Sundubu jjigae
A Korean stew cooked and served in the same heavy earthenware pot (ttukbaegi), which must reach the table still bubbling — not for show but by necessity: only a boiling stew sets the egg cracked in at the end. The flavour is built on chilli oil made on the spot: gochugaru fries in fat for a minute before the broth goes in. The tofu is the softest available and is never cut — it is separated with a spoon into large curds.
Your own work in that: 3 min.
- Soaking the kombu and mushrooms 20 min
- Chilli oil 8 min
- Broth 15 min
- Tofu 10 min
- Egg 3 min
Step by step
0 / 7 doneSoak the kombu and mushrooms
Cover the kombu and dried shiitake with lukewarm water for 20 minutes, then heat to a boil and lift the kombu out just before it boils. Boiled kombu turns slimy and can give the broth an unpleasant bitterness. Leave the mushrooms in the broth.
Ingredients: 1 pcs kombu · 4 pcs dried shiitake · 700 ml water · 2 tbsp soy sauce · 150 g prawns
Fry the gochugaru in oil
Heat the oil and fry the gochugaru with the garlic for 60 seconds over low heat, until the oil turns deep red. Watch the heat — scorched gochugaru quickly turns bitter. This is the key step: the pigments and aroma of the chilli dissolve far better in fat than in water.
Ingredients: 3 tbsp gochugaru · 3 tbsp oil · 4 cloves garlic · ½ pcs onion · 150 g minced pork · 1 tbsp gochujang
Deep red oil — only now does the broth go in.Brown the meat with the onion
Add the onion and minced pork and fry 5 minutes, breaking it up, until it loses its pink. Stir in the gochujang and fry another minute — the paste also needs hot fat to lose its raw edge.
Ingredients: 3 tbsp gochugaru · 3 tbsp oil · 4 cloves garlic · ½ pcs onion · 150 g minced pork · 1 tbsp gochujang
Add the broth and simmer fifteen minutes
Pour in the strained broth with the mushrooms sliced into strips, add the soy sauce and simmer 15 minutes. If using prawns, add them only for the last 3 minutes — cooked longer they turn rubbery.
Ingredients: 1 pcs kombu · 4 pcs dried shiitake · 700 ml water · 2 tbsp soy sauce · 150 g prawns
Add the tofu in large curds
Squeeze the tofu straight into the pot and break it into large curds with a spoon, without stirring. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, until the tofu is heated through. Cutting it with a knife or stirring reduces it to grains — the point of this dish is big, trembling pieces that melt on the tongue.
Ingredients: 400 g silken tofu · 4 pcs eggs · 3 pcs spring onions · 1 tsp sesame oil · 300 g rice
Large curds parted with a spoon — do not stir.Bring to a violent boil
Cook 5 minutes over high heat until the stew bubbles hard. That boil is needed for the next step and is also why the dish is served in a heavy pot — it holds the heat to the end of the meal.
Ingredients: 400 g silken tofu · 4 pcs eggs · 3 pcs spring onions · 1 tsp sesame oil · 300 g rice
Crack in the eggs and serve at once
Crack the eggs into the bubbling stew, one per serving (if you have small earthenware pots, divide the stew between them and crack an egg into the centre of each). Scatter with spring onion and drizzle with sesame oil. Serve immediately with cooked rice — the egg finishes cooking at the table, and each person breaks and stirs their own. For children, pregnant women and older people, cover the pot and cook another 3 minutes, until the eggs are fully set.
Ingredients: 400 g silken tofu · 4 pcs eggs · 3 pcs spring onions · 1 tsp sesame oil · 300 g rice
Egg onto a bubbling stew — it sets at the table.
Before you start
Gochugaru is not ordinary chilli
Korean flakes are coarse, bright red and milder than most chilli flakes — three tablespoons give a clear but not scorching heat, plus colour and a fruity aroma. Ordinary chilli flakes in that quantity would be far hotter, so if you use them, start with a teaspoon and add sweet paprika for colour.
The seafood version
Haemul sundubu with prawns, clams and squid is also popular in Korea. Add seafood for the last 3 minutes. For a vegetarian version, use the kombu and mushroom broth alone, with no meat.
Earthenware pot or cast iron
A Korean ttukbaegi (an earthenware or stone pot) holds heat and keeps the stew bubbling for a few minutes after it leaves the hob. Without one, use a cast iron pot and serve immediately — in a thin pan the egg sets poorly, so cover it for 2–3 minutes before serving.
