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.
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)
- 8 large dried anchovies, heads and guts removed
- 5 ounces of radish, peeled, washed, and sliced thinly
- dried kelp (6 x 4 inch piece)
- 2 tablespoons Korean hot pepper flakes (gochugaru)
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- ½ cup pork belly (or any cut of pork: 2.5 ounces), cut into small pieces
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1 green onion, chopped
- ½ cup well-fermented kimchi (4 ounces), chopped
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 tube of soft tofu (sundubu)
- 1 egg
Directions
Make anchovy kelp stock (myeolchi dasima yuksu):
- 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.
- Reduce the heat to low and boil another 20 minutes
- Remove from the heat and strain. It will make about 2 cups of stock.
Make the spicy paste:
- Combine the hot pepper flakes and the sesame oil in a small bowl and mix well.
Put it all together:
- 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.
- Add the vegetable oil, onion, and garlic. Stir it with a wooden spoon for 1 minute.
- Add the pork. Stir for 3 minutes until the pork is no longer pink.
- Add kimchi and keep stirring for a minute. Add ½ cup anchovy stock. Cover and cook for 7 minutes over medium heat.
- Add the salt and the sugar and mix well.
- 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.
- Put the hot pepper mixture on top and spread it with the spoon.
- Crack the egg and put it on top, in the center of the stew. Let it bubble and sizzle for 1 minute.
Serve:
- Sprinkle with the chopped green onion and serve with rice and a few more side dishes.
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My kimchi sundubu jjigae! Yum yum..cant stop eating…
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Yum!
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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Mouthwatering!
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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Yes, it looks so good! Congratulations!
Delicious!! I made it with homemade kimchi from your recipe. My stomach feels so happy (and so full…)
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Made it using your recipe. Your recipe is so easy to follow and they are all so delicious! Thank you.
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Hi Maangchi, thank you for the recipe! Is it possible to make this with vegetable broth instead?
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.
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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Yay, Now you can make this stew at home. Congratulations!
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!
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!
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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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!
Hello Maangchi!
I want to thank you so much for your delicious recipes and videos. Very well made , informative and entertaining! You’re so cute! My daughter and I are now inspired to make yummy authentic Korean recipes . The Sundubu-jjigae is my all time favorite meal, and your recipe is by far the best. I have attached a photo of my attempt at making the delicious meal. I used fresh clams instead of pork. YUMMM, thank you again :)
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I made this last night and it was great! I subbed the pork for King oyster mushroom, cut very small and browned with oil for a long time until very brown and crispy. I always use this to replace pork in any dish.
I left out the egg also, and used Indian Black Salt. It smells a bit like sulphur and worked really well to replace the egg.
I also used the vegetarian broth from here and added little chunks of Korean radish to replace the cube and chunk texture of the pork.
Lastly, I threw some enoki mushrooms on top near the end.
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Finished product used the last of my precious veggie broth. All the rest was used on potato dumpling soup and veggie kimchi paste!
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I bought a big bucket of kimchi at the new Hmart that opened down the block (yay!) and it was unexpectedly super sour and fizzy tasting. I guess they didn’t refrigerate it enough and it fermented early. It’s too strong for kimchi pancakes, but it’s just perfect for this recipe with just a little extra sugar! Seafood sundubu-jiggae has been my favorite, but this one is really magical too. I think these two dishes are the peak of Korean cuisine for me so far and I don’t know which I like better..
I’m going to have quit being lazy and make my own Maangchi kimchi again, it’s so much better than store bought.
Yup! Homemade kimchi is the best!
Hello,
I made authentic soon dobu for the first time and it turned out really great! I have made kinda soon dubu many times before without knowing how korean people actually made it and I have to admit, comparing to yours, my recipe wasn’t that good at all! It’s a bit different from your original recipe as I added many tiny clams, more green onion leaves and mushrooms, but I can see your recipe is just amazing.
I thought I should save the half of it for tomorrow, having a spoon of the soup, and I ended up to finish all of the big potful… I will definitely make soon dubu tomorrow, again.
Now I realise that I need to make my own kimchee for soon dobu near future.
Thank you so much for the great recipe!
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I love sundubu-jjigae and have always thought that it is difficult to make until I found your video. It flopped once based on a recipe from a random cookbook. However, I am successful this time! Thanks for the demo and tips, Maangchi!
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Congratulations! It looks very delicious!
My version
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Maangchi~!♡♡ I made this successfully last night and my hubby love this so much~! Thank u for recipes!
I have been meaning to post a picture for quite a while now. I started making this recipe about 2 and a half ago. It was one of the first recipes I made of Korean food and now I am in love with Korean food and cook it all the time. Thank you for being such a great Korean cook and Korean cooking teacher. I watch all your videos and have all your books. I would love to meet you one day. Do you ever do appearances or book signings at New York bookstores?
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It looks very tasty! I’d like to meet you someday, too!
This was absolutely the best soon dubu I have ever had. It is -21 degrees – that’s air temp – and -55 windchill here in Chicago right now and I decided that the only acceptable meal to eat on a day like this is Maangchi’s soon dubu jigae. Can you see the steam? I subbed mushrooms for the pork belly and it was delightful. I actually almost sweat a little! Thank you Maangchi!
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I made this recipe last night and i know that it won’t be long untill i do it again!! The taste is amazingly complex and addictive. Sour, sweet, spicy, hot hot hot. I love it
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Yes, it looks so good! I haven’t made my sundubu-jjigae for a while, and your picture makes my mouth water! I’m encouraged by my readers like you. : ) Happy cooking!
I’m almost blushing as I read your answer :) I really take fun and pleasure in cooking your Korean recipes. More to come. Thank you Maangchi !
Tried this today. Used lean pork leg instead of pork belly. I like it!
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Not only the stew looks so tasty but the rice is well made! You don’t need anything else to finish the meal. Great photo, too!
So yummy!!!!!! Definitely will make again.
Hi Maangchi,
I’m in love with this dish. Last time when I went to Seoul my friend’s mother made this dish. I wanted to cook this dish here in Sri Lanka. And I found your blog when I was searching the recipe. couldn’t find the Kimchi and Soft Tofu though here in Sri Lanka. Yet I have tried with the Tofu available in the local market. It’s delicious.
Thank you for this recipe.
Anusha from Sri Lanka
WOW !! Awesome recipe!!
I even bought a Korean pot for it!:
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My favorite Korean dish. Pork belly tends to be tough and chewy so I use ground pork instead. Anchovy stock is a must. I don’t like to add shitake because I don’t like the texture of boiled mushrooms. And I can’t imagine this dish without very sour kimchi. Can’t find tofu in a tube but I have learned that soft tofu works best (not silken).
I can’t stop making sundubujjigae! It’s so addictive and delicious and comforting. I use not only pork belly, but I also add some shrimps at the end, really deepens the flavor. I crave it all the time…
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This sounds like a great idea! I’m going to try that next time I make it :)
Hello! So excited to make this :) what size pot did you use for this recipe? Thank you!
Once I found this recipe, it took me over 3 months to find all the ingredients I needed to make it. It was certainly worth all the effort. I have made it twice in the last week and can’t wait to eat it again!! Thank you for such an amazing recipe!!
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Maangchi – when I lived in South Korea my husband and I used to go to a restaurant in Jinju where our favourite meal was Soondubu-jjigae, but it was always served it as plain soft tofu soup and then brought out different accompaniments that we could add to our soup for flavour. However when I search the internet, all recipes for soondubu-jjigae are spicy! Is this how it is normally served in restaurants? Perhaps Jinju makes their soup differently!
Hi, I’m so glad my niece introduced me to your channel. A couple of weeks ago, for my first ever experience at cooking a Korean dish, I made this spicy soft tofu stew. It was fantastic! I also made your bok choy seasoned with fermented soybean paste.
I’m now excited to try cooking more Korean meals. Thanks Maangchi!
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Hi Maangchi,
Tried my hand at your sundubu jjigae recipe! It was delicious!!
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It looks fantastic!
I’ve been sick and my best friend was so worried about me. When I was recovered enough I made him this soup which he likes very much in our watershed modeling lab at KSU with portable burner. I gave him your recipe and website as well. He took a picture of his meal and sent it to me. And now it is here :-)
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It looks amazing! What a colorful and delicious Korean table setting it is! Impressed!
First time cooking sundubu-jjigae! Me and my husband loved the recipe! It was delicious and I loved cooking in the earthenware bowls!
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Congratulations! Your tofu stew looks so delicious. Fresh egg on top and sprinkled chopped green onion are laid like artwork! Happy cooking!
Maangchi, thank you for the video and recipe. I made this last night and it was a hit for the whole family. Here in the DC area there is a tofu soup restaurant called “Lighthouse” (actually there are a few locations), and I was trying to make what i get there at home. Your recipe and method were spot on. Thanks again, i really like this and will make it again. -Doug
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Hi Doug, It’s 5:00 am here in New York. Your tofu stew photo makes my mouth water! : )
Thank you Maangchi for this delicious and addictive Korean Sundubu-Jjigae recipe!
I was traveling over an hour every week to a restaurant to get my Sundubu fix. I went the the local H-Mart, stocked up on my goodies and now I can make it at home. I varied my recipe by one ingredient and used beef this time instead of pork. My next challenge is Korean Fried Chicken, another of my addictions!
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Your sundubu-jjigae looks very tasty! I love the clean presentation in the photo, too!
Thank you.
I love this recipe. Sometimes I make it with minced pork, other times with clams. And I usually add some shiitake mushroom because it makes the stew so savoury. The egg is the best part – I even put in 2 eggs for myself sometimes! Haha…