Doenjang Jjigae, the ultimate Korean comfort

Doenjang Jjigae (Korean soybean paste stew) reminds me of my father.

As I recollect, he loved this stew.

My father passed away almost 6 years ago by car accident.

And I didn't even get to say good-bye to him.

After he is gone I realized that I never had a chance to serve this stew for him.

In fact I never got a chance to cook anything for him.

And that hurts me...,

and brings me to tears.

I know he would have enjoyed this stew very, very much.

My mother used fix this stew quite often just for him.

Of course her Doenjang paste is all home-made, and she has her secret to give this stew more depth.

Nothing can't beat the home-made. 

But I personally don't think you would go out and buy 50 lb bag of soy beans to make home-made Doenjang. 

So I will show you how to make this comforting stew with a store bought paste to taste just like Koren mothers would make.

There are several versions of Doenjang Jjigae and this, perhaps, is one of the basic ones.

First, let's start with rice. 

Why rice? You will find out soon.

Besides you gotta cook rice to eat with this stew anyway.

BTW I mixed white rice with brown rice, in case if you are wondering.

Rinse the rice once, just once okay?

 Add a little bit of water and start tossing the rice rapidly, with swirling motions, for 30 seconds.
You will see the water turning into milk-ish.
Add about 2 cups of water to the rice and swirl around.

 Drain to save this milk-ish water into a bowl, about 2 cups.
This is what we call, "ssal-tte-mool (쌀뜨물)", the rice starch water.
This will enrich the stew.

Now go ahead rinse the rice a couple more times and cook by your usual way.

 Here are our ingredients of the day.
Doenjang paste, Korean chili flakes, onion, zucchini, garlic, dried anchovies, sea kelp, mushroom, chilies, and Asian leek or green onion.
But I am missing one important thing...

This one, the tofu! I used soft tofu but you can use firm if you like. Cut into cubes.

 Dice your onion,

 and the same goes to zucchini...

 Cut off the bottom from the enoki mushrooms. You can use any mushroom of your choice.

 If you want to stick to the authentic style, use a stone pot. This small pot is about 1 quart size.
Bring to your heat source.

 Toast your anchovies for 1 minute.
The reason is that most dried anchovies are stored in the fridge or freezer and they get damp, which means, fishy!
Toasting will remove the fishy smell.

 Pour the rice starch water and add the dried sea kelp. Let them boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove our sea friends and discard them.

 Add the Doenjang (soy bean) paste.
You need to mash them down to incorporate with stock. Whatever left in the mash, throw them back into the stock.
You can use coarse mash strainer for this job or use the back of a spoon and smash it to the pot.

 Add onion and zucchini slices,

 and chili flakes. Let it boil.

 Add tofu and garlic.

 Add chilies and boil for 2 minutes.

Lastly add mushroom and the Asian leek. Done!

Remove the pot from heat. 

Hold your breath while you're tip-toeing to carry this boiling pot to the table. It is hot!

Doenjang stew is voted #1 comfort stew among Korean men. 

Do you have Korean male in your life? 

Surprise him with this stew,

and he will adore you for the rest of your life.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Doenjang Jjigae

(Korean Soybean paste stew, 된장찌개)

2 cups rice starch water*

6-7 dried anchovies

1 piece (3") dried sea kelp

2 generous Tbsp Doenjang (soybean paste)

1/2 package (4 oz) tofu, cut into 1" cubes

1/2 onion diced

1/2 zucchini diced

1 tsp Korean chili flakes

1 garlic clove chopped

1 green or red chili sliced

1/2 package enoki mushrooms or one handful of any mushrooms sliced

1/2 Asian leek or 1 green onion sliced

* rice starch water : rinse rice once with water and drain. Add a 1/2 cup of water again, toss and swirl around the rice for 30 seconds. You will see the water turning into milk-like. Add 2 cups of water and swirl to collect all the starch from the rice. Drain to save the starch water in a bowl.

Bring small 1 qt stone or heavy bottom pot over medium-high heat. Toast the anchovies for 1 minute and pour the rice starch water to the pot. Add the sea kelp and bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the anchovies and sea kelp, discard them.

Using a coarse mesh strainer, mash the Doenjang paste into the pot so it gets incorporated with stock. Add onion, zucchini, chili flakes and let them boil. Add tofu, garlic, chili and cook for 2 minutes. 

Lastly add Enoki mushrooms and green onion. Remove the pot from heat and serve hot with rice.

Printable recipe