Passport & Plate - Asian Soul Food: Soon-dubu Jigae
South Korea | Friday, March 14, 2014 | 
flickr photos
Ingredients
Soon-dubu Jigae
(Hot and Spicy Soft-Tofu Stew)
Fish Stock:
4 cups water
12 anchovies
1/2 onion
3 3-inch dashima* (dried kelp) strips
5 garlic cloves
3 dried shitake mushrooms*
You’ll end up with about 4 cups of stock, so store the extra for later.
Stew:
2 cups fish stock
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1/3 cup beef, thinly sliced
3 Tbsp. chili flakes (can adjust for your tongues safety)
1 Tbsp. gochujang sauce* (a red pepper paste, you can substitute this with chili flakes)
½ zucchini, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. ginger, minced
2 Tbsp. fish sauce*
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tube of soondubu* (soft tofu)
¼ cup dried miyeok* (wakame or edible seaweed)
½ cup kimchi* (spicy fermented cabbage)
Small bunch of enoki mushrooms*
2 green onions, chopped for garnish
2 small servings of rice on the side**
* These items may be found at your friendly, neighborhood Asian food market. If can't be found, kimchi, enoki, miyeok and gochujang may be omitted.
** Rice is a soul food stable in my belly, helping to balance out the stew’s intensity. It also goes well if you have other small side dishes to serve!
How to prepare this recipe
Making Fish Stock:
1. Prep anchovies by removing the intestines (the guts make it bitter); leave the heads on!
2. Soak anchovies and dashima in 4 cups of water for at least 20 minutes.
3. Transfer this to a pot adding ½ an onion, 5 garlic cloves and 3 shitake mushrooms.
4. Boil for 10 minutes, removing any foam that rises.
5. Drain and set aside 2 cups of stock for later jigae (stew) making.
Cooking the Stew:
1. Soak miyeok in cold water.
2. Prep & slice beef and veggies.
3. Heat canola oil in a large pot and sear beef.
4. Add chili flakes, gochujang sauce, zucchini, garlic and ginger; cooking gently.
5. Add stock, fish sauce, sugar, soy sauce and tofu; bringing all ingredients to a boil.
6. Take a taste test! (More spice or more salt? Add water if too salty and boil down if too watery)
7. Rinse and drain the miyeok.
8. Add miyeok, enoki mushrooms and kimchi to the stew…
9. Imagine you’re about to consume a delicious volcano.
10. Drizzle on some sesame oil and lightly poach two eggs as the stew is still bubbling.
11. Dish stew into two (preferably heated) bowls, scoop out an egg into each and garnish with green onions.
The story behind this recipe
I am a lucky duck born and raised on the islands of Hawaii. I had childhood livin’ on easy, because next to the rocking palm trees and golden sands, I had a wealth of awesome Asian food. Raised by my Korean family, I was a lucky child who lived for any excuse to throw a Korean BBQ. Whether in the yard, beach or parking lot, a cheap Hibachi grill giving off smells of red chili flakes soaked in soy sauce and smoking beef instantly plants me along the shores of my memories: dozens of cousins, dogs and swimsuits dancing through a breeze of old-people conversations (a series of bad jokes, weather praises and coos over the newest grandchild).
Today I share one of my favorite Korean dishes – Soon-dubu Jigae – spicy soft tofu stew. Nostalgia embodied, back on Hawaii I’d usually have this dish at restaurants with wide, glowing fish tanks and ukuleles strumming through the ceiling radio. Seated on a long table, my family would cluster around a gallery of enticing banchan (small side dishes). I remember how intimidating the stew looked when I first saw my uncle’s order… almost boiling over as the server placed it down, the red broth mixed with tofu blobs reminded me of the lava I saw at Hawaii’s Volcano National Park. As a child, I was a warrior braving a steaming clay pot.
When I was young and picky I would give the stews clams to my uncle. I’ve since learned to make my own variation. I love fermenting my own Kimchi at home and usually add ¼ cup per serving. Hard to come by is Soon-dubu (silken tofu). It comes in a tube-like package, but any extra-soft tofu would do (having a custard-y consistency).
All the Korean recipes I’ve ever been given have never (ever) had measurements, so play around to find your own sweet spot! My cooking is both personal and relational, being of service to myself and to others, connecting me to those in my present, and as I eat Korean food today, it connects me to those in my past. Please enjoy my Soon-dubu Jigae!
