Gochujang Jjigae - when’s the last time you’ve opened up that tub of gochujang paste?
Chances are - its been patiently waiting in the back of your refrigerator. Sitting all cold and lonely - having been scooped in a long while. (Enter sad K-drama soundtrack)
Today, we redeem ourselves - put it to use!
We will make Gochujang Jjigae (Jjigae is the Korean word for Stew). So, we're doing Gochujang Stew!
Now, I must mention that this Gochujang Jjigae is quite spicy – one of the more spicier dishes we've made on FutureDish.
So if you cant do spicy, skip this one 😬 (yes, as a content creator, not easy to say!)
In Korea, you'll find Gochujang Stew on menus at late-night dining bars in Korea. After a shot of soju, a spoonful of this spicy broth cuts beautifully. A Spicy Chaser if you will 🕺
But beyond YOLO friday nights, I think this stew works just fine as a weekday dinner.So, get that rice cooker going in the background. We'll need it. To eat this properly, add spoonfuls of the spicy, savory stew over the rice (like curry) and eat the two together.
If you try to eat this soup straight (without the rice), you'll start sweating through your clothes. That's nastaay. Behave yourself 🙈
Alrighty, are ya'll ready to cook? This is also one of those stews that tastes better the next day. Save the leftovers and see how much better the broth tastes the next day.
Cooking notes for Gochujang Jjigae:
To get deeper flavor in the broth, we will fry our gochujang paste in a few tablespoons of vegetable oil. This frying process removes that slightly-earthy after taste in gochujang.
Another key ingredient is Korean Anchovy Sauce. (But you can substitute with regular fish sauce too).
The Anchovy Sauce infuses a salty, deep-umami flavor to the broth.
Note: When you first add-in the fish sauce, you'll smell that fishy scent in the air. But give it 5-10 minutes to boil, and the smell will disappear.
For the protein, feel free to swap the beef with chicken or pork – slice them into thin bite-sized pieces as shown in the video.
If you’re vegetarian - slice up a block of firm Korean tofu. Also tastes great in this stew!
Important: Sample the broth AFTER you're turned off the heat and given it 10 minutes to cool down. If you sample the soup while its boiling away, the flavors will taste very sharp (and slightly off). The flavors come back together as the soup cools down in temperature.
Now after sampling, if the soup does taste slightly too salty or spicy - add in a few splashes of water.
Alrighty ya'll, I hope you enjoy'd it. If you make this delicious Gocujang Jjigae at home, tag us on IG. We enjoy scrolling through your pics in the morning!
-Daniel Out 🕺
P.s. If you're cooking (or eating alone) at home - don't get too lonely! Play our latest discussions in the background and enjoy some food-for-thought 🙉:
Ingredients
Fresh Ingredients for Stew
- 2 stalks of Spring Onion
- ½ a whole Onion
- 1 medium-sized Potato
- 150-200 grams of Beef Cut (Ribeye or Sirloin is good) (Or use Chicken, Pork or Tofu)
- Small handful of Oyster Mushrooms
- 2 Shiitake Mushrooms
- 2 Cheongyang Chili Pepper (Or use 1 Jalapeno)
Make Stew
- 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
- 4 Tablespoons Gochujang (Korean Red Chili Pepper Paste)
- 1 Tablespoon Gochugaru (Korean Red Chili Pepper Flakes)
- 2.5 Cups Water (Or use Anchovy-Kelp Broth)
- 2 Tablespoons Minced Garlic
- 2 Tablespoons Soup Soy Sauce (Or use regular Soy Sauce too)
- 1 Tablespoon Anchovy Fish Sauce (Or use any fish sauce)
- Small handful of Spring Onion Slices
- 8-9 cracks of Black Pepper
Instructions
Prep Fresh Ingredients for Stew
- Measure Gochujang (4 Tablespoons) and set it on a plate. Set it aside for later.
- Thinly slice the spring onion stalk (2 forearm-length pieces) into small round circles. Use the white portion of the stalk - as it will flavor the oil.
- Cut 1 whole potato into thin slices. Cut ½ an onion into thin slices. And cut the 2 chili peppers (or Jalapeno pepper) into very thin slices as well.
- Now cut your piece of beef (or other protein) into small thin slices.
- Cut the stem off the oyster mushrooms. Then separate them into individual pieces. Next, pull the stem off two Shiitake Mushrooms and slice each into thin pieces.
Make Stew
- Place vegetable oil (2 Tablespoons) and Sesame Oil (2 Tablespoons) into a large pot or wok. IMPORTANT - place the heat on a LOW HEAT! Once the oil is hot, add in the Gochujang (4 Tablespoons).
- Stir-fry the gochujang around for 45 seconds - 1 minute, or until the gochujang starts to sizzle and produce many bubbles in the oil. At this time, add in the Gochugaru (1 Tablespoon) and mix it in. Then immediately add-in 2.5 cups of water. Raise the heat to a MEDIUM-HIGH and bring it up to a boil.
- Once its boiling, add in the beef and potato slices. Next, add in the Minced Garlic (2 Tablespoons), Soup Soy Sauce (2 Tablespoons), Fish Sauce (1 Tablespoon).
- Give it 5 minutes to boil - the fish sauce smell will evaporate as it simmers away. After 5 minutes, the potatoes should start to get soft.
- Now, add in the Diced Onions, Oyster mushrooms (handful), Sliced Shiitake Mushroom, and Sliced Green Chili Peppers.
- Wait until the pot comes up to a boil. Then boil for another 7-10 minutes.
- After 7-10 minutes of boiling, check on the stew - give the potatoes a poke with your chopsticks. It should go through easily./
- Now add in some of the diced spring onion. And finish off with 8-10 cracks of Black Pepper. Turn off the heat and let the stew rest for 10 minutes. This way all, the flavor comes together.
- After 10 minutes of resting, give the stew a taste. If it tastes slightly too salty, you can dilute with a few splashes of water.
- Get a bowl of fresh hot rice and place a few scoopful of your Gochujang Stew. Mix the two together and take a bite!
- Bon Appetit ya'll!
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The first time i made this recipe, my sister told me that it was her favourite thing that I cooked during lockdown! And we were housebound for over 8 months lol.
It's definitely more spicier than I usually have my food, but its really a dangerous dish because I just keep wanting to pile my bowl high with three helpings.
The second time I made it, I cut the potato into chunkier bits, and since I use a dutch oven to cook this meal, I don't have to wait too long for it to go soft 🙂 Definitely showing off my cooking skills to my friends with this recipe!
This has become a staple in my house. My go-to hearty meal! Living in South Africa, I had to make some adjustments (don't have fancy mushrooms here, besides shiitake) but it still comes out amazing! I can't thank you enough!!! Love this sooo much!
We made this dish today and LOVED it!
As we did not have fresh chilies we had to omit them and added more veggies as to what needed to leave the fridge soon (thinly sliced white cabbage and carrot) and it was just great. I am looking forward to having the leftovers and cooking this again. As we had no fresh chilies it was not overly spicy (for our taste at least), but still somewhat hot.
Thank you so much!
P.S.: What really surprised me was that the smell and taste reminded me a bit of hungarian gulasch. That was way unexpected!
Absolutely a staple in our house now!
UGHSOGOOOOOOOOOD. Rich, absolutely packed with flavor, and so freaking satisfying—made this and even though the bf and I were full after the first bowl, we both went back for seconds. Subbed king oyster mushrooms for the shiitakes, since I'm tragically unable to eat shiitake, but if you use them I bet the flavor is even deeper. And the best part is, I don't have a sad almost empty tub of gochujang languishing in my fridge anymore!
thank you for sharing this easy to follow recipe. Even though I am a beginner cook, I was able to follow along and am happy with the results. Am definitely bookmarking and going to re-use this recipe.
This is now a weeknight staple in my house - I also mix up the veggies depending on what's in the fridge but it's so versatile it just works. Thank you!
I never comment... like never.. but I swear this is the best soup/stew I have ever made. This is truly made my day, anyone if your doubting making this MAKE IT NOW!! THANK YOU!!!
So so so good! I've made this four times in the last two months. Tastes just like my mama's!
Fire recipe! I used a handful of super sour kimchi instead of onion and it is everything I hoped it would be. Also, mod. 1/2 tbsp of gochugaru powder carefully instead of flakes, and used standard that fish sauce and dark soy sauce. Going to have to get more Korean soy sauces for this one. A repeat offender for sure.
Very excellent. I will definitely be making this again. Perfect spice level for us, but we LOVE SPICY. Although I couldn't find the right fresh chilies and I didn't have a Jalapeño handy, but I would definitely like to try it again with fresh chili.
Great recipe!!
Stumbled upon this video while I was bored at work today and made it as soon as I got home. It was sooooo gooooood. Can’t wait to make everything on this site. 🙂 Thanks!
Your recipe was fantastic! I made it vegetarian with firm tofu and it was spectacular. Thank you from Germany!
Dude!! Why was this so good. I’m actually obsessed. Second thing I’ve made of this site and so far 2/2.
You really saved my gochujang tub, this was really easy to make and find I can add any leftover protein I have handy and veggies.
this was so so good!! very savory. thanks so much for sharing. this recipe is a keeper
How many servings is this?
I made it tonight as the sole main dish and it fed 2 people with ample opportunity for seconds. So, 2-4 servings?