Korean recipe

Kimchi sundubu jjigae

Name: Kimchi sundubu jjigae
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Korean cuisine
Ingredients: 700 g extra-soft Korean tofu in tubes; 150 g well-fermented kimchi, chopped; 150 g ground pork; 500 ml unsalted anchovy-kelp stock; 60 ml kimchi brine; 120 g enoki mushrooms, root base removed and separated; 2 pasteurized large eggs; 20 g gochugaru; 15 ml toasted sesame oil; 12 g garlic, minced; 10 ml Korean soup soy sauce; 30 g scallions, sliced

Soft tofu, kimchi, pork, and enoki mushrooms simmer in a red anchovy broth, finished with a pasteurized soft-yolk egg and scallions.

South Korea

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 25 min
Total: 45 min
Servings: 2

Bubbling red soft-tofu stew with kimchi, pork, enoki, soft-yolk egg, and scallions — **Real finished-dish photograph**Photograph by titanium22Source page · Original file · CC BY-SA 2.0Cropped, resized, and compressed by Recipe Nest Vault.

Ingredients

700 g
extra-soft Korean tofu in tubes
150 g
well-fermented kimchi, chopped
150 g
ground pork
500 ml
unsalted anchovy-kelp stock
60 ml
kimchi brine
120 g
enoki mushrooms, root base removed and separated
2
pasteurized large eggs
20 g
gochugaru
15 ml
toasted sesame oil
12 g
garlic, minced
10 ml
Korean soup soy sauce
30 g
scallions, sliced

Method

01
Make red chile oil
Put sesame oil and gochugaru in a cold 1.5 L pot, then heat over medium-low for 60–90 seconds, stirring constantly, until fragrant and brick red. Do not let the flakes blacken.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
02
Cook the ground pork
Add pork and break it into pieces no larger than 1 cm. Cook over medium heat for 4–5 minutes until no pink remains and the thickest cluster reaches 74°C.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
03
Fry kimchi and garlic
Add chopped kimchi and garlic and stir for 3 minutes, scraping the base, until the cabbage softens and the oil looks evenly red.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
04
Build the broth
Pour in stock and kimchi brine, bring to a full boil, then simmer uncovered for 6 minutes. Skim only grey foam, leaving the red oil for flavour.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
05
Add tofu and enoki
Open the tofu tubes over the pot and slide in large spoonfuls about 5 cm wide. Place the separated enoki between the curds and simmer 5 minutes without stirring through the tofu; spoon broth around it instead.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
06
Adjust the salt
Taste the broth and add up to 10 ml soup soy sauce only as needed. Keep the simmer for 1 minute so the seasoning disperses before adding eggs.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
07
Set the egg whites
Make two wells between the tofu curds and crack in the pasteurized eggs. Cover and simmer 3 minutes, until the whites are fully opaque but the yolks remain hot and soft. If using unpasteurized eggs, simmer until the yolks are firm and each egg reaches 74°C.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
08
Finish with scallions
Scatter scallions, turn off the heat, and rest covered for 2 minutes. Divide into two hot bowls, giving each serving one egg and equal tofu without breaking the curds.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph

Practical notes

Tips

Taste only after the main paste or kimchi has simmered; its salt and acidity become clearer in the broth.
Keep a lively simmer, not a violent boil, so the broth concentrates without breaking delicate tofu or vegetables.

Common mistakes

Adding all seasoning before the broth reduces can make the final stew too salty; reserve the last adjustment for the end.
Once soft tofu is added, stir with a spoon only where necessary; repeated stirring turns the stew cloudy and fragmented.

Substitutions

Replace ground pork with 150 g finely chopped boneless chicken thigh and still cook it to 74°C before adding stock.
Use 700 g soft silken tofu from tubs if tube tofu is unavailable; scoop large pieces and reduce simmering after addition to 3 minutes.

Storage

Cool within 2 hours and refrigerate airtight for up to 3 days. Reheat to a full simmer and at least 74°C throughout; do not repeatedly cool and reheat the same pot.

Cultural context

Sundubu jjigae is served bubbling hot so soft tofu remains the focus. The tofu is intentionally added in large, irregular curds rather than neat cubes.

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.

Recipe references

Korean stew-Sundubu jjigae-05 — Photograph by titanium22; CC BY-SA 2.0.

Step illustrations: Original illustrations created by Recipe Nest Vault with OpenAI image_gen.

Back to Korean recipes

Kimchi sundubu jjigae

Ingredients

Method

Make red chile oil

Cook the ground pork

Fry kimchi and garlic

Build the broth

Add tofu and enoki

Adjust the salt

Set the egg whites

Finish with scallions

Sources and photo credit

Recipe references

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