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!
enne says
big THANKZ for tis original ver of e recipe!! lookin for korean spicy soup/stew tat is ez n fast to cook n jus found tis today~ prev, i only able to find e other variations wh was to added seafood but due to i kind of allergy to them, so was never able to try..
btw cooked for dinner jus now n i only omit e saewoojeot/fermented shrimp as it is not avail but add 1 egg n fresh mushrooms instead.
damn yummy!! – but dunno y e oringinal ver remind mi of Singapore chilli crab paste..
JinJoo says
So glad you found my soft tofu stew yummy! Sure, you can omit the fermented shrimp and use some fish sauce instead. Thanks for stopping by!
Boko says
How do you make the soup thicker? I’ve noticed restaurants like BCD in Los Angeles makes their broth thicker and I have no idea how they do that. When I make it, my soup always seems thin, nothing close to how BCD makes their soup.
JinJoo says
I know what you mean by how some restaurant broth is thicker – honestly, I’m not totally sure but my guess is that they prob. make some powder mix of dried shrimp, dried anchovies and dried sea kelp and add that in. You can also prob. add some onion and garlic powder to the mix. Good luck!
Cam says
I made your soondubu jigae today for dinner and it was so good.I love that it’s not burn-your-tongue spicy, but had just the right amount of heat for those who can’t eat anything too hot. That gochu yangnyum is awesome! I think I can eat just that and rice mixed together. I bought guk kanjang and it really does have a different flavor! Guk kanjang is more intense, whereas jin kanjang tastes sweeter and less salty. Thank you and your unnie for this recipe.
JinJoo says
So happy to hear that you liked it!! I know.. I am just like you – I can’t handle foods that are too spicy and I feel like after a while you can’t really taste any other flavor once your tongue becomes numb from the spiciness. Yup – and I love how the gochu yangnyum stays fresh in the fridge for weeks! Enjoy and thanks for your comments!
Tony says
This is a fantastic recipe for soondubu jigae! Thank you so much for sharing.
JinJoo says
Thank YOU for your feedback! Enjoy!
Madihah says
Is it okay if I substitute the chili powder with fresh chili mashed/blended into a paste? I can’t seem to find chili powder in my neighborhood. Thanks for the great recipe, I’ve had it once and have been wanting for more since then =)
JinJoo says
I don’t see why not. It may not have the same exact flavor but its worth a try. You can also try using red pepper chili flakes (the ones you sprinkle on pizzas) – i think that may be pretty close. Love to hear how it turned out!
Ting Chen says
Ooh, I did that once. I would not recommend it unless you like things extra spicy. Those chili flakes you get for pizzas are primarily the seeds whereas chili powders are the whole roasted & dried pepper. You get more flavor and less heat from the powder. Vice versa for the pepper flakes.
Also, I think the roasting/drying process of Korean red chili powder is different from western versions. It will have a different taste and color (western ones are smokier tasting, I think, and less vibrant red) if you don’t use the Korean version.
JinJoo says
You are absolutely correct! The seeds really do add extra hotness without much flavor. Korean chilis are sun-dried and then just made into powder so it really does not have any smokiness. Thanks so much for adding your experience and knowledge!