouillon. Substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth. Saute kim chee in vegetable oil, then follow the recipe.

>> Note: Aburage (deep-tried tofu) and konnyaku (a gelatinous block made from a Japanese yam) are sold in the tofu section of supermarkets.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving (not including bouillion cubes and salt to taste): 230 calories, 11 g total fat, 3 g saturated fat, 50 mg cholesterol, greater than 2,300 mg sodium, 8 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 5 g sugar, 20 g protein.

Lynette Lo Tom, author of “The Chinese Kitchen,” is fascinated by old-fashioned foods. Contact her at 275-3004 or via instagram at @brightlightcookery. Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S.