Soups
Sundubu Jjigae (Korean Soft Tofu Stew)
One of Korea's three great jjigae alongside kimchi jjigae and doenjang jjigae: silky uncurdled soft tofu (sundubu) spooned in large chunks into a fiery gochugaru-and-anchovy broth with kimchi, pork belly, zucchini, and mushrooms. An egg is cracked into the boiling pot at the table — the residual heat soft-sets it. The stew arrives bubbling in a clay pot (ttukbaegi), surrounded by rice and banchan. Jjigae means stew in Korean; sundubu means extra-soft tofu. The tofu gives no flavor of its own — it is a soft, silent canvas that absorbs the intensely seasoned broth and contrasts its silkiness against the spice and the chew of pork and vegetables.
