Spicy soft tofu stew with kimchi and pork belly

Kimchi-sundubu-jjigae 김치순두부찌개

It’s about time for some sizzling, comforting stew, isn’t it? How about sundubu-jjigae? It’s hot, spicy, filling, comforting, delicious, soft tofu stew and has many reasons to be one of the most popular items in Korean restaurants.

I made a video and recipe for sundubu-jjigae seven years ago (!) and it’s been watched over a million times on YouTube (!!). So it was about time for an HD remake and a variation on the recipe, too. That recipe was for seafood sundubu-jjigae, which is my favorite, but since then I’ve learned that kimchi-sundubu-jjigae is more popular. This recipe is is for that version, it’s sundubu-jjigae made with kimchi and pork belly, really hard to go wrong with this dish. Whichever one you choose, you won’t be disappointed. Both are delicious, spicy, and savory, much better than anything you can order at a restaurant.

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This recipe serves 1 or two people, but you can double or triple the recipe for more people, and use a large stainless steel or cast iron pot for the cooking. If you want to serve everyone in a ttukbaegi then you’ll need to cook them on multiple burners, just like a restaurant!

Enjoy my recipe, and let me know if you make this! Take a photo and send it to me!

Ingredients (Serves 1 or 2)

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Directions

Make anchovy kelp stock (myeolchi dasima yuksu):

  1. Put dried anchovies, radish, dried kelp, and 4 cups of water in a pot. Cover and boil over medium high heat for 10 minutes until it starts boiling.
  2. Reduce the heat to low and boil another 20 minutes
  3. Remove from the heat and strain. It will make about 2 cups of stock.
    sundubu jjigae -anchovy stocksundubu jjigae-stock

Make the spicy paste:

  1. Combine the hot pepper flakes and the sesame oil in a small bowl and mix well.

ingredients-tofu-stew
Put it all together:

  1. Heat up a 3 cup earthenware pot (ttukbaegi) on the stove over medium high heat for about 3 to 4 minutes. If you use a small heavy pan or pot, it will take less.
  2. Add the vegetable oil, onion, and garlic. Stir it with a wooden spoon for 1 minute.
    sundubu jjigae (순두부찌개)
  3. Add the pork. Stir for 3 minutes until the pork is no longer pink.
    sundubu-jjigae (spicy soft tofu stew: 순두부찌개)
  4. Add kimchi and keep stirring for a minute. Add ½ cup anchovy stock. Cover and cook for 7 minutes over medium heat.
  5. Add the salt and the sugar and mix well.
  6. Cut the tube of soft tofu into half and squeeze it out into the pot. Gently break up the tofu with a wooden spoon. If you want, add a few tablespoons of stock.
  7. Put the hot pepper mixture on top and spread it with the spoon.
    sundubu-jjigae (순두부찌개: Korean spicy soft tofu stew)sundubu jjigae (순두부찌개)
  8. Crack the egg and put it on top, in the center of the stew. Let it bubble and sizzle for 1 minute.

Serve:

  1. Sprinkle with the chopped green onion and serve with rice and a few more side dishes.

sundubu-jjigae (순두부찌개: Korean spicy soft tofu stew)

Posted on Monday, January 26th, 2015 at 12:46 pm. Last updated on August 14, 2021.
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118 Comments:

  1. MaangchiLove Montreal, Toronto joined 8/19 & has 39 comments
    Posted April 14th, 2021 at 1:26 pm | or create a profile.

    Made it! Thank you, Maangchi~! :D


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  2. Jang-geum Charlotte, NC joined 9/20 & has 9 comments
    Posted October 19th, 2020 at 10:04 pm | or create a profile.

    My kimchi sundubu jjigae! Yum yum..cant stop eating…


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  3. lemons Chicago, IL, USA joined 3/20 & has 5 comments
    Posted October 15th, 2020 at 7:03 pm | or create a profile.

    Thank you so much for the recipe, Maangchi! I made this for the very first time today – I used half cabbage kimchi and half homemade buchu-kimchi from your other recipes. :) It turned out so rich and so delicious!


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  4. Jennypurr23 Philippines joined 9/20 & has 1 comment
    Posted September 8th, 2020 at 10:36 am | or create a profile.

    Made it with the traditional kimchi I made from another one of your recipes and this is just divine! This is my fave Korean food so far and your recipe did not disappoint. Thank you so much Maachi!


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  5. helenj London joined 5/20 & has 2 comments
    Posted August 2nd, 2020 at 9:06 am | or create a profile.

    Delicious!! I made it with homemade kimchi from your recipe. My stomach feels so happy (and so full…)


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  6. Jez Singapore joined 7/20 & has 2 comments
    Posted July 23rd, 2020 at 1:07 am | or create a profile.

    Made it using your recipe. Your recipe is so easy to follow and they are all so delicious! Thank you.


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  7. subhi Canada joined 6/20 & has 1 comment
    Posted June 20th, 2020 at 2:45 am | or create a profile.

    Hi Maangchi, thank you for the recipe! Is it possible to make this with vegetable broth instead?

    • GodaiNoBaka Maryland joined 7/18 & has 3 comments
      Posted May 8th, 2021 at 8:15 pm | or create a profile.

      I have made it using mushroom stock, and while it is not the same as with fish stock, it isn’t bad. I know people who use vegetable stock as well, but to me, it changes the character of the dish too much. It’s missing a lot of the umami that fish or mushroom stock provides.

  8. Peline Singapore joined 6/20 & has 1 comment
    Posted June 16th, 2020 at 7:49 am | or create a profile.

    Thank you Maangchi for the recipe, I have always order this when i go to Korean restaurant, and finally i made it with the earthen pot and metal rice bowl. Super delicious, it’s going to be one of my regular now. Kamsahamida !


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  9. piperjohn3 NYC joined 12/11 & has 10 comments
    Posted May 17th, 2020 at 8:36 pm | or create a profile.

    Today was the first day I felt my sense of smell and taste were really back completely after recovering from (mild) COVID-19 three weeks ago. So masked up, rode a bike downtown, bought fresh radish and scallions, and made this with extra fermented kimchi and berkshire pork belly.

    It was a nuclear flavor explosion just like I remembered.

    I am happier than I’ve been in weeks. I had really been missing an important dimension of my life. Thank you Maangchi for teaching me how to make kimchi sundubu-jiggae. Tomorrow–seafood!

  10. turkie33 chicago joined 4/20 & has 1 comment
    Posted April 30th, 2020 at 12:46 am | or create a profile.

    I saw that you made 2 side dishes when I originally saw the video on youtube. A bean sprout one and a bok choy one. Do you have recipes on here for those?

    I made your kimchi since had i bought fermenting jars and it turned out excellent! Now i’m finding recipes from you to use my kimchi, and I want to make the sides along with!

  11. BabyJelly Switzerland joined 4/20 & has 1 comment
    Posted April 22nd, 2020 at 12:58 pm | or create a profile.

    I recently made this for my family and it was delicious. I skipped the kimchi because I did not have any left, yet it still turned out fine. I did not know if you are supposed to put rice in it or add it on top of rice so I just went with the former.

    In order to make this I made a huge batch of anchovy stock so that I could use it for other dishes later on as well. I even re-used some of the stock ingredients following the recipes in Maangchi’s second book. It all turned out super yummy and my family really enjoyed the meal. I also made a salad just because my family and I usually have some kind of salad with our meal and it worked surprisingly well even though the recipe was not Korean hahaha.

    I thought I would share some pictures (keep in mind I am by no means a chef! I just really love cooking in my free time ^-^)

    Thank you so much for your great recipes Maangchi! <3


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    • Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,049 comments
      Posted April 22nd, 2020 at 3:24 pm | or create a profile.

      Reading your message, I’m sure you have been getting into Korean food for a while!
      “I made a huge batch of anchovy stock so that I could use it for other dishes later on as well.” That’s what I do, too! I freeze the stock and use it when I need it. https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/chaeso-gukmul
      Regarding spicy soft tofu stew (sundubu jjigae), it will be delicious as long as the broth is delicious. Happy cooking!

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