Sundubu-jjigae (sometimes spelled soondubu-jjigae) is a spicy, seasoned stew made with a type of silky soft tofu called sundubu. Served hot at the table in its traditional earthenware bowl, it’s impossible to resist. I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like sundubu-jjigae after they tried it. All it takes is one time!
If you go to a Korean sundubu-jjigae restaurant you’ll be surprised at how many varieties they make. This version is my favorite. When I go to the restaurant I always choose the seafood version, and it’s the one I most like to make at home, too. I’ve created a sundubu-jjigae section on my website that includes all the sundubu-jjigae recipes I’ve made so far. If you follow any of those recipes exactly, you will have some really delicious stew!
Usually we Koreans have sundubu-jjigae in a Korean earthenware bowl, but so many of you have told me over the years that you can’t get that bowl, or want to feed more people than you have bowls, so I’m including a serving alternative at the end of this recipe that explains how to serve it in regular bowls.
I have a funny story about Korean earthenware bowls (ttukbaegi). When I was making my first cookbook, my editor Rux and my literary agent came over to my house in New York for lunch. I made them bibimbap in Korean earthenware bowls. Rux was surprised to see me doing this, she said “Oh, where can I buy those bowls?”
I said “At a Korean grocery store! Do you want me to help you buy one?”
She said “Sure!” So we took a taxi down to Koreatown on 32nd street. She bought a lot of them, maybe 7 or 8 bowls! They were so heavy. Rux doesn’t even live in New York, she lives in Vermont. I helped her take all those heavy bowls to her hotel and then she later took them all the way home to Vermont in her car. Ever since we made that cookbook she’s been cooking Korean food all the time and has become better and better at it. Her whole family are big fans of Korean food now, all the way to her granddaughter, and she says she’s the Maangchi of Vermont now.
I chose large shrimp in my recipe but you don’t have to use shrimp that big. Just use smaller shrimp or even cocktail shrimp and the broth will still be delicious.
I wanted to show you a typical sundubu-jjigae table setting in the video. What you need to do is completely set the table with the side dishes and everything so that when the sundubu-jjigae is bubbling on the stove you can bring it right out to serve, directly on to the table. If you keep it boiling on the stove while you set up the table, the seafood will get tough and the sundubu-jjigae will actually boil down, which you really don’t want.
Enjoy the recipe! I hope you become the Maangchi of your area! : )
Ingredients (for 2 servings)
- ¼ cup gochugaru (Korean hot pepper flakes)
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup (about 1 ounce) chopped onion
- 1 large king oyster mushroom (or ½ cup of any mushrooms), chopped
- 1 large green onion (dae-pa) or 2 green onions, the white part and green part separated and chopped
- 2½ cups anchovy kelp stock (or vegetable stock, or beef or chicken broth)
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce (or salt to your taste)
- 2 tubes soft tofu (or 22 ounces silken tofu)
- 2 to 3 large deveined shrimp in the shell, rinsed
- 6 fresh shucked or shucked frozen oysters, rinsed
- 4 to 6 fresh mussels, cleaned and rinsed
- 2 eggs
Directions
- Combine the hot pepper flakes, sesame oil, and black pepper in a small bowl. Mix well with a spoon until the hot pepper flakes absorb all the oil. Set aside.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, the chopped white part of the green onion, and mushroom. Stir with a wooden spoon until the onion and garlic are slightly brown and crispy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the stock. Cover and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, until it’s boiling vigorously.
- Add shrimp, oysters, and mussels. Cut the tubes of tofu in half and squeeze them into the boiling stew, and then break up the tofu a bit with a wooden spoon. If using silken tofu, scoop or squeeze from the box into the stew.
- Add the fish sauce (or salt to your taste), half of the hot pepper mixture, and stir a few times.
- Cover and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, until the seafood is fully cooked and the broth is infused with its savory flavor.
2 ways to serve:
Serve in Korean earthenware bowls:
- Ladle the stew into 2 earthenware bowls (2½ cup bowls work best) and place them on the stove top. Heat them up over high heat. Add the leftover seasoning mixture on top of the stew in each bowl.
- When the stews starts bubbling, crack the eggs into each bowl. Cook for another minute until vigorously boiling. Remove from the heat and sprinkle the green part of the chopped green onion over top.
- Serve right away while it’s bubbling, with rice, kimchi, and more side dishes on the side.
Serve in regular soup bowls:
- Add the second half of the seasoning mixture to the boiling stew in the pot and mix it in a bit. Carefully crack the eggs into the bubbling stew, and cook for 1 or 2 minutes until the eggs are slightly (or half) cooked. Remove from the heat.
- Gently ladle the stew into two soup bowls without disturbing the eggs. Scoop up each egg and place one in each bowl.
- Sprinkle the green part of the chopped green onion over top and serve right away with rice, kimchi, and more side dishes.
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Hello Maangchi!,
LOVE your website and videos! I just made soon dubu…not too bad the first time, but i will keep making it and try to make it better and better! I was wondering…i have some friends that are vegetarian and was curious if you had any recommendations for stock or anything else to put in. Mainly the anchovies and obviously the seafood and beef are the issue…lol. But it’s delicious for me!
Thanks!
To make stock for vegetarians, use dried kelp (called dashima in Korean) and shiitake mushrooms. Good luck with making the best soondubu jjigae!
Won’t the pot break when you pour in the soup stock?
yes, it won’t be broken.
Hi Maangchi, I just want to leave a message to say thank you for a great recipe!!! xD I love soon dubu jigae! Everytime I go to a Korean restaurant, I always order this, and everytime I get home, I have to drink lots and lots of water, which goes to show they use MSG in their broth/stock! So I vowed to make my own (with your help!) ^-^
I did do some modifications to suit my taste though. Someone mentioned adding soy bean paste, and I did that, and it turned out great! Definitely enhanced the flavor of the soup base for me. Your version of the stock alone is already yummy (definitey can’t do w/o the anchovies!), but I think adding a little soy bean paste and hot pepper paste really remind me of the flavor I had at the restaurant, plus that made the soup a little thicker (instead of watery), just the way I like it!
I’m sorry for the long message, I just want to say I coudln’t do it w/o you! Now I can make it anytime I want, which is a good thing, cuz the place that I think have the best soon dubu jigae closed down a couple of months ago~
Hi Maangchi, I tried out your spicy squid dish two weeks ago and LOVED it! Now I found my second favorite Korean dish recipe here. I cannot wait to try it. I also really appreciate the “glossary” you created of all the items you need to have in these dishes. It is extremely helpful, especially for people like me who can’t read Korean labels in the Korean grocery stores. Thanks for all of your hard work to enlighten all of us to authentic Korean cooking. I’ll let you know how my soondubu jigae attempt goes!
I’m very glad to hear that! good luck with soondubu jjigae making!
hello :)
I don’t like mushrooms or spicy stuff? Do i have to use mushrooms and chili pepper?
You can make mild soondubu jjigae then.
Hello Maangchi,
Thank you for sharing all of those delicious stuff. Actually i have been a silence reader All this while, i also cook several stuff from your video. It is so easy and come out taste the same as the korean food that i ate in restaurant. I didn’t got a chance to take picture, but will do in future and send to you. Once again thank you so much..will for sure by the book and dvd to support you.
Take care
Ita..
hi maangchi,
good day! i cant find soft tofu in my place, can i replace it with the square one? thanx god bless
Of course you can use square shape of tofu. It will still be delicious, but it should be called “tofu stew” because the main ingredient is not soft tofu (soondubu)! :) Good luck with making your delicious tofu stew!!
This looks so delicious! I hope I can make it soon. I’ll make it as soon as I find a Korean grocery store around my place.
I just have one question though. What’s the difference between leeks and green onions? They look the same to me. Whenever I go to the market to buy “those green stuff” I call them leeks.
Thanks a lot for sharing your recipes, Maangchi! I watch your videos everyday even if I’ve seen some of them more than 5 times already!
I hope you can find a Korean grocery store easily.
I found this for you on the internet. Check this out.
http://www.foodsubs.com/Onionsgreen.html
Maangchi,
Thank you for all the wonderful recipes. I tried this recipe last weekend and it turned out delicious. You’re Dae Jang Geum of this century. You should consider open up a restaurant. If you ever visit San Francisco Bay Area, I’d love to meet.
Bests.
D.
haha, thank you! Next time take a photo of the food and send it to me. I would like to meet you, too.
hello maangchi,
love this recipe my mouth is watering, just one question why the soup turned reddish in color it’s like you add pepper powder on it.
check the ingredients for this recipe. It says “# 2-5 tbs of hot pepper flakes”
Your videos are very concise. Thank you.
The recipe for kimchi was so well illustrated that even I, not a great cook, thought I too could make this!
Hiii Manangchi!
Today, I will be making Soondubu jjigae. Luckily,I ‘ve found all my ingredients in one market. I’m also planning to add noodles to the stew, to see how it goes but I’m afraid of the outcome. So I’ll make just plain Soondubu jjiage first. Last time I made bimibap for my family and it turned out great! Thanks so much.
Have you ever wanted to cook other type of ethic’s food? =] Just curious.
I can’t find kelp, so i use a sheet of kim…. This dish is a big 10 !
fishy,
Yes, follow the recipe tightly to make good stock. Otherwise, it won’t be delicious.
maagchi,
do you really need the kelp and shiitake for the stock? or would it be fine w/o it?
gabieolie,
fish roe soondubu? It sounds strange to me! However, why not! Add fish roe to the stew directly and boil it. When to add it? check the step 10 in my recipe “Add 1 cup of mixed seafood and 3 shirimp”. Add fish roe instead of mixed seafood.
Hi Maangchi,
I had tried this recipe few months ago and added few things here and there but it didn’t turn out good. I decided to try it again today and this time, I followed your recipe exactly and it turned out really delicious!!! I want to make fish-roe soondubu (ahl soondubu) for my daughter. Maangchi could you please give some advice on how to make it? My daughter really wants me to make it. Please help :) Thank you!!!
chris
oh yeah? Thank you for the tips!
this one is awesome.
i found it convenient to replace the dried anchovies for making the stock with japanese dashi-no-moto, which is a powder made from bonito fish. very yummy!
BB,
Don’t use fish sauce if you don’t like the smell until you get accustomed to the flavor. Just skip it. Many people don’t like the fish sauce smell. : ) Use salt or soy sauce, then.
Hi Maangchi,
I followed your soondubu stew recipe last night. It was very exciting for me since I am just starting to learn how to cook. And thanks to you, you’re making things a lot easier for me with your tips and website. One question – I used the fish sauce in the soondubu as you instructed, but the smell kills me. What is the purpose of the fish sauce? I really don’t care for the fish sauce smell.. any alternatives?
tina,
The dried seaweed must be laver? If it’s not kelp, don’t use it for your soondubu. Dried anchovies, kelp, and shiitake mushrooms are 3 basic ingredients for good stock. You won’t need dashida.
Anyway, you could use dashida in your soondubu.
angyonghaseyo!
i went to a couple korean markets today (luckily they are in the same area) and picked up some items to make soondubu jjigae. i didn’t realize i bought dried seaweed (cut into squares) instead of dried kelp, will this make a difference? i also forgot to grab dried shitake mushrooms. will that also make a difference?
i did buy a bag of beef dashida, could i put a tablespoon or 2 in the broth with the dried anchovies in place of the shitake mushrooms?
thanks so much!
Carina,
Great news! Congratulation on your successful soondubu making!
Check the ingredient section on my website.
https://www.maangchi.com/ingredients/kelp
Hello Maangchi,
I made Soondubu last night and it was a success but it was a little too spicy for my boyfriend but I liked it =). While looking for the ingredients, I couldn’t seem to find kelp anywhere. I went to Assi Plaza and all they had was seaweed. Do you know where I can get it? I made the broth without the kelp but I couldn’t compare the broth with the kelp.
Who is not going to be happy to be loved!
I love you, too! : )
I LOVE YOU!!
yvonne,
yeah, why not? If you want to do some experiments!
my god! it tasted like how the restaurants make it. it was absolutely delicious. maangchi, can i substitute hot chilli paste instead of the pepper flakes- just experimenting.
Maria,
yes, making shikhye is easy but takes long time!
I am going to post the recipe very soon. When I say very, it’s very soon! : ) Thank you!
…sorry forgot to add my name to my cooment about your videos & shikye!
Hi’ya Maangchi! Your cooking videos are so fun to watch and now my little boy says, ‘mama let’s watch maangchi!’
You make everything look so easy and delicious that you’ve inspired me to give Korean food a go in our kitchen. When I go out for Korean food, I’m always hoping the restaurant will serve shikye (sp?), the sweet rice drink that tastes so good after eating spicy foods. My friend says it takes a loong time to make, but am wondering if that’s something you might attempt for your fans?
Hugs from San Francisco!
Himani,
oh yeah? Why don’t you use a can of chicken broth instead of using seafood?
Hi Maangchi!
I have a question about this recipe. I’m allergic to seafood (both fish and shellfish), is there anything I can use to substitute the anchovies?
Thank you so much!
Kay,
Do you mean you don’t understand step 9?
The stock is made from this step. Please follow the recipe.
# Pour 5 cups of water into a pot and add 12 dried anchovies after removing intestine part.
# Add half onion, some dried kelp (about 1/3 cup), 3 dried shiitake mushrooms, 5 cloves of garlic and boil it over high heat.
# Approximately 10 minutes later, lower the heat to low medium heat and boil it for another 20 minutes.
Hi Maangchi
Thank you for the recipe. but i dont get step 9 Pour 2 cups of the stock you made. It will be sizzling. Don’t be afraid! It’s just TOFU stew! : )and do i have to add anchovies in??