Sundubu Jjigae! One of my favorite korean dish, the soft tofu spicy stew. It's perfect for a cold or rainy day. I've made this dozen times since i really love it and it's actually pretty simple to make :) This recipe is really the 'basic' (and slightly cheated) Sundubu Jjigae , but if you feel extra challenged, you can add bunch of stuff like some veggies & seafood.
The first thing you have to do to make this stew is to make a good anchovy stock using dried anchovy, kelp mushroom, onion & garlic. But since i can't find the dried anchovy anywhere (even in the korean grocery store), and i'm too lazy to buy the kelp & mushroom, i just used anchovy stock powder w/ some onion & garlic for my stock.
 |
| image source: http://gochugarugirl.com/2014/08/spicy-tofu-stew/ |
But it still works really well! Actually my sister developed this recipe (since i'm a bit more of a conservative ^^), but it still taste really good like the one i ate in the korean restaurant. And it's really simple, i just can make it with everyday ingredients that i have in my fridge. If you wanna make the authentic anchovy stock, check the link below the recipe ;)
Depend on the recipe, some add kimchi, some don't, but i like it much better with the kimchi because i think it really gives the soup more flavor and makes it super yummy. Make sure though to use good quality kimchi, because if the kimchi don't taste good, it'll just ruin your stew. If you wanna make the homemade kimchi, check out my recipe here.
It's best if you can find this earthen bowl, because beside it really looks nice (and you get the feeling of eating in a real korean restaurant), it's actually hold the heat in the stew much longer than ordinary bowl, so you can enjoy it slowly without having it getting cold.
Ingredients (for 2 servings or 1 BIG serving):
1 tube soft tofu/silken tofu
100g pork/beef
1/2 cup fermented kimchi (cut into bite-size) + 2-3 tbsp kimchi juice
1 egg
1 tbsp red pepper flakes (or more for extra spicy)
salt & pepper
1 tbsp oil
green onion for garnish (optional)
For the anchovy stock:
1/4 medium onion
2 clove garlic
1-1 1/2 tbsp anchovy stock powder
2 1/2 cup water
1. For the anchovy stock, slice onion & garlic, put them in a pot, add in anchovy stock and water, stir well. Bring it to a boil, skim off the foam and let it simmer for 20 minutes.
2. Cut the meat into bite-size pieces, season it with salt (about 1/2 tsp) & pepper, let it sit while waiting for the stock to be done.
3. In medium-high heat, heat the earthen bowl. Put in 1 tbsp of oil, sautee the meat until brown.
4. Add in the kimchi (along with a couple tablespoons of the kimchi liquid) & slice onion, stir well. (I used the slice onion that in the stock, you can also use fresh slice onion)
5. Add in the red pepper flakes, sautee until the kimchi juice almost gone.
6. Strain the stock, add into the bowl, stir well. Bring it to a boil, let it cook for 15 minutes in medium heat.
7. Cut the tofu tube in half, add it into the soup. Break the tofu into small pieces with a spoon. Adjust the saltiness of the soup with salt if necessary.
9. When it boils vigorously, add the egg in the center of the soup. Turn off the heat. (if you want the egg to be well-done, just cook it for few more minutes)
10. Lift the bowl carefully (it's extremely HOT!). I used the tool below (i don't know the name), but i think it's a 'special' tool to lift this kind of bowl, since i saw them used it in the korean restaurant.
Be extra careful when you eat it because it's extremely hot, and you have to blow it first to make it kinda warm and doesn't burn you tongue (i burnt my tongue btw -.-).
(Optional)
Sometimes, if i have leftover rice, and it's way too dry, i like to make this cheese "risotto" using the leftover soup from the stew.
To make this, after you done eating the stew and still left some soup, add the leftover rice into the soup. The ideal is to add the rice just half the amount of the soup. Since i added too much rice, so i added a bit more water, kimchi juice and the anchovy stock powder (about 1/2 tsp). Cook it while stiring constantly so it doesn't get burnt on the bottom, until it's the thick "risotto" consistency. It'll take about 15-20 minutes.
 |
| not yet... cook it for a little bit more! |
 |
| Okay! |
Now that it's the "risotto" consistency, add the grated/sliced cheese as much as you want. Stir it well until the cheese melt and turn off the heat. I used about 2 tbsp of grated cheddar cheese, choose a cheese that will melt quickly when it's cooked.
 |
| It's done! |
It may doesn't look like it, but with the delicious soup and the savory melted cheese, this risotto is really yummy!
References:
Also check my other korean food recipes!
No comments:
Post a Comment