Classic Doenjang Jjigae – Make it the Traditional Way

Doenjang Jjigae is one of Korea’s most traditional stews. We grew up eating this stew as children – and we still love it! In fact, it’s common for families to eat this stew at least 3x a week. Simply put, Doenjang Jjigae is a cornerstone of the Korean diet.

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Last year, we showed you how to make this Doenjang stew using rice water. Today, I wanted to re-introduce the recipe. I will teach you how to make it the traditional way with anchovy-kelp broth. Both recipes taste delicious – choose either one.

When making this stew, feel free to substitute any vegetables or meat with your choice. No need to stick to the clams. A few beef pieces or shrimp are also great alternatives.

For breakfast, I like to pair this stew with a sunny side-up egg. I first get a few scoops of the stew and pour it over my rice. Then, I place the egg over the egg break the yolk in. Mix it all together and you have… well a spoonful of magic 🙂

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Classic Doenjang Jjigae

Doenjang Jjigae is one of Korea's most traditional stews. A healthy stew made from fermented soy bean paste. Throw in your favorite vegetables to make a hearty meal!

Course Medium

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

• Anchovy-Kelp Broth - 3 cups
• Clams - 6-8 optional, can substitute with beef pieces or shrimp too

Stew vegetables

• Onion - 1/2 a whole
• Zucchini - 1/3 a whole length of your pointer finger
• Potato - 1 whole size of your palm
• Button mushrooms - 3
• Tofu - 1/2 a block use medium-firm
• Korean chili peppers - few slices use red and green, optional

Stew seasoning

• Doenjang paste - 3 Tablespoons
• Minced garlic - 1/2 Tablespoon
• Gochujang Korean red chili paste - 1/2 Tablespoon
• Gochugaru Korean red chili flakes - 1/2 Tablespoon

Instructions

Prep Ingredients

• Pour cold water into a non-transparent mixing bowl. Put 1 Tablespoon of salt into the water and mix it in. Then put the fresh clams in. Cover the bowl with a thick book or another larger mixing bowl to make it completely dark. Let the clams sit for about 30 minutes in the darkness and they will spit out their sand. Then drain the water, rinse and set aside.
• Cut potatoes, onion, and zucchini into small thin slices. Quarter mushroom into small pieces. Then cut the tofu into small blocks. If you have Korean chili peppers, cut just a few thin slices off for garnish.

Make Broth

• Pour the anchovy-kelp broth into the pot. Put the pot on a high heat. Then use a strainer and a spoon to dissolve the doenjang paste into the broth.
• Once the broth comes to boil, reduce the heat to a medium heat (Note: This is important - we want a gentle simmer). Then add the minced garlic into the soup.
• Add in all of your vegetables - except for the tofu. Let the soup and vegetables boil together for 5 minutes. 
• After 5 minutes, add-in the gochujang and gochugaru. Then, place in the tofu, fresh clams and chili pepper slices.
• Finally, let the stew simmer for another five minutes. Plate it. Eat stew with a bowl of hot rice.

Notes

• If you buy flavored doenjang - no need to add garlic, gochujang or gochugaru. Just add 3 scoops into the anchovy-kelp broth and it should taste great. 
• Feel free to substitute with any vegetables of your choice.
• Eat the stew with a bowl of hot rice.
• See video below for more details.

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