Sundubu Jjigae (Korean Spicy Soft Tofu Stew)

How to make the most delicious Sundubu Jjigae (Korean soft tofu stew) from scratch. It's loaded with delicious seafood and the soup is very refreshing!

Recipe by Sue on May 13, 2016

Prep time: PT30M

Cook time: PT10M

Total time: PT40M

Rating

4.88 stars (31 reviews)

Keywords

soondubu jjigae, sundubu jjigae

Ingredients

350 g Korean soft tofu ((12 ounces))
110 g littleneck clams ((3.9 ounces), cleaned)
3-4 banana prawns ((80g / 2.8 ounces), head, shells and guts removed)
100 g enoki mushrooms ((3.5 ounces), bottom 4-5 cm stem removed and rinsed briefly in cold running water)
2 shiitake mushrooms ((20g / 0.7 ounces), cleaned, stem removed and thinly sliced)
1 egg
1 stalk green onion ((10g / 0.4 ounces), diagonally thinly sliced)
1.5 cups Dried kelp and dried anchovy stock
1 Tbsp Korean chili oil (or neutral cooking oil (e.g. rice bran oil))
2 Tbsp Korean chili powder (or Korean chili flakes(gochugaru))
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 Tbsp Korean fish sauce
1/2 Tbsp soy sauce (, kikkoman regular or Korean soup soy sauce)
fine sea salt (, to taste)
A few sprinkles ground black pepper
A dash sesame oil (, about 1/2 tsp)

Cuisine

Korean

Steps

Start heating the pot on the stove over medium low heat and add the chili oil, chili powder, and garlic. Stir them well for about 1 min. Make sure not to burn the chili powder.
Add the clams and shrimps and stir quickly to coat them with the chili sauce. Add the fish sauce and soy sauce then stir.
Add the dried kelp and anchovy stock and boil it on medium-high heat until it starts to boil rapidly (2 to 3 mins).
Add the tofu, mushrooms, and egg and cook them for another 2 to 3 mins. Season with salt, if required.
Top up with the green onion, black pepper and sesame oil. Serve hot with Korean rice and side dishes (banchan).

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 256 kcal
Carbohydrates: 15 g
Protein: 18 g
Fat: 15 g
Saturated Fat: 2 g
Cholesterol: 100 mg
Sodium: 613 mg
Sugar: 4 g

Reviews

Maria Mota on 2026-01-26 (5 stars):
Such a perfect recipe!! Absolutely delicious - love it so much! Thank you!
Tiana on 2025-02-15 (5 stars):
Super intuitive recipe and also just so delicious!
Logan on 2022-06-01 (5 stars):
This was perfect! The spice level was good for me but I have a pretty high spice tolerance. Would consider slightly less chili powder and oil than what the recipe calls for most people. I also made the stock and chili oil from scratch (she links both recipes) which I think made a big difference. Excellent recipe!! Can’t wait to eat again.
Arline on 2022-05-07 (5 stars):
Cooked this last night but instead of seafood I used pork neck bone. Also added 1 tsp of soybean paste for extra nutty taste. Love it! I tried almost half of the recipes in this website love them all.
Liayayayayaya on 2022-03-11 (5 stars):
I cook this today. I add zucchini in the dish. My family said it taste delicious. The spicy level is medium. Thanks for the recipe.
Sandra Beebe on 2021-10-24 (4 stars):
I used vegetable broth and it worked well.
francesca violi on 2021-08-25 (5 stars):
This was soooooooooo good!!!
Kate Yonder on 2021-07-02 (5 stars):
I’m sure recipe could be perfect. And it is so damn near perfect. But for me, probably the brand of chili powder I bought at the Korean market, it’s hot as fire. Like melt your face off ghost pepper hot. Sadly, it’s too hot for us to enjoy. Could you share some Korean brands of chili pepper to use and ones to avoid? Thank you.