I haven’t had Korean soft tofu stew for a long time. So when I discovered the hand-made soft tofu in a Korean grocery store, I was thrilled and grabbed a large bag to take home without any hesitation.
I have posted a spicy soft tofu stew (aka soondubu jjigae) recipe before and this would be a slightly different version.
Soak dried shiitaki mushrooms for 1-2 hours (or overnight). Take the mushroom out and chop them up (discard the stems). Also the water will have deep mushroom flavor and I am going to use it as a soup base.
Season the beef with some garlic, Korean soy sauce for soup, and sesame oil.
Heat oil in a soup pot ( I like to use a Korean stone pot) and add the beef and Koran chili flakes. The amount of chili flakes is up to how much of heat you can handle. Becareful not to burn the chili flakes.
Add the mushroom soaked water and a few pieces of dried anchovies (optional).
Throw some chopped onion and mushroom and boil. Simmer over medium-low heat.
I used frozen seafood mix for this recipe. Thaw the well, cut them if they are too big in size. Add into the soup along with soft tofu.
Season the stew with Korean soy sauce for soup and anchovy sauce according to your taste.
You will also add chopped zucchini and fresh chili at this point.
Oh, my~!!! The stew is boiling and gives me a chill because I know how good it will taste. Doesn’t this look gorgeous? Burning hot deliciousness, baby!
Grab a bowl of rice and enjoy the hot stew. Be very careful not to burn your tongue, though.
This is the stew that I have craved for a long time and I am finally satisfied. Delicious!
~ Holly
Spicy Soft Tofu Stew with Beef and Seafood
Ingredients
- 1/4 lb beef sirloin thinly sliced
- 10 oz soft tofu
- 2-3 dried shiitaki mushrooms soaked in water
- 1-1/2 tablespoon Korean soup soy sauce (gukganjang)
- 2 garlic clove minced
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoon oil
- 1-2 tablespoon Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
- 4-5 dried anchovies cleaned
- 1/2 small onion chopped
- 1/2 zucchini. diced
- 1/2 cup mixed frozen seafood thawed
- 1 fresh chili sliced
- 2 teaspoon Korean anchovy sauce
- 1 green onion chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Take the mushroom out of soaking water and chop into small pieces. Reserve 1-1/2 cups of soaking water and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine beef, 1/2 tablespoon Korean soy sauce for soup, 1 teaspoon of minced garlic, and sesame oil. Mix well and set aside for 5 minutes.
- Heat oil in a soup pot, add the beef and Korean chili flakes and saute the beef for about 2 minutes. Be careful not to burn the chili flakes.
- Add the 1-1/2 cups of mushroom soaking water to the pot. Add the dried anchovies, onion, and the chopped mushrooms. Bring them to boil for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the tofu, seafood and continue to boil over medium heat. Add the zucchini, fresh chili, and the remaining garlic. Season with the rest of Korean soy sauce for soup and anchovy sauce. Adjust the amount of seasoning according to your taste. Add salt and pepper in needed.
- Sprinkle green onion at last and serve hot with rice
Each ingredient looks so beautiful and fresh on its own, I can only imagine how delicious the final product must have been!
What an interesting recipe! And great looking dish. I’ve just decided I need a stone soup pot. 🙂
Hi Holly,
I found your blog through another food blog and I am deeply in love with your recipes. Thank you for making my life easier as I am not at my best in cooking :)). Just have a question what can be substitute for the anchovies as I can see a lot of through your ingredients in most of the food? Even sometimes you put it as optional but I still want to know about it. When I was in Singapore the anchovies were very fishy and I could not eat the food cooked with anchovies. I hope you will reply my question. Thank you.
Hi Queenie
I am glad that you found my blog.
Korean anchovies are dried and mostly used in making stocks to add flavor to the soups and stews. Without the anchovy stocks (or other kind of seafood stock) the soup or stew dishes will taste bland and not much of flavor. It is essential in Korean cuisine. You can substitute with other dried seafood such as dried shrimp or other fishes. Make sure to avoid the salted dried fish, though.