Soondubu Jjigae is a classic Korean spicy soup that uses extra soft or silken tofu as the main ingredient, and here I’m going to show you how to make the non-spicy version of White Soondubu Jjigae.
Korea is famous for its different kinds of soups. Commonly, the soups we make have different main ingredients. To name a few, there’s Kimchi Jjigae where kimchi is the star, Doenjang Jjigae where the richness of the soybean paste is the main character, Budae Jjigae where various processed food makes the soup come alive, and many more!
90% of the time, Koreans will have soup or stew on the side during their meals, and honestly, I’m not complaining! Kakaka! But no matter how good the soups are, we can’t deny that they can get a little too spicy, and not everyone likes that. As much as the spice is what comforts me the most, I’d like to share an easy non-spicy Soondubu Jjigae recipe that you will surely love.
Secret Instant Soup Base
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The classic route to go about the soup base is to use various fish like dried pollack (hwangtae), dried anchovy (myeolchi), and dried herring along with dried kelp or dashima. You can check out this Kalguksu Recipe to see the homemade and complete soup stock at work.
Since we are going the easy route, all you need to do is soak 4 small pieces of dashima in 2 cups of room-temperature water for 15 minutes. Do not wash the dashima before soaking it. The white granules on top of it are umami-filled which will make the broth flavorful. The longer you soak the dashima, the better it tastes!
In using this trick, you can just make jars of dashima water and store them in the fridge. Use it as a base in Soybean Sprout Soup, Beef and Radish Soup, or Rice Cake Soup.
Don’t Be Afraid to Mix It Up
The classic Soondubu Jjigae recipe makes use of beef, seafood, enoki mushrooms, and a variety of vegetables like radish, zucchini, spinach, and bok choy. It’s honestly very versatile!
For this recipe, I used imitation crabs, garlic, scallions, carrots, onion, mushrooms, and eggs with the tofu. These alone are already enough. If available, feel free to add seafood like shrimp and short-neck clam to make the soup even tastier!
For the seasoning, I used soy sauce for soup, fish sauce, and hondashi in small amounts to give different types of umami to it. I find it important to use a little soy sauce only to keep the soup clear.
The Best Pairing for White Soondubu
The best pairing for this recipe is some freshly cooked rice. If you’re feeling extra, you can also have a side of kimchi and nori. A meal like this is like home for me! I hope by sharing, you’ll also find this comforting and enjoyable!
Make sure to leave a rating, a comment, or tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok when you chop them up! Yeobosayo!
White Soondubu Jjigae
Ingredients
Dried Kelp Stock
- 2 cups Water
- 4 pcs Small Dried Kelp or Dashima
White Soondubu Jjigae
- 2 tbsp Scallions Chopped
- 1/3 of Whole Carrot Diced
- 1/2 of Whole Onion Diced
- 3 pcs Shiitake Mushroom Thinly sliced
- 3 pcs Imitation Crabs Divided into 3's
- 6 pcs Short Neck Clam
- 5 pcs Shrimp
- 1 pack Extra Soft of Silken Tofu (About 312g)
- 1 tbsp Soy Sauce for Soup or Guk-ganjang
- 1 tbsp Fish Sauce
- Salt To taste
- Black or White Pepper To taste
- Pinch Hondashi
- 1/2 tbsp Minced Garlic
- 1 pc Egg Beaten
Instructions
Dried Kelp Stock
- Soak dashima in water for 15 minutes or more.
White Soondubu Jjigae
- Prepare your ingredients.
- In high heat, let the dried kelp stock boil. Discard the dried kelp.
- Once the broth is boiling, start adding the scallions, onion, carrots, mushrooms, and seafood. Let it boil for a couple of minutes on high.
- Add the whole silken tofu, and break it apart using a spoon.
- Season the soup using garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, salt, pepper, and hondashi. Let the soup boil for about 5 minutes on high.
- Take 1 egg, scramble it, and pour it throughout the soup without mixing it. Let it boil for 2 more minutes on high.
- Give it a good mix before serving with freshly cooked rice, kimchi, and nori.
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