Korean Tofu stew, or “doenjang chigae,” is made with vegetables, tofu, and bean paste. It’s Koreans’ everyday house food. We eat it with other side dishes and rice, but sometimes, especially in the southern part of Korea, we eat this stew with barley rice, vegetable salad, and hot pepper paste all mixed together. This is the style I’m going to teach you to make today.
Deon Jang Chigae
(Bean paste and vegetable stew)
Ingredients:
- 1 medium size potato
- a zucchini or a squash
- 1 medium size onion
- garlic
- 1 green chili pepper
- 7 dried anchovies
- 1 green onion
- 100-150 grams of tofu
- soy bean paste (doen jang)
- 4 shrimp
Almost all Koreans love this food, and I think you will, too!
- Prepare a ceramic pot to put all the ingredients in.
- Peel the potato, cut it into 2 cups worth of cubes, and put them into the pot .
- Cut zucchini into 2 cups worth of cubes, and put them into the pot.
- Cut your onion into chunks, and put them into the pot.
- Slice your green chili pepper, and put it into the pot.
- Prepare 7 large dried anchovies by removing their heads and intestines, chop them up, and put them into the pot.
- Chop up 4 shrimp and put them into the pot.
- Mince 5 cloves of garlic and put it into the pot.
- Your pot will now be 2/3 full with your ingredients.
- Submerge everything in water and cook it over high heat.
*tip: Don’t put too much water, just enough to cover everything - When it starts boiling, add 4-6 tbs of bean paste, stir the stew, and keep cooking
- When the stew is sizzling and all ingredients are cooked, cut your tofu into cubes, chop up 1 green onion, and add them to the stew.
- Occasionally stir the boiling stew with a spoon.
- Serve it with a bowl of rice and other side dishes.
*tip: to check whether or not the ingredients are cooked, taste the potato.
Korean style mixed green salad
Ingredients: a big bowl of mixed greens (you can replace it with lettuce), cucumber, 1 green onion, 1 clove of garlic, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and sesame seeds
- Wash a big bowl of mixed greens (5-6 cups) and drain it. If you use lettuce, tear it up into bite sized pieces.
- Slice cucumber thinly (cut cucumber in half in length first, and slice it diagonally) and add it into the bowl.
- Make the sauce by mixing up 3 tbs of soy sauce, 1 tbs of hot pepper flakes, 1 ts of sugar, and ½ tbs of sesame seeds and 1tbs of sesame oil
- Mix the vegetables with the sauce
- Transfer the salad to a glass bowl or a big plate and serve it
Serving it all together:
In a big bowl, place rice first, then add a scoop of doen jang jjigae and the vegetable salad (“gutgeorie”). Mix in some hot pepper paste and sesame oil. Wow, it’ll be delicious! : )
A satisfying and versatile dish. I like to use this recipe for when I have leftover vegetables that I want to use up. I think chopping up the anchovies and putting them right in adds lots more flavor. Also, thank you for telling us how you enjoy the dish. I would have never have thought to put gochujang in. It makes it even yummier!!
Thank for Korean recipes! I made this soup tonight. It’s great! All your recipes I have made are delicious. But I use Hondashi powder to make the stock to make it easier for me. The recipes are as delicious as the ones cook by my best Korean friends. :)
yum! : )
Maangchi, love how simple your recipes are :) I would like to add clams to the doenjang chigae so what would be the best way? I’ve heard of steaming/boiling the clams first and then using the water in the chigae. How would you do it? Thanks!
If the clams are very fresh, soak them in salty water. Add about 1/4 cup salt to 5 cups water in a large bowl. Wait for 1 hour. The clams will spit out sand from inside their shells. Then rinse them a couple of times and add them to boiling doenjang jjigae.
Hi Maangchi, thanks for replying! So I should add the clams at the stage before stirring in the doenjang based on your recipe in the video? If I wish to add squid, do I add it with the clams as well? Thank you so much!
Hi Maangchi,
This recipes looks great! However, I like spicy food so when in the cooking process and how much hot pepper paste can I add! Thanks so much!
how about adding 1 tbs hot pepper paste? If you want more, add more. It’s your doenjangjjigae. : )
I used to add hot pepper paste to doenjangjjigae, but these days I prefer doenjangjjigae made without hot pepper paste.
Hi, Maangchi! I’m a newlywed korean-american, and my hubbie is a chinese-american. We both love korean food, and i am so happy that i found you site with wonderful korean recipes! All the recipes are so easily written with instructions that is so easy to follow, with the end result of a great authentic korean dish! You are amazing and one of my heroes! I made this doenjang jjigae tonight for hubbie and my mom was a surprise guest. She absolutely loved the jjigae and said that she was amazed how good it was! I know that my mother was proud of me, and she was also thankful that you have this website to help us cook real korean food!! xoxoxo
omg, thanks a lot! You made my day! I feel very empowered by you! : )
Could I make a complete vegetarian version of it without any seafood? What should I substitute the shrimps and anchovies with? You said something about mushrooms, but how do I get the stock salty enough, soy sauce?
“how do I get the stock salty enough?” no soy sauce is used in doenjangjjigae. soy bean paste is salty.
Please leave your question on the forum. My vegetarian readers may give you good advice.
http://www.maangchi.com/talk/forum/general-discussion
hie maangchi!
i tried making this yesterday, and it turned out awesome! i have never tried deonjang chigae before,so i wasn’t sure if i got it right, but i sure liked what i tasted XD … also i didn’t have a ceramic pot so i used my regular metal pot..and i couldn’t find squash or a zucchini so i replaced with a cucumber haha …
thanks loads for your wonderful recipes maangchi..my next adventure’s going to be cabbage soup and samgak kimbap..wish me luck =D
Thank you very much for your update! Yes, I sometimes use my regular pot to make delicious doenjangjjigae, too.
Thanks to you, I made my first successful batch of doenjang chigae! Whenever I’ve tried to make it before, there was always something off about it, but this time it tasted like an ajumma made it right here in my kitchen! 진짜 맛있다!
yay, good news! I’m ajumma baby! lol.
Thank you for this wonderful website. My wife and I are living in Korea and I made this for the first time today because she is sick. She doesn’t like fish based stocks though. I know I could add some beef or chicken stock powder to the soup, but was wondering if there is something fresh that could be added for that effect. By the way, it is very delicious. It is my favorite soup in Korea.
She doesn’t like any seafood? If so, use more mushrooms. Shiitake mushrooms ,oyster mushrooms, or white mushrooms.
oh my. you are so cute!! hahah when you say it is so delicious.. i laughed!! haha so cute..
i was in korea for half a year because of exchange.. and i love the food there… doenjangchigae.. soondubu chigae and samgyeopsal!!! i want to re-create them now that i am in the netherlands…!
what can i make with hot pepper sauce? i just recently bought the paste!!
Thanks!!
joelle
(singapore)
joelle,
What can you make with hot pepper paste? haha, so many dishes! You could use it as bibimbap sauce! http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/bibimbap
And check ingredients of each recipe in the “spicy” category on my recipe section. http://www.maangchi.com/recipes/spicy
Find recipes made with hot pepper paste.
Hi Maangchi,
I attempted your ‘doenjang chigae’ the other day…you’re absolutely right! Just followed your instruction and it turned out brilliantly. My husband – nonkorean – who can eat literally any Korean dish including ‘beef organ soup’(which I myself couldn’t even manage to taste), isn’t so fond of this particular soup, yet loved yours and we had it for three days in a row. I never knew that stock can be made with only anchovy with no dashima, but still can make wonderful flavor. Plus,loved your green salad which tasted just like the one my mom used to make. Thank you so much!
wow, I think you are going to make lots of Korean dishes from now! “we had it for three days in a row” lol!
My 8 yr old daughter LOVES soft tofu soup, not spicy. Is this the right recipe for her? When we order it in Korean restaurants we have one with mushroom and beef or pork or the seafood one without any spice, so it turns out white.
If this is not the right recipe, would you please tell me which is the correct Soft Tofu Soup, not spicy version?
yeah, I guess so! Skip green chili pepper in the recipe if you like to make non spicy doenjangjjigae for your daughter.
“When we order it in Korean restaurants we have one with mushroom and beef or pork or the seafood one without any spice, so it turns out white. ”
I think it’s soondubu jjigae (non-spicy version)!
Check my soondubu jjigae recipe and skip hot pepper flakes in the recipe if you want to make non-spicy soondubujjigae.
http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/soondubu-jjigae
I cooked this version for my wife today; she is in bed with a cold. It was very easy to make, and it tasted better than the over-priced 32nd St food. I made it without the suggested shrimp because we don’t eat much meat, but I did add the dried anchovies.
I used to eat doenjang jigae all the time in Korean prison, but I don’t think they added the anchovies. It was so bland!
I agree with u! Delicious stock makes delicious doenjangjjigae.
I like the recipe, I just think that the taste was a bit too strong for me. If I use less soy bean paste would that make a difference? I used like 4 tbs.
You can modify my recipes to your taste. Use less soy bean paste then. Happy cooking!
I made it, and oh, was it delicious! I replaced the zucchini with more potato and some pieces of radish, and left out the seafood. As side dishes I had Muwoonamul and Kkakkttuki.
I myself found the taste of Doenjang (never tasted before) very overwhelming, but also very delicious. however my father said that it was slightly too bland… 0_o that really surprised me. I guess taste is different for everybody!
“I replaced the zucchini with more potato and some pieces of radish,..” yes, I sometimes do the same thing! I like potatoes! Muwoonamul is delicious! thank you for your update!
what if you don’t have green chilli pepper and anchovies? can you use a different kind of pepper?
Yes, you can use any type of green chili pepper or skip it. If you can’t eat spicy food at all, Italian green chili pepper is a good substitute in doenjangjjigae.
Hi Maangchi,
I stayed for one year in Seoul but didn’t attempt to cook any Korean dishes but I just came back from Seoul again after a short holiday with my family. My wife and me enjoyed the Doenjang Jjigae in Seoul so much that I bought a ceramic pot and some Doenjang and Gochujang and today, i made a large pot of it. We really enjoyed it alot although I added a lot of clams, maybe too much but we loved it anyway. Looks like we will be supplementing our homecooked Chinese dishes with Doenjang jjigae.
Thanks a lot for your excellent recipes.
Jack( SIngapore)
It sounds like you are very ready for Korean cooking! ; )
Share your photos of dishes with my other readers! Email me the photos later if you want.
Happy New Year!
Hi Maangchi,
Does it change anything if I don’t use an ceramic pot? :o
Hi Maangchi!
I’m wondering, can you add ggochukaru or ggochujang to make spicy? Or will that make this dish taste weird? I’m trying to find a way to add some red pepper spiciness on top of the green pepper!
Thanks!
yes, you can add some hot pepper paste to your doenjangjjigae. I sometimes use hot pepper paste, too.
This was reaaly good that I almost ate all of it myself! Thanks Maangchi.
You are very welcome! Happy cooking!
My son visited for the weekend and woke up this morning with a chill. He could not get warm! I made him some of this soup (like a good mom : ) and sent him off to work in the city. I am anxious to hear how his day goes, but at least I know I did the best I could for him for breakfast!
yeah, a mom’s love for children is endless. You are such a good mom.
maangchi, what is the best replacement for anchovy in doenjang jjigae? I cannot find them:
- any kind of fish stock
- dashi stock (this is made with dried skipjack fish and Kelp)
- chicken/beef stock
- stock made from kelp (I have kelp but it was very expensive and hard to find so it’s my little treasure and I only want to use it if I really need it for something delicious ;)
- canned anchovy instead of dried
- just skip it
or something else of course!
dashi stock, chicken or beef stock will work!
Wow, it looks so yummy and the cooking method of this Deon Jang Chigae recipe is great, I’ll try it later and I hope it tastes the way it looks. Just one question: how to add your blog into my RSS Reader, Thanks very much.
Put this into your RSS Reader: http://www.maangchi.com/feed
Thank you
Hi Maangchi,
I just wanted to say that your videos are wonderful! They are so simple and easy to follow. I cook your recipes for my 2 year old and she looves them all. I got my little brother hooked on your website and he is cooking up a storm in his bachelor pad with your videos on. Thank you :)
Your 2 year old likes doenjangjjigae? : ) Cute!!
Would you tell your brother to send me some photos of the food that he has made? I wanna see!
Yes, my 2 year old loooves doenjanjjigae. She likes kimchijjigae, too… must have gotten used to it when she was in my tummy ;) All I ate was Korean food when I was pregnant.
Will definitely tell my brother to try to post pics of the dishes he has cooked for his lady friends :P
You are changing yoohackseng’s bobsang!! kkk
I watch your video every day. I love them.
haha, you have to eat good food to study hard!
I stocked up on ingredients at the Korean market nearby and made this jjigae on Saturday, along with spicy pork bulgogi, and store-bought bindaedduk that my husband picjed up. But I forgot to take pictures – sorry Maangchi! Anyway, your method of throwing everything into the pot is the easiest one. The method I used before I got from a book and was too complicated. The taste came out the same anyway – delicious! My dog got the anchovy heads and guts – he thinks myolchi anchovies are the best dog treat on the planet!
Thank you!
I like simple and fast cooking. Everybody says I’m too fast in the kitchen. : )
What can I substitute seafood for? I’m not the biggest seafood eater but I generally like fish. Can I use chicken or beef.
Skip the seafood, it will still be delicious.
My Doenjang came with a packet of some sort? Whats the packet used for.
I don’t know what did it say on the packet? Do not eat it.
I think it might have been a packet for this soup.
rv65 : if it was a small packet, it might have been a dessicant–non edible silica gel used to absorb some of the extra moisture that “sweats” off the paste. I think that helps it not to get moldy. I have seen these in some containers of jang.
This was so yummy. Two of us polished this off in one sitting. It was wonderful. I just have one question about the amount of bean paste….in the video it looks like you use around 1 heaping tablespoon but in the written recipe you have 4-6 tablespoons. What is the correct amount.
Thank you again for your great videos and recipes.
yeah, 1 heaping tablespoon of soybean paste is equal to 4-6 tbs.
Thanks Maangchi, Made this again tonight….wonderful!