⏱ Prep: 10 min 🔥Cook: 15 min 👤Serves: 2 🌶Heat: Adjustable
Korean soft tofu stew is the bubbling, fiery red stew that arrives at the table still boiling in a stone pot, with silky soft tofu barely holding its shape in a spicy anchovy broth. If you ask Koreans to name the dish that feels most like home, this one is always near the top of the list. It comes together in about 20 minutes and is endlessly adaptable, pork, seafood, kimchi, or nothing but tofu and vegetables, it all works.
Ingredients
- 1 package (12 oz) silken soft tofu, do not press or drain it, the whole point is the silky, barely-set texture
- 2 cups anchovy stock, or low-sodium chicken broth as a substitute
- 2 tablespoons gochugaru, Korean red chili flakes, adjust to taste
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ small onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 green onions, sliced, white and green parts separated
- 4 oz protein of choice, thinly sliced pork, shrimp, clams, or omit for vegetarian
- ½ cup sliced mushrooms, optional
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 egg
- Salt to taste
Step by step to make Korean soft tofu stew
- Build the chili base. Heat the vegetable and sesame oil in a small pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and white parts of the green onion, and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant. Stir in the gochugaru and cook for 30–60 seconds, stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn.
- Add the broth and protein. Pour in the anchovy stock and soy sauce, and bring to a boil. Add your protein of choice and mushrooms if using, and cook for 3–4 minutes until just cooked through.Taste the broth here, it should taste a bit saltier than seems right. The tofu has no seasoning of its own and will dilute the broth once it goes in.
- Add the tofu. Spoon large chunks of the soft tofu directly into the pot, no need to cut it precisely, it will break apart naturally. Simmer for 2–3 minutes.
- Crack in the egg and finish. Crack the egg into the center of the stew and let it cook in the bubbling broth for about 1 minute, or until the white just sets. Taste and adjust salt. Garnish with the green parts of the green onion. Serve immediately, still bubbling, with steamed rice.
What makes it sundubu
The defining feature is the tofu itself, soft, unpressed, with high water content, giving it that melt-in-your-mouth texture that firmer tofu can’t match. It soaks in the spicy broth while still holding its delicate shape, which is the whole appeal of the dish.
Make it your own
Claire’s note
This stew is extremely flexible. Add kimchi for extra tang, or swap in seafood like clams or shrimp for a briny version. No anchovy stock on hand, chicken or vegetable broth works fine, just won’t be quite as deep in flavor. Control the heat by adjusting the gochugaru; it sounds like a lot in the ingredient list but the finished stew is only moderately spicy once diluted by the broth and tofu.
Serve with
Korean soft tofu stew is traditionally served bubbling hot alongside steamed rice and a few banchan side dishes. For more from the Korean collection the complete Korean recipes guide has it all.
Add Korean soft tofu stew to your weekly meal planner, a fast, warming dinner any night you need something comforting in 20 minutes. And for more recipes, follow us on Pinterest.
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Korean Soft Tofu Stew (Sundubu Jjigae)
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian (optional)
Description
A bubbling, fiery red stew made with silky soft tofu in a spicy anchovy broth. Perfect for a comforting home-cooked meal.
Ingredients
- 1 package (12 oz) silken soft tofu
- 2 cups anchovy stock
- 2 tablespoons gochugaru
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ small onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 green onions, sliced (white and green parts separated)
- 4 oz protein of choice (thinly sliced pork, shrimp, clams, or omit for vegetarian)
- ½ cup sliced mushrooms (optional)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 egg
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Build the chili base. Heat the vegetable and sesame oil in a small pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and white parts of the green onion, and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant. Stir in the gochugaru and cook for 30–60 seconds, stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn.
- Add the broth and protein. Pour in the anchovy stock and soy sauce, and bring to a boil. Add your protein of choice and mushrooms if using, and cook for 3–4 minutes until just cooked through. Taste the broth here — it should taste a bit saltier than seems right.
- Add the tofu. Spoon large chunks of the soft tofu directly into the pot — no need to cut it precisely, it will break apart naturally. Simmer for 2–3 minutes.
- Crack in the egg and finish. Crack the egg into the center of the stew and let it cook in the bubbling broth for about 1 minute, or until the white just sets. Taste and adjust salt. Garnish with the green parts of the green onion. Serve immediately, still bubbling, with steamed rice.
Notes
This stew is extremely flexible; feel free to adjust ingredients based on your preferences.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Korean
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 800mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 30g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 14g
- Cholesterol: 70mg
