Soondubu Leftovers

Hello,

I’m so glad I found your videos and website! I was able to make a passable mixed seafood Soondubu Jjigae very fast. I am surprised that it was actually better in some ways than the bowl of it I bought for lunch at my Asian market before shopping for ingredients. I don’t think that the restaurant used a very flavorful stock. For some reason, It was bland and disappointing even though I asked for “spicy” and I almost changed my mind about cooking my own.

I wish I had known the difference between “coarse” and “fine” Kochukaru though. I was surprised to find the Assi brand fine ground flakes I used did not seem spicy at all. Once I read the ingredients page here I realized my mistake!

I suffered a shoulder injury a few days ago and my pain medication is making my stomach very upset. Today I took out my leftover Soondudu, and refreshed it with a little vegetable stock (I was cooking soup at the same time – I used the homemade anchovy stock the first time but I was out of it), a little more mixed seafood, added some Sambal Oelek chili paste to round out the spiciness and threw in some Duc Bok Ki. I also added a couple of tablespoons of Kimchi juice and about 1 teaspoon of black slab sugar. to the pot (I just felt like it was missing SOMETHING, can’t quite figure out what). It was delicious stew, perfect for my stomach, especially the Duc Bok Ki. It was the first meal I have been able to enjoy and keep down for a few days.

Long story short, thank you! I have never cooked Korean Food before, but I have been watching Korean Dramas like, “Gourmet” (Best Chef), “Pasta”, “Dae Jang Guem” (“Jewel of the Palace”) etc. so I have been very inspired to try some of the dishes and styles of Korean cooking I have seen. I am looking forward to trying out more of your recipes.

Erika