It’s about time for some sizzling, comforting stew, isn’t it? How about sundubu-jjigae? It’s hot, spicy, filling, comforting, delicious, soft tofu stew and has many reasons to be one of the most popular items in Korean restaurants.
I made a video and recipe for sundubu-jjigae seven years ago (!) and it’s been watched over a million times on YouTube (!!). So it was about time for an HD remake and a variation on the recipe, too. That recipe was for seafood sundubu-jjigae, which is my favorite, but since then I’ve learned that kimchi-sundubu-jjigae is more popular. This recipe is is for that version, it’s sundubu-jjigae made with kimchi and pork belly, really hard to go wrong with this dish. Whichever one you choose, you won’t be disappointed. Both are delicious, spicy, and savory, much better than anything you can order at a restaurant.
This recipe serves 1 or two people, but you can double or triple the recipe for more people, and use a large stainless steel or cast iron pot for the cooking. If you want to serve everyone in a ttukbaegi then you’ll need to cook them on multiple burners, just like a restaurant!
Enjoy my recipe, and let me know if you make this! Take a photo and send it to me!
Ingredients (Serves 1 or 2)
- 8 large dried anchovies, heads and guts removed
- 5 ounces of radish, peeled, washed, and sliced thinly
- dried kelp (6 x 4 inch piece)
- 2 tablespoons Korean hot pepper flakes (gochugaru)
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- ½ cup pork belly (or any cut of pork: 2.5 ounces), cut into small pieces
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1 green onion, chopped
- ½ cup well-fermented kimchi (4 ounces), chopped
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 tube of soft tofu (sundubu)
- 1 egg
Directions
Make anchovy kelp stock (myeolchi dasima yuksu):
- Put dried anchovies, radish, dried kelp, and 4 cups of water in a pot. Cover and boil over medium high heat for 10 minutes until it starts boiling.
- Reduce the heat to low and boil another 20 minutes
- Remove from the heat and strain. It will make about 2 cups of stock.
Make the spicy paste:
- Combine the hot pepper flakes and the sesame oil in a small bowl and mix well.
Put it all together:
- Heat up a 3 cup earthenware pot (ttukbaegi) on the stove over medium high heat for about 3 to 4 minutes. If you use a small heavy pan or pot, it will take less.
- Add the vegetable oil, onion, and garlic. Stir it with a wooden spoon for 1 minute.
- Add the pork. Stir for 3 minutes until the pork is no longer pink.
- Add kimchi and keep stirring for a minute. Add ½ cup anchovy stock. Cover and cook for 7 minutes over medium heat.
- Add the salt and the sugar and mix well.
- Cut the tube of soft tofu into half and squeeze it out into the pot. Gently break up the tofu with a wooden spoon. If you want, add a few tablespoons of stock.
- Put the hot pepper mixture on top and spread it with the spoon.
- Crack the egg and put it on top, in the center of the stew. Let it bubble and sizzle for 1 minute.
Serve:
- Sprinkle with the chopped green onion and serve with rice and a few more side dishes.
Maangchi's Amazon picks for this recipe
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Hi Maangchi! I love sundubu and often go out of my way to have some!
Is there a vegetarian version of your Sundubu recipe that you can recommend?
I tried making this with your recipe several months ago and loved it so much! It has become one of my favourite Korean dishes and I’m going to cook it again and again. Thank you <3
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Just like the name of the dish spicy and soft tofu stew, yours looks so soft and spicy! All we need is some rice!
Yippee!! I get the taste of kimchi sundubu jjigae better than restaurant… Woohoo!… WHO I LEARN FROM? Is Maangchi! Maangchi!
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Gorgeous! Yum! : )
I substituted the pork for mushrooms and used beef stock instead (because I didn’t have anchovies or kelp on hand) and it was delicious! I used to always have to go out for really good sundubujjigae but now I can stay home and enjoy it!
Thank you maangchi! My husband is Korean and always says that soondooboo is only good at restaurants but today I proved him wrong! He loved your recipe and we are happy to have it since we live hours away from Korean restaurants. Thank you! He doesn’t like egg so here’s an eggless soondooboo. :)
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Wow I’m so happy to hear that and your sundubu-jjiage looks good. No wonder he loved it!
Hi Maangchi! I made the stew – it was spicy, bubbly, one of the best things I have ever made. Kimchi tastes so different when cooked, turns out I love kimchi in any form and shape! And the egg at the end – I kept eating around it till most of the dish was finished, and then broke the yolk… Omg, loved it. Sorry, I have no pic – it was so good I ate it before I remembered to take a photo :) Thanks for this awesome recipe. Love your cooking!
Hi!! i made this today following the youtube that you post. eventhough I dont have all the ingredient for the soup base, also the radish not intend to buy just for this recipe because its a huge one and I wont be using it for any other recipe soon. I put carrot in instead though for a little sweetness.
The soup was really great!!! I can just have it purely on its own!!.
Thanks Maangchi!!
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Hi Maangchi,
Question: Is there a reason that you use chicken stock in your book versus creating the stock using anchovies and kelp in your recipe online? Is taste the same? I deciding whether to use this recipe (which I have in the past) versus the chicken stock used in your book (which I love!!).
Thank you!
And when I say love, I love the book. I haven’t tried soondubu with the chicken stock yet.
Thank you very much for leaving the question here.
Yes, in my tofu stew recipe, I used a can of chicken broth instead of using homemade anchovy stock. Actually you can try both and choose which one you like.
Korean sundubu-jjigae has many versions depending on the ingredients (seafood, pork, beef, kimchi, bulgogi, vegetables).
Hi Maangchi!
I made this for the first time tonight! I did not know what to expect from the flavor since I have never tried it before but you made it look so wonderful I had to make it. It was delicious!! My whole family loved it on this rare cold night in Florida. :). Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful and easy to follow recipe!
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Congratulations! Your kimchi pork sundubujjigae looks perfect! I’m very happy to hear that your family loved it! Happy cooking!
Been pretty making this all winter. Thanks!
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I’m glad you enjoy this recipe! It looks awesome! You will become a queen or king of sundubu jjigae making soon. : )
Wow! Looks so delicious Maangchi! I love Korean food, thanks so much for your wonderful recipes. Only need dried sardines to make soondubu jiggae, they have them at H-Mart here in Chicago.
Great! Get large dried anchovies. https://www.maangchi.com/ingredient/dried-anchovies-myulchi
Love your recipe <3
It's delicious.
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Thank you for sharing the photos! It looks very delicious!
Made this last week and it came out so good. Thank you for sharing your recipes. Definitely want your cook book. I adjusted it to make it family sized since I do not yet have dolsots (the Asian grocery I frequent have not had any dolsots right now) to make it individually for each of us so had to make it in one pot.
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ooh~ many egg yolks! It must have been shared by all your family! : ) Delicious!
Very delicious Maangchi!!! I will consider using anchovy stock for kimchi jjigae next time. I love it
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Yum! : )
Hi maangchi i’m fay from malaysia love your utube channel and you hihi may i ask… Can i replace hot pepper flakes with chilli flakes? Is it same taste? Or i can replace with gochujang? Which one is better? Or i must use hot pepper flakes? Any suggestion what should i replace the hot pepper flakes? I cant find any stores sell it aroud my place… Tq
Hi Fay, I think you should find Korean hot pepper flakes if you really learn Korean cooking. Hot pepper flakes (gochu-garu) are very essential to Korean cooking This is a list of Korean grocery stores in Malaysia. https://www.maangchi.com/shopping/malaysia
Hi Maangchi… thank you for the list. I have been frequenting iSetan KLCC as per listed in your list and am really glad that you have listed more store for me to visit. You will be glad that I have tried a lot of Korean recipes and mostly are from your youtube channel :) I have made sundubu jjigae last week and this week is attempting at the spicy chicken feet.
I’ve been at the store in KLCC when I visited Malaysia a few years ago. https://www.maangchi.com/blog/gapshida-malaysia
I’m glad your Korean cooking is going well!
Hello Maangchi!
I’ve been a long time watcher and recently picked up your Cookbook! I made soondubu jjigae the other night for me and my partner and it was absolutely phenominal. I didn’t have any korean radish so I substituted some shitake mushrooms and the stock was AMAZING! I added mussels and a few small rice cakes and it turned out really well. I also used some of the stock ingredients to make banchan!
Thank you for the recipes and keep up the good work!
Zack
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Hello Maangchi should I still add radish and dried kelp if I replace anchovies with chicken broth?
No, you don’t need to add radish and dried kelp. Use just chicken or beef broth.
Hi Maangchi! Thanks for your wonderful site :) I’m just wondering of its possible to freeze the left over anchiovy stock?
Yes, freezing the stock is a great idea.
I Made this today and added mushrooms and squash. So easy and so yummy.
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Mushrooms and squash sounds great! What kind of mushrooms did you use?
Just regular white mushrooms found at the regular grocery store. My mom had left them in my fridge when she visited. I’m excited to try other things now that an h mart has opened near my house. I like to put fish cakes in everything, do you think cut up fish cakes would go well with this stew?
oh white mushrooms! “an h mart has opened near my house” I know how you feel! I can’t live far away from a Korean grocery store. : ) Yes, adding some fish cakes sounds great to me.
THANK YOU!! I really enjoy making 통배추김치 (cabbage kimchi) but I only ate it with rice and didn’t really know what else to do with it. I am so happy to see this video and recipe. I made this dish for the past two days and shared it with my family. Only my 9 year old son didn’t want it because it was too spicy for him! It is so delicious that I feel I can eat it every day! I am so excited!
Today I will be making kimchi soup with pork and tofu.
Happy Cooking everyone!!
Thank you Maangchi!
Keramira
attached is my soup picture
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thx for the recipe!! but i made some modification, and i find that using gochujang is more delicious for me and it gives a wonderfull aroma.. thx and keep give inspiration for many people!!
Maangchi :(
i can’t find Dried anchovies
any substitute for it ?!!
or can i use fish sauce and boil it with some water
tell me what to do :(
just use chicken broth, its still delicious.. :)
Hi Maangchi! I am very new to your Youtube Korean Food videos. This sundubu-jjigae was the first video that I watched. I was so tempted by it so I decided to make it tonight. I bought “the most spicy” chili flakes and was so worried that it will be too spicy for me. Haha….I wasn’t spicy at all! I will buy chili flakes from other Korean store next time. I don’t have ttukbaegi so i just used a normal pot to cook this jjigae. It was very delicious but I think it will be so so so much more delicious with the ttukbaegi.I can’t wait to cook for my fiance next time I see him. ^^
I really like you very much! You are so adorable! I like your gesture and your sense of humor. I am very excited and looking forward for your cookbook! Unfortunately, I am living in Japan, I don’t think I can get your signature. =(
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It wasn’t spicy at all? Yes, that’s true! : ) Good luck with your Korean cooking!
Hey, Maangchi. I could not find any kelp in my nearby stores.\
What can i replace it with?
Skip dried kelp. The anchovy stock will still turn out delicious.
I have made this recipe 2 times already! It is so delicious. But I used udon bowls — it was all I had. I recently made it over to the Korean market and picked up a couple ttukbaegi. Guess what’s for dinner tonight.
(*^_^*)
It sounds like you are more and more getting into Korean cooking! Good luck! : )
Delicious!
Thanks to you, I finally found the courage to use one of my 4-cup-ttugbaegi on the electric stove. 1/3 more of all the ingredients for two persons, the ttuugbaegi was filled to the top – now it’s empty, and we’re stuffed. ;-)
Bye, Sanne.
This is my first attempt at making any “real” Korean food. This was so yummy! I wasn’t able to find any pork belly at my local shops, so I had to use pork rib and it worked very well! I also couldn’t find any dried anchovies, and I only had some that were in oil. I did have everything else and it turned out fantastic! I had a hard time getting past the smell of the anchovy stock, but I powered through and I am very glad I did.
Thanks for introducing me to a new type of cooking, it’s very fun and so so tasty!
I’m happy to hear that your tofu stew turned out delicious! Good luck with your Korean cooking!
I love your shirt Maangchi, and your dishes!
Thank you for introducing me to the Korean kitchen, it is very tasteful and good. :)
I’m making this sundubu-jjigae this evening, yay!
Made this tonight, came out very tasty. Did not realize how much I like kim chi chigae until making the dish myself!
I put the radish and seaweed back in the stew, and had to increase the spicy level for my portion, but the heat level was ok for my dad. You would think older people would need more heat cause of old tastebuds, but his Korean stomach is getting more sensitive with age…. no good. He loved the chigae!
Making some gim tonight or tomorrow!
Good luck with book sales ;)
Hi maangchi, I come from China, I like your vedio very much, but in China we can’t watch YouTube. so can you update your vedio to some Chinese vedio web such as youku or tudou, I think we will like your vedio, Thank you!:)
Maaaangchiiii!!!
Thanks for this soondubu update! Today I made a combination between this recipe and your classic one from years ago. Pork and kimchi, but I used the stock recipe from your older video. I also added some enoki and “seafood” mushrooms… Lol not sure of their real name but that’s what it says in the package!
It All came together tonight! I converted my husband (he always hated stews and soft tofu) to looooove soondubu jjigae. Thank you 😄😀
Hi Maangchi!
I just stumbled upon your blog a few days ago- and am so glad I did :)
Im a newly wed and am in need of great help of cooking delicious meals.
I have found your website to be super helpful! Thank you!
I have a question, for the stock, i have an oxtail stock, would this work, or should i do the anchovies and kelp instead??
Also, are japanese miso, and korean soybean paste different? Thank you!
Hi Maangchi,
I ended up making the soup with the oxtail broth that i hade made days before – it came out delicious!
i think it was the best meal we had, my husband was super happy and was raving about it.
I even showed him your video :) Im excited to learn more from you and your website!
Thank you!
Seriously, Maangchi? :) I already modified this recipe years ago! This is how I make my kimchi jigae (w/a shot of soju)! Actually, sans kimchi, I call this my dubu jigae and I add squash as well. I don’t always have seafood mix available so I usually get some pork butt and slice it up. I don’t care for sundubu because it disintegrates and I can’t see any dubu in front of me. (I love tofu but I have to see it w/my eyes.) Usually any tofu stew I make I use medium tofu. I gotta see those tofu pieces in front of me otherwise I feel cheated. Strange, I know, but that’s how I like my tofu. Right now I’m in the mood for kong biji jigae! Yum!
And a few minutes later I am eating it! MAN this is tasty! What a fantastic recipe. It’s the best of everything.
Thanks for the inspiration! Just sitting here, snowed-in, getting close to dinner time. I never expected to see a new video just in time to help me decide what to make for dinner. It’s going to be a yummy, snowy, blizzardy New York evening now. Thanks!