Sundubu – Spicy Korean Soft Tofu Stew.
If you go to Incheon International Airport – you’ll see many Koreans coming home from abroad order this dish at the food court.
That’s because Sundubu combines all of the flavors that Koreans love…
The smoky spicy kick of gochugaru chili flakes. The soft texture of silky tofu. And the umami-filled broth of mushrooms and seafood.
Today, I’ll show you how to make this delicious stew in less than 5 minutes!
To do so, we’ll be making a Sundubu Paste.
With the paste, all you need is some water, fresh tofu and some seafood if you like. Give it a few minutes to cook together and you’re done.
It’s perfect for meal-prepping or for quick meals for the family.
What I love about this paste – beyond the taste – is that it doesn’t freeze when you store in the freezer. This means no thawing time! It’s ready to go.
COOKING NOTES:
NOTE: We’ve made this same recipe a few years ago. But we had quite a few number of readers tell us that the batch was so big! So this time around, we reduced the paste by half and added a few tweaks.
The first tweak: When making the stew, use ½ cup of water when mixing with 2 Tablespoons of the Sundubu paste. In our older recipe, we used a 1/3 cup.
Second, make sure you’re using at least 350 grams of silken tofu (400 grams is okay too!) At Korean markets, this seems to be the standard size.
If you use a smaller size, the overall taste of the stew may be slightly salty or spicy.
Also important: Make sure to give the stew a quick taste before finishing. If it tastes salty or spicy for your palate, add in a few dashes of water.
Enjoy guys and share some of the paste with your friends or family… they’ll love it!
Store it in the freezer and it should last 4-6 weeks. Now Smile 😄
Tag us on IG if you make the dish – we’d love to see!
P.S. If you’re interested in getting a Ttukbaegi pot, here’s the one we use. (It’s the 3-4 person sized one)
-Daniel out 🕺
Ingredients
Soondubu Paste
- 1/2 Cup Diced Onion
- 1/4 Cup Diced Spring Onion
- 1/4 Cup Minced Pork (Ok to use Minced Beef or Minced Mushroom)
- 1/2 Cup Gochugaru
- 2 Tablespoons Salt
- 1.5 Tablespoons Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Minced Garlic
- 3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
- 1/2 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
Soondubu Stew
- 1/2 Cup Water
- 2 Tablespoons Sundubu Paste (Made from above)
- 1 Whole Shiitake Mushroom
- 4-5 Clams (Optional)
- 350 grams of Silken Tofu (use at least 350 grams!)
- 1 Egg
- Few slices of Spring Onion (Optional, Garnish)
- Few cracks of Black pepper (Optional, Garnish)
Instructions
Prep Ingredients for Soondubu Paste
- Before we start stir-frying, we should prep all of the ingredients first. Dice Onion into small pieces (1/2 Cup). Cut Spring Onion into thin slices (1/4 cup). Set aside Minced Pork (1/4 cup).
- Then let's measure out the other ingredients: Vegetable Oil (2 Tablespoons) and Sesame Oil (1/2 Tablespoon) and set aside. Then measure out Minced Garlic (3 Tablespoons), Soy Sauce (3 Tablespoons), Sugar (1.5 Tablespoons), Salt (2 Tablespoons) and Gochugaru (1/2 Cup)
Make Soondubu Paste
- Take out a wok or large frying pan and place it on medium-high heat. Mix the two oils - Vegetable Oil (2 Tablespoons) & Sesame Oil (1/2 Tablespoon) - and add it to the frying pan. Once the oil is hot, add in the Spring Onion Slices (1/4 cup) and it around.
- Once the spring onion starts sizzling in the oil, add in the Minced Pork (1/4 cup). Stir-fry it around and make sure that the pieces don't clump. Then add-in the Diced Onion (1/2 cup). Stir everything together until the onions start to turn translucent.
- Now add in the Minced Garlic (3 Tablespoons). Stir that in as well. Next, add-in the Korean Gochugaru Chili Flakes (1/2 Cup) and stir that in too. The chili flakes will absorb all of the moisture in the pan. Reduce the heat to a medium-low now.
- Now, add in the Sugar (1.5 Tablespoons) and Salt (2 Tablespoons). Mix that in.
- Then add in the Soy Sauce (3 Tablespoons). Give everything a final mix. Turn off the heat.
- Place the paste in a bowl and pan it out. Let it rest for 15 minutes so it can cool off.
- Then carefully place the paste in a plastic bag. Then place into another Ziploc Bag.
- Store the paste in the freezer - it will last 4-6 weeks! Share some of the paste with friends or family.
Make Sundubu Stew
- Cut Shiitake Mushroom into thin slices. Cut Spring Onion stalk into thin slices as well.
- Now take out a pot (or Korean ttukbaegi pot). Add in Water (1/2 Cup) and Sundubu Paste (2 Tablespoons).
- Place it on a medium-high heat. Once the pot starts to boil, add in the Shiitake Mushroom Slices. Stir-it into the mixture with a spoon.
- (Optional: If you're including seafood, add the Clams and/or Shrimp now)
- Next, carefully add in the Silken Tofu (350 grams). Use your spoon and gently break the larger curds into the broth.
- Then carefully crack an Egg into the stew. Garnish with a small handful of Spring Onion Slices. Garnish with Black Pepper (few cracks).
- Finally, serve with a bowl of hot rice! Bon Appetit!
Way too salty. I’d halve the amount of salt in this recipe or maybe more. I know it’ll be watered down but then your soup is now extra watery.
Question. What is the portion yield of the soon du bu paste? Wanted to just make enough for this meal, so wondering. Thank you!
I can’t get any Gochugaru in my country right now, is it possible to replace it with Gochujang and how much should I add?
This was so easy. I made the mushroom version and I was worried about the missing extra fat you’d get from the meat but it still turned out great. Making the stew for my lunch today was so quick and easy. Definitely one which I’ll keep on a frequent lunch rotation.
This turned out so good! I actually added more water since the flavor was spicy for me. One of the best recipes for soondubu. Thank you so much!!!! 🙂
This was so good! What is the consistency of the egg yolk when it is cooked?
Nice – glad you enjoyed it! It’s like a poached egg.
Can I use gochujang instead? What would be the measurement then?
Fantastic. It’s so great to have the paste on hand for sundubu any time. I don’t think I’ll ever not have some in my freezer.
Hi, thanks for sharing this recipe! I really loved it
However I would recommend you exchange water with anchovy stock, it gives a much deeper flavor than just water.
I can’t wait to try your other recipes!
You’re the best, Daniel! I have been craving soondobu! I have all the ingredients at home! I will make one soon…
Nice! What’s the portion size (how many people fight over that egg?!)
I am also curious about portion size–we’re in the middle of making it (in between the paste and the stew) and are contemplating putting two eggs in to reduce the carnage.