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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Hi :D
can you substitute Big Anchovies for small ones?
do you also know where you can buy anchovies in Australia Brisbane?????
thanks :D
what can u use instead of using anchovies ?
there is right one in Sunnybank! It is called Kim Chi Grocery Store next to the Korean BBQ restaurant…. near MacDonalds. I forgot the street name …I will see when I go back there. This is where I got my dried anchovies from
You could use small ones, too, but large anchovies are usually used to make delicious anchovy stock. I looked up some Korean websites on the internet for you and it says there are a few Korean grocery stores downtown Elizabeth street right next to Queen street. That’s all information I got.
Any Korean grocery stores will sell dried anchovies.
Instead of dried anchovies, make stock with dried kelp, dried shiitake mushrooms, chunks of onion. Or use a can of chicken broth.
Good luck with finding a Korean grocery store. If you find it, don’t forget to submit the info for those who are looking for Korean stores in your area. https://www.maangchi.com/shopping
Hi :D
are you able to use small anchovies in replacement of big ones?
Will this soup turn out the same if I don’t use the same pot as you did. But just a regular pan/pot instead?
Thanks for all these recipes Maangchi!!(:
Yes, you can make this with a regular pot. It will still be delicious!
I saw the pictures on the side of people who made this recipe, I like how this soup looks red and hot, but some looks brown and light brown and looks cool. What makes it look red like yours?
I use hot pepper flakes sold at a Korean grocery store.
I cannot wait to make this later! :) Thank you Maangchi! :)
Hi Maangchi,
I had a question regarding the stock portion of the recipe. I’ve made this dish a few times and it seems that everytime I make the stock it wants to boil over when I put a lid on it. So I end up using the lid only after I turn the heat down to medium, but this results in only about a cup of stock afterwards.
My stock pot is a little wider than yours. Do you think it’s too much heat or the seaweed that is making it bubble up like soapy water?
I might try making a large amount of stock by simmering it on low all day and freezing it in ice cube trays for later use.
Yes, it easily boils over. Sizzle it very low heat. I sometimes take some soup out into a separate bowl and when it’s cooked, I add the soup to the sizzling soup again just before serving.
I prefer mine with pork….tastes great!
Maangchi (and everyone else),
First of all, I am so glad I found this site! I have a question – I have made more than 8 soondubu jjigae (including my Korean MIL’s). I made this recipe yesterday, and although it was very good, it was missing something. All the other recipes are goo too and taste pretty similar, but none of them taste like the soondubu jjigae I get in restaurant. I have eaten soondubu jjigae througout CA,Boston,Chicago . . .- they all have a taste mine is missing. I buy authentic ingredients, follow all directions, make my own stock, use an earthanware bowl. What am I doing wrong? Yours is the best so far, but I just don’t get that restaurant taste (even the soup made by my husband’s grandma when we visited Korea was great, but missing that taste (while the restaurants in Korea had the same taste as restaurants here in the US. Aigoo! Himdero!BTW I made your emergency kimchi; it was so easy and good!
When I make it this way it is perfect every time. Be careful to not add more water than the recipe. Perhaps you could try adding a little more fish sauce – it seems to me that the moment this stew changes from nice to AMAZING is when you add the fish sauce – taste it before and after. Also, make sure you cook your stock until it has a good strong flavor – the stock is very important. And don’t discount the possibility that the restaurants you have eaten this in are adding MSG – it is quite popular in some Korean restaurants but you really don’t need it when you use this recipe because it has all of its own natural flavor. However, if you still can’t get the taste perhaps try adding a little MSG (most Korean grocers sell it) and see if that is what the difference is.
MSG! I hadn’t thought of it; I will give it a try this weekend. I tried it with a bit more fish sauce and it did give an extra oomph, but still not what I am looking for. I agree that this recipe is very flavorful and tasty, it just isn’t what I have tasted in all Korean restaurants
I would say it almost certain that the difference is MSG then. Tell us how it goes next time!
OMG! This is so good! I just got done making it and I’m afraid I’ll have to make some more next in couple of days because it’s not going to last long, again. Can anyone say, DELICIOUS?!
I will make my soondubu jjigae today. To make delicious soondubu jjigae, the first thing I have to do is to make delicious stock. I have shrimp, mussels, and clams in the freezer, so it will be very tasty! Cheers! ^^
Hi Emily,
This dish looks Great! Going to try this. What type of pot did you use and can you use any type of green pepper?
Thanks.
Aloha! ^^
Aloha, yes, you can use any type of green chili pepper. I use an earthenware bowl. https://www.maangchi.com/kitchenware/earthenware-bowl
Hi Maangchi,
I love Korean food…I have tried this recipe at home, my husband loves it ,he said it was delicious but quite spicy. next time i will try to make non spicy one….Kumapsumnida!
yes, yes, thanks a lot for your update!
Just tried this recipe at this evening for our dinner. So amazing this soup very delicious, my husband keep asking me , do u add any seasoning on this soup. And I told him just add 2 tsp fish sauce that all. His cannot believe cause taste so good. Thank you for your sharing , I highly recommend it . ^o^
” my husband keep asking me , do u add any seasoning on this soup. ” haha! I’m happy for you, Ann!
I’ve made the stew three times already, and I’m slowly perfecting it down to the way I’d like it. It’s amazing how powerful fish sauce is in terms of adding flavor. I tasted the stew before and after adding the fish sauce, and it was a world of difference. So I was wondering, what else more can you make with the fish stock? I noticed that you use it for making ddukbokie too.
I just tried this recipe at home yesterday. Very delicious. I highly recommend it :)
great!
I had this at a Korean restaurant last night – your recipe is much more flavoursome! I am glad I had tried this at home first! I know I will never go wrong using your recipes Maangchi – thanks!
I’m glad to hear that! Now you can judge restaurant food! ooh whoo!
Thank you for posting these recipes! I live in Korea and love the food here, but I had no idea how to cook it before. Everything I’ve tried so far has turned out delicious!
good news! You won’t have any problems finding ingredients because you are living in Korea now.
I would try it out because you can’t find Korean hot pepper flakes in your area, but check this out please, my readers have already talked about this topic. https://www.maangchi.com/talk/topic/chili-powder-versus-red-pepper-powder-or-flakes
Quick question, because where I live, it is very difficult to get Korean red pepper powder, if I were to change that to Paprika powder added with Indonesian Chilli powder, will that work? Thanks.
This blog is awesome!!! i love it so much! <3 Thanks!!!
Hey as i am Indonesian, i know there is no chilli powder in Indonesia! =( you can use a usual paprika powder. i found it same actually.
there is chili powder in Indonesia. The chili powder you can find in local market or supermarket, Chili-paprika powder (the Butterfly company or koepoe-koepoe (kupu-kupu) in indonesian language) which i usually used it when my hot pepper flakes run out, and paprika powder. i made spicy stir fry squid using chili-paprika powder and turn to be very spicy, so be careful, That chili-paprika is spicier than gochugaru. the taste is slightly different than gochugaru but u can still use it if you run out of gochugaru. i always spare my weekend to go to Korean grocery market. You can find Korean Supermarket around your place here: https://www.maangchi.com/shopping/indonesia
Happy Cooking~
hello!
i don’t like kimchi itself but i love it in stews! i understand that it’s tastier to use mature kimchi for stews, so was wondering how wld i know if bottled kimchi from the supermarket is fresh or mature? thanks!
You can’t know if the kimchi is fermented or not unless you open the jar to taste it. But it and if it’s not fermented yet, keep it at room temperature (outside of the fridge) for a day or 2 days. You are living in warm area, so I think fermenting fresh kimchi won’t take long.
Dear Maangchi,
We did it, thanks to you!!!
Check out our photos.
Hope you’re proud of us!
Love,
Nick & Trish
Nich & Trish,
It looks very delicious! I will twit about it now.
Hi,
I made this soup and the broth came out delicious. I then added the red pepper powder and it didn’t seem to dissolve in the broth and most of the flakes sank to the bottom. Any ideas? I used red pepper paste yesterday instead and the taste wasn’t the same as the powder – the paste seem to have a bit of a sour taste. Any ideas? Thanks – Your site is great.
You can use red pepper sauce but make sure that vinegar or citric acid is not one of the ingredients.
Hi Maangchi!
I love your recipes! I plan on making this for lunch tomorrow, and was wondering if I can substitute red pepper powder with gochujang, as I dont have the red pepper powder. Thanks in advance!
Do you know any substitutions I could use for the ingredients to make the stock to make a vegetarian soondubu (ie. the fish sauce and anchovies)?
Your recipe makes me addicted to tofu stew (>.<) No ker idding! :D
I wonder what I can do with the left over stock?
i didn’t have kelp on hand , would it still work okay to make the broth without it ??? really want to try making this for lunch !!
Just made this and added some vege too, very good base recipe!
http://singlishswenglish.blogspot.com/2011/01/hot-and-spicy-korean-beef-and-tofu-stew.html
Your soondubu jjigae looks wonderful! Thank you for sharing the photo with me and my other readers!
Maanchi,
I tried this dish today, I have a question about the broth…in the restaurants, the broth is a bit thicker, I don’t know what makes the difference in the thickness of the broth ? :(
Thanks!
Jen
Add more soft tofu to the stew then.
Hi Maangchi!
My wife and I are Thai and we’re learning to cook Korean dish from your recipes :) Today we made Soondubu with kimchi and beef. So good! I would never have known about putting fish sauce in the dish!
Here are the pics: http://chatreez.posterous.com/first-time-making-soondubu-success-thanks-maa
Thank you!
Chatree
wow, your soondubu jjigae looks very delicious! You used kimchi and beef. Terrific!
email me the photo to share with more people if you want. [email protected]
Happy cooking!
This was the first recipe I made in my stone bowl after seasoning it! It was so, so good. I love the texture of the soondubu, and I will use it again in other stews, too. I did not use beef, but added more dried shitake mushrooms to the broth. When I first tasted it, I was very surprised by just how good it was.
My stone bowl kept the soup hot for almost an entire hour. I was using an electric stove (non-induction) so there was some heat left there to help, but it was still amazing how hot it was after so long!
Thank you, Maangchi, for another awesome recipe!
I feel you are going to use your stone bowl often! : ) You can make doenjang jjigae with the stone bowl, too. https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/tofu-stew-doenjang-chigae
OMG, this looks so mouthwater! am going to try this tonight…Maangchi, what is the serving size for this recipe?
This is for 2. I hope you enjoyed it a lot! ; )
I just made this today – sooo good! Just like at the restaurant. Healthy, delicious, and perfect for the coldest day we’ve had so far this winter : )
Cheers! I’m glad to hear about your successful Korean cooking!
I am trying out this recipe today, so hopefully it will taste good. Definitely looks good on your you tube video maangchi!
ho ho ho, hope it turned out delicious!
Thanks for this amazing recipe! Ever since I had soondubu jjigae for the very first time about two months ago, I’ve been looking for a good recipe to try making it myself. Your recipe was easy to follow and the results were delicious! I can’t wait to try more of your recipes. =)
awesome! Good luck with making delicious Korean dishes!
Hi Maangchi, thank you so much for this recipe! I made it for a cooking competition between friends. It was SO yummy!!
I’ve added a link about this website to my blog http://miniwei.wordpress.com/
thanks again! can’t wait to try out more recipes~
Congratulations! You guys look very serious while cooking! Your trophy is a pepper shaker! What a great and practical idea for a prize! http://miniwei.wordpress.com/2010/11/30/the-2nd-classy-chefs-competition-2010/
ahh Maangchi,
I got a craving for your Soondubu recipe again, I am currently making the stock and patiently waiting for a delicious lunch!
Much love and keep updating your wonderful site & recipes!
Jonathan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLH6Qwed6i8
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeQB8LZiLQQ
all cause of you Maangchi!
Quick question, how long does your stock store for in the fridge/freezer?