January 5, 2009
Since I found a new Korean grocery store not far from my home recently, I've been intereted in cooking more Korean-style dishes. Tonight, I made Sundubu Jjigae (hot and spicy tofu stew) for the first time! I went through different Sundubu recipes from internet and came up with my own version. Here's how I did.
First, make a paste by blending 1T sesame oil, 2T red chili powder, 1T Kochujan (hot bean paste), 1tsp sugar, 3T minced scallion (white part), 1 clove garlic (grated), 1 small cube ginger (grated), and 2T sake. Place the paste at the bottom of donabe (clay pot).
On top of the paste, place sliced pork, mushrooms, tofu, and then add 1-3/4C of Chinese chicken stock. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.
Once the mixture starts to boil, roughly stir the soup, then top it with nira (Chinese chives) and eggs. Cover again and let it cook for another minute.
The soup is now ready. You can't do Sundubu without rice! I made the azuki rice with my donabe rice cooker and served with the soup. The soup got the nice heat with tons of flavor. The mixed chopped greens (scallion, daikon sprouts, and watercress) were also a nice condiment to the dish. It was seriously great! I'd love to make it again.
