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.
Buy this recipe's ingredients online
I really like Weee! they deliver quality packaged and fresh Korean ingredients to the continental USA. Cheaper and better than Amazon! Check them out!
Maangchi,
Thank you so much for this video and recipe. I have been looking for a soondubu recipe for a while now and this one is easy and tastes wonderful. My mother, who is Korean, also agrees! We had fun making it this past holiday, as well as the kalbi jim (one of my favorite dishes). She and I both thank you for putting this site together and teaching us your way of making these dishes.
Kamsahamneeda!
Sarah
Sarah, thank you very much!
It sounds like you were having fun with your mom while cooking!
Happy Cooking!
I want to make this, but I bought small anchovies. Can I use these and if so how many do I need? Thanks!
maybe 1/2 cup of small anchovies?
Hey maangchi! I was wondering if I could use pork belly instead of the beef with shrimp. Would that taste good? Beef is pretty expensive here and hard to find.
yes, pork belly sounds fantastic! : ) When you go to a soondubujjigae restaurant, you can choose your favorite style: pork, seafood, beef, kimchi…
This looks so delicious! I finally saw a chance to go to the korean store in Rotterdam last Friday, and I bought ingredients for this soondubu jjigae. I can’t wait to try it out.
I can’t wait to hear the feedback from you! : )
Hmm…. it was so delicious! I will definitely make this again! Thank you so much!
I didn’t have shiitake so I added regular mushrooms to the soup. I also didn’t add the beef and added more shrimp instead, although I might try the beef next time. Your recipe called for 2-5 tbsp of hot pepper flakes… but I found 1 tbsp quite spicy! Koreans sure like hot food!
hi maangchi,
I have a quick question. do i need to use the ceramic pot? cause i cant find it here. :( and its there any difference if i just use normal pot?
You can use a usual pot.
Thanks for the quick response! gonna try to cook it tonight
Dear Maangchi,
I made Soondubu last night. I’m an experienced cook but not with Korean food. It was great!!! My wife (she’s limited to chopping and washing in our family) loved it.
We have been cutting down on our meat intake recently, so I decided to try it without the priming beef. I did cheat and use a bit of beef stock when cooking the mushrooms. It turned out well, though if I omit the beef next time I’ll add some extra mushrooms to lend it some more lost “meatiness.”
I’m thrilled I came across your site–the videos are SO helpful!–and will try my hand at more recipes this winter.
thanks!
Good news! Thank you!
Maangchi,
Thank you so very much for this wonderful recipe. I just made a pot of it for lunch and it was gone in a blink. I didn’t even have a chance to take a picture! It is such a great lunch for a cold and grey day. Once again, thank you!
Dawn
Dawn,
next time don’t forget to take a photo to email me! : )
Where can I find the old style earthenware kimchee pot?
http://www.koamart.com/shop/48-asian_cookware.asp you can buy earthenware bowl here if you live in the US.
Hi Maangchi,
I’ve made your soon dubu twice and it’s so easy and sooo delicious. Here’s how mine turned out:
http://noodlefever.blogspot.com/2009/11/spice-girl-pork-and-mushroom-soon-dubu.html
Thanks for sharing all of your wonderful recipes! :)
–kt
You are such a great cook! I left a comment on your website.
Thank you very much!
thanks for the comment. i’m so flattered that you think it looks yummy! i love all your videos. :)
–kt
Hi Maangchi!
I’m from Chicago and I love Korean food. I went to my local Korean market picked up the ingredients, I just made it and I’m eating it right now and it is sooo good! Thank you the recipe you are awesome ^_^!
Thank you very much for letting me know about your delicious soondubujjigae even though you are busy eating! : )
I am so glad to found this website!!! i’m trying out your recipes one by one. Thank youuuuu so much :)!!!! now onto my question: I didn’t realize that you need to use dried shiitake mushroom for making the stock for the soft tofu stew…so i bought fresh shiitake mushroom instead :(… Would using fresh shiitake mushroom work for the stock? Can i still add it (i looove mushrooms) to the whole dish? thanks again!
Kay,
Dried shiitake mushrooms are usually used to make good stock, so add your fresh shiitake mushrooms at the step 7 in the recipe. # Add the chopped shiitake mushroom and stir it.
OMG, Maagnchi
Thanks so much for making this video. I am Chinese and loves Korean food to death, and I have been wandering around looking for recipes here and there. I am very happy to find your site which not only have recipes that are authentic and in languages I can understand, but also holds videos. You are awesome!!!
Thanks a lot! Happy Cooking!
Thank you for the video recipe! I will have to try it.
I’m going to try all of your recipes. I love Korean food :)
Soon Dubu jjigae is my favorite and also the first Korean dish I’ve ever eaten.
Welcome to Korean cooking! : )
How about making soondubu jjigae first because you know what it’s supposed to taste like.
Thanks Maangchi for this recipe. I’ve been trying to perfect my soon dubu recipe and your recipe came the closest. I added Kim-chee to the recipe and it came out really good and spicy. Just added it after I added the beef. Thanks again.
You are such a smart cook! : )
I appreciate your website and videos!
I am an adopted Korean and have been wanting to watch videos but I do not know enough Korean.
You speak English the whole time in your videos….Thank you!!!!
I made one of my boyfriend’s favorite dishes and he loved it.
Thanks again!
Welcome to my website! You can email me the photo of the dishes that you made if you want. I like to see it! Thank you!
Do you have a receipe for kong nam mul?
Here is the recipe for Kong namul :)
https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/kimchi-chigae-kongnamool
Hi Kim,
Maangchi is on holiday :)
I know the recipy is included in her Kimchi Jjigae video:
https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/kimchi-chigae-kongnamool
Maangchi:
I must be your worst student with a million questions.
Firstly, I made the soft tofu stew and it was delicious. You are right – homemade is better than the restaurants. I did add 3/4 teaspoon salt to the soup though. I doubled the recipe and made enough to last 3 dinners and a lunch.
My question is the earthen bowl. What is the hottest temperature on an electric stove can you heat up the earten bowl? My first experience cooking with the earthen bowl (of course, making the tofu stew), the electric burner sparked and burnt out. I was afraid that the earthen bowl was damaged, but only a tiny piece from the outside burnt off, but is still usable. We had to replace the electrical burner because the burner died.
Secondly, when I first purchased the earthen bowl from a Korean store, I was told to treat the bowl by boiling salted water for 30 minutes before using. After that, dump out the salted water, rinse and dry, the earthen bowl should last a very long time as long as you don’t put any cold liquid in a hot earthen bowl and vice versa.
Thirdly, I have some leftover unused stock that is in the freezer right now for my next tofu stew dish. What other uses can you use extra stock for?
Thanks for anwering my questions.
: ) no,I’m sure many people have the same questions as you do.
The answer is here:
https://www.maangchi.com/kitchenware/earthenware-bowl
https://www.maangchi.com/talk/topic/dolsot-problems-help
The leftover stock could be used for many Korean dishes such as doenjangjjigae, mandu soup, ddukbokkie, mulkimchi, maeuntang…
Will the stew taste good if I omit the beef? …or can I use lean ground turkey? I’m planning to make this next week.
I think it will still be delicious as long as you use good stock. Ground turkey sounds good to me.
I’m not sure if I purchased the wrong hot pepper powder for the tofu stew recipe. The package is labeled, “Hot Pepper Powder – Coarse.” Because it says “Coarse” is it the wrong one to buy for the tofu stew?
: ) yeah,it must be wrong translation. You can use either hotpepper flakes or hot pepper powder for the dish.
Hot pepper powder is usually used to make hot pepper paste or hot sauce, and hot pepper flakes are for usual korean food such as kimchi making. I use hot pepper flakes.
What can you do with leftover stock?
hi maanchi! i wanted to learn korean foods coz i have clients here in the philippines who are koreans, i always brought them in a restaurant and its pretty expensive. now, that i found your website, im really happy coz i will learn korean foods and i dont need to bring them in a restaurant. i will cook all the foods you cooked. thanks! keep it up!
Your Korean clients are very lucky to have a friend like you!
Hey Maangchi. I made this dish EXACTLY following your rules and it turned out great. The stock tasted really good and I used your 3-crab fish sauce! haha. Thanks for the great recipe!! (It took like an hour to cook though.. I need to practice practice practice!
You are my A+ student! : )
i cant find tofu in tube here..can i use other types of tofu instead??
THANKS
You could use silken tofu (soft tofu).
Maangchi,
I’ve been trying to perfect this recipe for a couple years now, trying various recipes from different websites. I tried your recipe and it was just like my favorite restaurants! Thank you!
My boyfriend’s favorite is the Kimchi Jigae, so I’m trying that recipe next. I’m so glad I found this site!
Thank you very much! I hope you like my kimchi stew recipe, too. You can modify the amount of ingredients to your taste.
i made it! ahh but i put too much stock…
its more like a soup now..- -;;
also not enough salt… so i added soy sauce..
maangchi? the mushroom became super hard after the stew was done..?
Did i cook too long? or not enough?
oh, your shiitake mushrooms must be dried too hard. Soak them in warm water for hours until they get soft, and then put them into the stock to boil.
Hi Maangchi
Thanks for the great recipe!
I was wondering how many grams is one tube of the soon do bu
when i went to korean grocery store, they only had the square packed!
Hi Maagnchi!,
i had one question, can i use gochujang instead of hot pepper flakes when making this dish?
I always use hot pepper flakes in soondubu jjigae. The flavor of hot pepper paste will stand out too much. I think your next soondubu jjigae will turn out delicious because you know what you are supposed to do.
Maangchi, thank you sooo much for your incredible recipes, and having those videos up makes it so much easier to follow! I have been addicted to the Korean Ginseng Chicken soup and the Soon Dubu, and it was great happiness to find the recipes here. THANK YOU!!
came across you’re youtube videos today….thanks for all of the recipes. i had friends over for bulgogi tonight, with the nurmerous banchan sides. was a success. thanks again, you are awesome, and entertaining to boot.
Yay!! Congratulation on your successful Korean cooking!
Hi maangchi,
i was wondering if there was a website you get your earthenware pots from, ive been really wanting to try this recipe but i want all the right stuff! :]
I don’t know.Where are you living?
Please leave your question here.
https://www.maangchi.com/talk/forum/general-discussion
Thanks so much for putting this site together! My mom is allergic to anchovies, so what can I use to substitute anchovies? I hope there is something other than anchovies to take a good stock! Thank you.
You could use a can of chicken broth or make stock using dried kelp and shiitake mushrooms.
hello maangchi!
i am harley from auckland and i love korean food!i love your website!i’ve been following it religiously ever since i found it a few months ago…this is one of my most favourite korean dish ever and i tried making this and your potato side dish (the one with soy sauce) today!the soft tofu stew was yummy!
ah can i use bean paste/pepper paste in this stew (i want to try this next time)coz i remember when i eat it at my favourite korean restaurant it had a distinct bean paste taste…
for the potato side dish, is sugar cane syrup similar to corn syrup as i couldn’t find the corn syrup (i used an extra helping of sugar instead and it still tasted yummy!)?
thanks!keep up ur great work!
Thank you very much for your nice comment!
Yes, you can use bean paste or hot pepper paste, but not too much.
I usually don’t use it in my soondubujjigae.
If I use soy bean paste in my soondubu jjigae, it will be similar to doenjangjjigae (soybean, vegetables, tofu stew): https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/tofu-stew-doenjang-chigae
Anyway, a little bit of hot pepper paste or soy bean paste won’t ruin the taste of your soondubujjigae!
Sugar cane syrup sounds good!
Good luck with making delicious Korean dishes!
hi!!! i love your recipes and i was wondering how many servings this recipe makes. would it feed at least 4 people?
It’s for 2 servings. You will have to double the ingredients for 4 servings.
do i also double the cooking time?
I think so,
Hi,
I recently found your youtube cooking instruction videos, and was a fan ever since! So far I’ve tried both your potato dishes and they’re super yummy. I made the soft tofu stew tonight, but realized the soup was really tasty however the tofu was bland. I wonder if it’s suppose to be a little bland, or I did something wrong along the way. I couldn’t find the pepper flakes instead used several peppers as substitute.
Thanks for all your recipes, I’m looking forward to trying them all =)
It sounds like you made good soondubu jjigae. Soondubu (soft silky tofu) by itself has no taste.
i made the soup today! taste is quite similar as what i get in restaurants but somehow something is lacking. i used the korean bean paste, abit of hot pepper paste and some hot pepper powder. do you think it is because i did not use chicken stock and use bean paste instead which is why it don’t taste so delicious?
To make delicious soondubu jjigae, the first thing you will have to prepare is to make delicious stock. Otherwise, it will be too bland!
I don’t use chicken stock. Please follow my written recipe tightly. You could use soybean paste, but not too much.
Maangchi,
My favorite soondubu is kimchi soondubu. Can you tell me how to make that?
Thanks a lot!
Add chopped kimchi as in step 7 in the recipe with shiitake mushrooms.
hihi,
can i use korean bean paste and red pepper paste in this recipe? if yes, what ingredients does the bean paste and red pepper paste substitute in your original recipe? is it anchovies, kelp and red pepper flakes? thanks in advance. i’m planning to try this recipe on this sat, my first time trying out a korean recipe. :)
I would not use hot pepper paste in soondubu jjigae because hot pepper paste’s strong flavor and thickness may ruin the taste of the soup.
You can use soy bean paste though. In case you use soy bean paste, reduce the amount of fish sauce because soy bean paste is salty. That’s all. Let me know how your soondubu jjigae turns out.
thanks for the advice. so i should use hot pepper chilli flakes with the soy bean paste. if i use soy bean paste, do i still need to use anchovies and kelp for the soup? or can i replace the anchovies and kelp with chicken stock instead?
Yes, you can use chicken stock, too!