Korean Zucchini Soybean Paste Soup
Quick answer
The soup that comes to mind when Koreans think of home cooking.
What makes this special
- Aehobak doenjang guk features mild zucchini slices in a savory anchovy and fermented bean broth.
- Anchovy-kelp broth grounds the fermented doenjang base
- Half-moon zucchini sliced 0.7 cm thick stays tender, not mushy
Key ingredients
Core cooking flow
- 1 Slice 180g zucchini into 0.7cm half-moons.
- 2 Pour 700ml anchovy-kelp stock into a pot and bring to a boil on high heat.
- 3 Add onion and 1 tsp minced garlic. Simmer over medium heat for 3 minutes unt...
The soup that comes to mind when Koreans think of home cooking. Not a dish for special occasions - this is what gets made on ordinary weeknights when nothing more specific has been decided. Anchovy-kelp stock is the base: dried anchovies and a piece of kombu in cold water, brought to a boil and simmered ten minutes. Doenjang dissolved through a strainer into the finished stock adds the fermented, earthy depth that defines the soup. Onion goes in first and sweetens the broth as it softens. Zucchini, sliced into half-moons, follows with minced garlic, cooking for five minutes at most - past that point the slices lose their shape and the broth becomes murky. Cubed tofu is added last, just to warm through without breaking. The result is a cloudy, golden soup where the salty funk of the doenjang sits underneath a gentle vegetable sweetness. A sliced cheongyang chili makes it spicy; left out, the soup is mild enough for any table.
Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Prep
Slice 180g zucchini into 0.7cm half-moons.
Cut 80g onion and 100g tofu into bite-size pieces.
- 2Control
Pour 700ml anchovy-kelp stock into a pot and bring to a boil on high heat.
Press 1.5 tbsp doenjang through a fine strainer into the boiling stock.
- 3Control
Add onion and 1 tsp minced garlic.
Simmer over medium heat for 3 minutes until the onion releases its sweetness into the broth.
- 4Control
Add zucchini and cook over medium heat for exactly 5 minutes.
Past 5 minutes the half-moon slices lose their shape and the broth turns murky.
- 5Season
Add tofu and season with 0.5 tbsp soup soy sauce.
Keep heat low for 3 minutes, just enough to warm the tofu without breaking it apart.
- 6Finish
Add 25g sliced green onion, simmer 1 minute, then turn off the heat and serve immediately.
After the steps
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