Sundubu Jjigae or Soft Tofu Stew recipe that is so easy to make and so delicious that my husband told me it’s almost as good, if not better than the ones at the restaurant! I would have never imagined that Sundubu Jjigae would become so popular with non-Koreans. I always thought that it was unfortunate how Tofu got such a bad wrap for being a healthy but bad tasting food. I wanted to tell those people that it’s because you just don’t know how to make good tofu and cook it in a tasty way. Anyway, I was so surprised to see Sundubu (Soft Tofu) Jjigae as the most requested dish from my readers in my recent survey of “What should I cook next?” And this wasn’t even in my list of choices! Well, I should have known…
For several years after the first Tofu restaurant opened in our neighborhood, my husband could not go a week without having this Jjigae. Many times, when we were discussing where to go out to dinner, my daughter and I ended up arguing with my husband.. “NO!!! Not the tofu house again!!!” Sometimes my husband would buy my daughter a Happy Meal to eat at the restaurant just so he could go to have his fix. The owner was always so understanding.. Over the years, as you can imagine, she has learned to enjoy it too – probably not as much as her dad..
If you have been to a Korean tofu restaurant, you probably have seen all the different variations of Sundubu Jjigae – plain or original (which is usually just tofu alone), beef, pork, seafood, combination of meat and Kimchi.. the list goes on and on. But in order to really experience the authentic taste, you first need to find a recipe where just the tofu alone will taste good enough. Once you have the basic recipe figured out, then you can easily add any ingredients and they will naturally enhance the flavor even further.
Sundubu Jjigae (Soft Tofu Stew)
Time: 7 min Yields: 3 Tbs of sauce
Ingredients for Sundubu Jjigae Yangnyeom (양념)
- 2 T + 1 tsp of Korean red chili powder (고추가루 gochugaru)
- 1 T soy sauce
- 1 T minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp oyster sauce (굴쏘스)
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 T mirin or sake
- 2 T vegetable oil
- pinch of black pepper
Yangnyeom usually means “seasoning or spices” in Korean but it can also mean condiment or sauce. Sauce is probably the most accurate translation in this case. This yields about 3 T of hot sauce, enough to make 3-4 batches of Sundubu jjigae. You can keep any leftover sauce in the fridge for several weeks.
Directions
1. Mix all the dry and wet ingredients in a bowl except for the oil. The picture below shows the chili sauce after it’s all mixed together.
2. Heat oil in a sauce pot on medium high heat. Add gochu yangnyeom (chili sauce) into pot and stir regularly to prevent the mixture from burning. Stirring will also make sure the oil gets mixed in completely with the chili powder mix. Stir for 3 to 4 minutes until the sauce looks like below. Set aside.
Ingredients for Sundubu Jjigae
- 1 pack (11 oz) of extra soft tofu (순두부 Soondubu)
- 1 T gochu yangnyeom for sundubu jjigae (prepared chili sauce above)
- 1/2 C water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp guk kanjang (국간장 korean soy sauce for soup) – see Know your Soy Sauce
- 1/2 tsp minced saewoojeot (새우젓) – fermented shrimp
- 1 tsp fish sauce (멸치젓 myulchijeot) – fermented anchovy sauce
- 1 T chopped green onions
- 1 egg (optional)
Directions
1. Open soft tofu pack and add to the clay pot (if you have one. if you don’t, you can use a small pot instead). Add enough water (about 1/2 C) to fully cover the tofu. Break up tofu into smaller pieces with a spoon.
Oops.. the expiration date says April 1st…But since the package has not been opened, I decided to open it and taste it. It was still good! So I just went ahead and used it. Nobody got sick so no worries… 🙂 By the way, how can you tell if a tofu is still fresh enough to eat? First smell it, fresh tofu will almost smell like nothing but spoiled tofu will smell a little sour. Opened tofu packages spoil pretty quickly (within a few days) so use it up quickly and always smell and closely examine package tofu before you use it. Firm tofu that is packaged with water will turn yellow around the edges and also start to feel slimy if it has gone bad.
2. Stir 1 T of the gochu yangnyeom (chili sauce) to the pot. Add additional salt, guk kanjang, saewoojeot and fish sauce to really complete the flavor. Start cooking the jjigae on medium high heat and once it starts to boil, turn heat to low. Let it simmer for 7-10 minutes. Take it off the heat and bring it to the table. Add green onions and crack one egg and drop it into the pot while it’s still bubbling. Depending on your personal taste, you can break up the egg to have it cooked completely or let the egg stay whole in the jjigae if you enjoy eating soft boiled eggs. This is how my husband likes to eat his egg and it is certainly a treat to have a soft boiled egg surprise in your jjigae.
Spicy Soft Tofu Stew (순두부찌게 Sundubu Jjigae)
Ingredients
Ingredients for Sundubu Jjigae Yangnyeom - Makes 3 Tbs of Sauce - Only 1 Tbs needed here
- 18 g Korean red chili powder (고추가루 gochugaru, 1 tsp = 3g)
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp oyster sauce (굴쏘스)
- 1/4 tsp Sea Salt (Trader Joe's)
- 1 Tbsp mirin or sake
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 pinch black pepper
Ingredients for Sundubu Jjigae
- 11 oz extra soft tofu (순두부 sundubu) (1 pack = 11 oz)
- 1 Tbsp gochu yangnyeom for sundubu jjigae (prepared chili sauce above)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp guk kanjang (국간장 korean soy sauce for soup – see Know your Soy Sauce)
- 1/2 tsp minced saewoojeot (새우젓 – fermented shrimp)
- 1 tsp fish sauce (멸치젓 myulchijeot – fermented anchovy sauce)
- 1 Tbsp chopped green onions
- 1 egg (optional)
Instructions
How to make Chili Seasoning Sauce (Gochu Yangnyeom)
- Mix all the dry and wet ingredients in a bowl except for the oil.
- Heat oil in a sauce pot on medium high heat. Add gochu yangnyeom (chili sauce) into pot and stir regularly to prevent the mixture from burning. Stir for 3 to 4 minutes until the sauce looks like below. Set aside.
Making Sundubu Jjigae (Soft Tofu Stew)
- Open soft tofu pack and add to the clay pot (if you have one. if you don’t, you can use a small pot instead). Add enough water (about 1/2 C) to fully cover tofu. Break up tofu with a spoon, into smaller pieces.
- Stir 1 Tbs of the gochu yangnyeom (chili sauce) to pot. Add additional salt, guk kanjang, saewoojeot and fish sauce.
- Start cooking jjigae on medium high heat and once it starts to boil, turn heat to low. Let it simmer for 7-10 minutes.
- Take it off heat and bring it to the table. Add green onions and crack one egg and drop it into pot while it’s still bubbling.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Variations
- kimchi flavor – add about 3-4 T of chopped kimchi with the tofu. Adjust the salt and soy sauce and other fish sauces since kimchi is quite salty. Here is a link to my Kimchi Sundubu Jjigae post.
- meat flavor – add about 3 T of sliced beef (stew meat) or sliced pork (shoulder) with the tofu. Cook a little bit longer to make sure all the meat is fully cooked.
- seafood flavor – add any combination of fresh shrimp, clams, fish egg or oysters with the tofu.
- mushroom flavor – add a handful of sliced shitake, white or oyster mushrooms
- combination – add any combination of the above ingredients and it will all taste good! Just remember to add the seasonings in incremental amounts to make sure it does not become too salty.
Also a great recipe for college students or singles to have because once you have the yangnyeom made, the rest is so easy and quick that it would take no time and very few ingredients to make it. So I hope you enjoy this wonderful gluten free, meatless, low fat, high protein dish that’s both delicious and filling. Also, please try the different variations and find your own favorite combination. Would love to hear what your favorites are!!!
For college students
Recently, when I visited my daughter at her school, I made a batch of the gochu yangnyum (3T) + fish sauce(3 t) + gook kanjang (2 T) + salt (1 1/2 t) and also bought her few packets of the sundubu. She was able to make the sundubu jjigae with just the yangnyeom at her dorm and she said it came out great. I think she said she increased the amount of the yangnyeom a bit since there was no other ingredients to add. So kids, the next time you visit home, make a batch of the yangnyeom and bring it back with you to your dorm!
EumEum says
Thanks! I just made this and it was the best jjigae I’ve ever made. Finally something that tastes like the restaurant. Just a couple questions, is the oyster sauce the same or different from Chinese oyster sauce? And how long can the saewoojeot keep for? I have a really old unopened jar in the fridge (maybe 2+ years) – should I throw it out? I bought a new jar because I wasn’t sure if it was still good.
Do you have a recipe for doenjang jjigae also?
Thanks! I just found this blog and really appreciate the detailed explanations!
JinJoo says
Thank you so much! So glad you liked the recipe. The oyster sauce is basically the same as the Chinese version so you can use whatever you have. Saewoojeot was a way for Koreans to preserve the shrimps when there was refrigeration available. In the fridge, it should keep for 2-3 years but you will notice that it will become more liquid which is actually then called Saewooaekjeot. “aek” means liquid. The top layer may have turned a more yellowish color and I usually scrape this layer off before I use it. If you want to keep it fresh longer, just freeze it. Because of the high salt content, it will not really freeze which means you don’t have to defrost before you use it. Good luck!
Judith Haemmerle says
I’ve made 순두부찌게 from several recipes, but this is the best. The 양념 is fabulous. I had all the ingredients (even the right soy sauce, and the 멸치젓 which I use when making kimchi). I added about a dozen frozen shrimp at the end. It’s embarrassing to admit, but I ate the whole bowl by myself, it was so good!
JinJoo says
I know.. I have tried making 순두부찌게 several ways too, I even tried some of those instant 양념 that you buy from the store. But it just did not do it for me. So happy to hear that you like it. Shrimp sounds yummy. I will have to try that myself. Thanks so much!
virtuos and beautiful says
Thank you so much! I was going to request if you could do the recipe for 순두부, but decided to look at your archive before asking, and it was there! I love 순두부 찌게, and I have been wanting to learn how to cook it.
What I love about this dish is all the side dishes that comes with it as well.
JinJoo says
Yes, me too…I love having having side dishes that are sweet and tangy (like cucumbers in vinegar) or non-spicy dishes like kongnamul or sookju namul (bean sprouts). I should post those sometime…thanks!
kpop1love3 says
Hi,
I am very curious to know if I can use firm tofu? My Korean grandmother uses either firm or soft but I am often seeing her use firm. Just wondering….can’t wait to try the recipe ^_^
JinJoo says
Hi,
Sure, you can use firm tofu. It will just have a more chewy texture than the silky, soft tofu. Every brand’s firm tofu is different anyway so go ahead and use it – especially if you like what your grandmother makes. I would advise against using extra firm tofu because that’s really a bit too firm to make a tofu jjigae (in my opinion). Love to hear how it turns out for you!
meemster says
Hi there, I’ve been scouring the internet looking for a recipe for spicy tofu soup! I’m Chinese but I love jigae and I don’t want to use any of the recipes on sites like epicurious or allrecipes because I wanted a real Korean recipe by a real Korean person! I have a few questions:
– for “red chili powder” do you know if i can use Korean spicy chili paste instead, or even Indian red chili powder?
– for “guk kanjang” can I use regular Kikkoman soy sauce OR Chinese Dark soy sauce (thicker consistency and more concentrated) — if not can you recommend a brand or post a picture of the bottle?
– is “saewoojeot” absolutely necessary? will just the fish sauce do (I have fish sauce)
Thanks so much!
Mimi
JinJoo says
Hi Mimi! I’m so glad that you found my site and I love that you are asking these wonderful questions –
for red chili powder: using spicy chili paste but it will make the jjigae thicker and heavier in taste. it won’t taste bad but just not what it’s supposed to taste like. I’m not too familiar with Inidan red chili powder but as long as it is pure chili powder (and no other spices added), it should work ok. Korean red chilis do have a sweetness to them that’s not always present in other chilis but you can certainly give it a try. perhaps you can use a combination of Indian red chili powder and red pepper flakes if you don’t have the Korean version.
for guk kanjang : I do have a picture posted in my “K ingredients” section. guk kanjang is recommended but not absolutely necessary. Kikkoman soy sauce should work fine, it will just not have the unique Korean flavor guk kanjang has. You can probably compensate it by adding more fish sauce.
saewoojot is not absolutely necessary. you can certainly use just fish sauce.
I know not everyone has access to these Korean ingredients so I would love to hear how you managed with these changes to the recipe. Please add soy sauce and fish sauce incrementally, tasting in between. Good luck!