Soondubu
I didn't like this dish very much as a child but I've grown to really appreciate it. It is so comforting in a way few other dishes are. It's also really scalable and works great as a party dish. This stew is an umami bomb with the anchovies, kombu, fish sauce, soy sauce, and gochugaru. On a chilly rainy day, there are few things better than banchan, a bowl of rice, and soondubu.
Active Time: 30 min
Total Time: 50 min
Ingredients
> silken tofu (2 tubes, or 28 oz)
> onion (1/4, diced)
> garlic (4 cloves, minced)
> green onions (4, chopped)
> kimchi (1/2 cup)
> pork (1/2 lb)
> egg (2)
> gochugaru (2 tbsp)
> sesame oil (2 tsp)
> soy sauce (1 tbsp)
> fish sauce (1 tbsp)
> sugar (2-3 tsp)
> oil
Anchovy kelp broth (makes ~2-3 cups)
> dried anchovies (8, heads and guts removed)
> dried kombu (1 sheet, ~1 hand sized)
> water (4 cups)
Instructions
Anchovy kelp broth:
1. Bring anchovies, kombu, and water up to a boil over medium heat, ~10 minutes.
2. Turn heat down to low, and continue to simmer for ~20 minutes.
Soondubu:
1. In a small heavy-bottom pot, saute diced onion, garlic, and white parts of green onion for several minutes over medium-high heat.
2. Add pork, cut into slices. Continue to stir-fry for about 5 minutes.
3. Mix gochugaru and sesame oil to make a chili "paste". Add the paste, chopped kimchi, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and ~2 cups of stock (add more if needed or desired). Reduce heat to medium and cook for ~7 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Turn the heat up to high. Add tofu, break it up into rough chunks, and cook for a minute or two.
5. Crack eggs in the middle. Let cook for ~1 minute.
6. Remove from the heat, top with green parts of green onion, serve immediately with a bowl of rice.
Notes/Tips:
> The anchovy kelp broth is optional. It won't be exactly the same but you could probably achieve a similar result by using dried dashi. You could also add other ingredients into the broth, like onions, garlic, green onions, radishes, etc.
> Feel free to add any protein you prefer! I used pork and kimchi here, but you could just as easily use beef, chicken, seafood, etc.
> This dish is traditionally made in a Korean clay pot (if doing that, you'll probably want to halve the recipe or so), but any smallish heavy-bottomed pot, like a dutch oven, would work. The key is for the pot to retain its heat over a long period of time, so that the stew remains hot for longer.
> Adjust the amount of gochugaru to your preference, based on how spicy you like your stew.