Korean Blood Curd Hangover Stew
Stews Medium

Korean Blood Curd Hangover Stew

Quick answer

This traditional Korean hangover stew features beef blood curd, wilted napa cabbage leaves, and soybean sprouts simmered in a savory beef stock.

What makes this special

  • Seonji haejang jjigae supports delicate beef blood curd with a deep base of wilted napa cabbage and crunchy soybean sprouts in a savory beef stock.
  • Blood curd soaked 10 minutes then simmered on low to hold its shape
  • Ugeonji boiled 8 minutes in beef broth first to build earthy base
Total time
45 min
Level
Medium
Servings
2 servings
Ingredients
9
Calories
318 kcal
Protein
27 g

Key ingredients

beef blood curdnapa cabbage leavessoybean sproutsgreen onionminced garlic

Core cooking flow

  1. 1 Soak 250g of coagulated blood in cold water for 10 minutes to draw out the b...
  2. 2 Cut 180g of dried napa cabbage into 4cm lengths and wash 120g of bean sprout...
  3. 3 Add 800ml of beef broth and the dried cabbage to a pot, bring to a boil over...

This traditional Korean hangover stew features beef blood curd, wilted napa cabbage leaves, and soybean sprouts simmered in a savory beef stock. The preparation begins by soaking the blood curd in cold water to extract excess blood, then cutting it into large pieces to prevent crumbling. The wilted cabbage leaves simmer first in the beef stock to establish a deep, earthy base. Soybean sprouts, garlic, chili flakes, and soup soy sauce are added next, cooking uncovered to eliminate any raw bean aroma. The delicate blood curd goes in last, simmering gently on low heat to preserve its tender, custard-like texture. Finished with sliced green onions and a touch of black pepper, this hearty stew offers a contrast between the soft curd, chewy cabbage, and crunchy sprouts. It is served hot, providing a comforting and filling meal.

Prep 20min Cook 25min 2 servings

Instructions

Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.

6 steps
  1. 1
    Heat

    Soak 250g of coagulated blood in cold water for 10 minutes to draw out the blood, then cut into large 5cm pieces.

    Cutting too small causes them to crumble during cooking.

  2. 2
    Prep

    Cut 180g of dried napa cabbage into 4cm lengths and wash 120g of bean sprouts well, trimming any roots, then keep each ingredient separate.

  3. 3
    Control

    Add 800ml of beef broth and the dried cabbage to a pot, bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to medium, and simmer for 8 minutes.

    The base broth is ready when the savory aroma of the dried cabbage infuses the stock.

  4. 4
    Season

    Add bean sprouts, 1.5 tablespoons gochugaru, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, and 1 tablespoon soup soy sauce and cook for 6 more minutes. Move to the next step when the sprouts are translucent but still crisp.

  5. 5
    Control

    Add the blood curd and simmer gently over low heat for 6 minutes.

    Vigorous boiling or frequent stirring will break the pieces apart, so spoon broth gently over the top instead.

  6. 6
    Finish

    Add 50g of diagonally sliced green onion and 0.25 teaspoon of pepper, boil for just 1 minute, then turn off the heat immediately.

    The moment the green onion aroma rises is the finishing point.

After the steps

Pick a recipe that fits this dish.

Continue with shared ingredients, meal pairings, or a similar method.

Recipes That Go Well With This

More Stews →

Based on shared ingredients and meal pairing

Korean Blood Curd Soup (Spicy Ox Blood and Beansprout Stew)
Shared ingredient: beef blood curd Soups

Korean Blood Curd Soup (Spicy Ox Blood and Beansprout Stew)

Seonji-guk is a Korean blood curd soup built from coagulated ox blood, seasoned napa cabbage outer leaves, and bean sprouts in a spicy, doenjang-accented broth. The napa greens are pre-dressed with soybean paste, garlic, and chili flakes before going into the pot, where they simmer and release an earthy, fermented depth into the liquid. Bean sprouts are added for their crisp texture and clean, refreshing bite. The blood curd - cut into large cubes - goes in partway through cooking and simmers just eight minutes to heat through without breaking apart. Its texture is soft and faintly springy, unlike anything else in the Korean soup canon, and it absorbs the surrounding spicy broth. Gochugaru gives the soup a ruddy color and a slow-building warmth. In Korea, seonji-guk is closely associated with the morning-after meal, served in dedicated haejang-guk restaurants as a restorative after heavy drinking.

Korean Pork Bone Hangover Soup
Shared ingredient: napa outer leaves Soups

Korean Pork Bone Hangover Soup

Ppyeo-haejang-guk is a Korean hangover soup built on a foundation of pork neck bones simmered for well over an hour until their collagen dissolves into a heavy, full-bodied stock. The bones are soaked and blanched beforehand to eliminate any off-flavors, and the resulting broth is clean despite its richness. Blanched napa cabbage outer leaves are pre-seasoned with doenjang, gochugaru, garlic, and soup soy sauce before being added to the pot, where they absorb the meaty broth and release their own earthy flavors in return. Perilla seed powder is stirred in at the end, thickening the liquid to a creamy consistency and adding a nutty finish. The completed soup is spicy, deeply savory, and thick enough to feel restorative after a long night. In Korea, this style of haejang-guk is a morning-after institution, served steaming in dedicated restaurants that open before dawn.

Korean Fried Rice (Simple Leftover Rice Stir-Fry)
Serve together Rice

Korean Fried Rice (Simple Leftover Rice Stir-Fry)

Korean fried rice is the ultimate utility dish, built to turn leftover rice and whatever vegetables remain in the refrigerator into a satisfying meal in under ten minutes. Green onion hits the hot oil first to create a fragrant scallion-infused base, followed by diced carrot and beaten egg that gets scrambled into rough curds before the rice goes in. Cold rice is essential here - its lower moisture content prevents clumping and allows a thin film of oil to coat each grain, carrying seasoning evenly through the whole pan. Soy sauce poured along the rim sizzles on contact with the hot metal, developing a toasted depth that distinguishes a well-made fried rice from a mediocre one. A crack of black pepper and a final swirl of sesame oil complete the seasoning. The recipe is intentionally open-ended: ham, kimchi, shrimp, canned tuna, or any leftover protein slots in without altering the basic method, which is why this dish appears on Korean dinner tables more often than almost any other. The total active cooking time rarely exceeds five minutes, making it the default choice on busy weekdays and late nights alike.

Korean Mussel Stew
Similar recipe Stews

Korean Mussel Stew

Honghap jjigae uses a generous 900g of mussels to build an intensely briny, clean-tasting broth that defines this stew. Thick-cut Korean radish simmers alongside the shellfish, soaking up the ocean-flavored liquid and contributing a quiet natural sweetness. Cheongyang chili and gochugaru deliver a moderate, lingering heat, while soup soy sauce and cooking wine round out the seasoning without drowning the seafood flavor. Using the liquid the mussels release during cooking as the base of the broth provides depth without requiring a separate stock. Sliced green onion added at the end lifts the aroma without adding any fishy note. Selecting only mussels whose shells are tightly closed before cooking reduces the chance of grit or off-flavors in the finished stew.

Serve with this

Korean Paengi Beoseot Jeon (Enoki Pancake)
Side dishes Easy

Korean Paengi Beoseot Jeon (Enoki Pancake)

Paengibeoseot-jeon is a thin Korean pancake built around 200 grams of enoki mushrooms separated into loose strands and coated in a light batter of pancake mix, egg, and water. Cooked over medium-low heat, the batter spreads thin enough that the edges turn golden and crisp while the mushroom clusters in the center stay moist and chewy. Chopped scallions add color and a mild onion fragrance throughout. The pancake is served with a dipping sauce of soy sauce, vinegar, and a pinch of chili flakes, whose acidity and salt lift the subtle earthiness of the mushrooms. Keeping the heat moderate is essential - too high and the outside burns before the interior sets.

🍺 Bar Snacks 🏠 Everyday
Prep 15min Cook 12min 2 servings
Korean Pickled Taro Stems
Kimchi Medium

Korean Pickled Taro Stems

Torandae jangajji is a Korean pickled side dish made from taro stems. The outer fibrous skin is peeled away first, and the stems are salted and then blanched. Raw taro stems contain calcium oxalate crystals that cause an unpleasant prickling sensation in the throat, and blanching effectively neutralizes this before the stems are packed into the pickling liquid. The brine is made by bringing soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar to a boil, and it is poured over the stems while still hot so the seasoning penetrates quickly and evenly. Sliced garlic and ginger are simmered in the brine before it is poured, which infuses the liquid with deep aromatic warmth without any of the sharp pungency those ingredients carry raw. After two to three days of refrigerating, each piece develops a layered depth of salty, savory flavor with a clean vinegar brightness underneath. The defining characteristic of this pickle is its distinctive fibrous crunch, which stays satisfying even after the stems have fully absorbed the brine. It works as a rice accompaniment throughout the week and doubles as a drinking snack alongside soju.

🍱 Lunchbox 🏠 Everyday
Prep 30min Cook 15min 4 servings
Korean Chive Clam Jeon (Garlic Chive and Clam Seafood Pancake)
Pancakes Medium

Korean Chive Clam Jeon (Garlic Chive and Clam Seafood Pancake)

Buchu-bajirak-jeon is a seafood pancake of garlic chives and clam meat, pan-fried in a batter made with a mix of all-purpose pancake flour and rice flour. The rice flour addition increases the chew and gives the finished jeon a slightly more resilient texture than plain flour batters. Clam meat releases a briny, oceanic liquid as it cooks that seeps into the batter and flavors it throughout, while the chives add a sharp, grassy counterpoint. Minced garlic and diagonally sliced cheongyang chili worked into the batter suppress any fishiness and build a layered fragrance. A generous amount of oil in the pan over medium heat produces edges that crisp and brown like the outside of a fritter. Waiting until the bottom is fully set before flipping prevents the pancake from tearing. Served with soy dipping sauce or a seasoned soy mixture, the clean salinity of the clams comes through clearly.

🍺 Bar Snacks 🏠 Everyday
Prep 25min Cook 15min 4 servings

Similar recipes

Korean Blood Sausage Perilla Stew
Stews Medium

Korean Blood Sausage Perilla Stew

Perilla seed powder transforms beef bone broth into a thick, nutty liquid that serves as the foundation for this particular type of Korean stew. The main component, sundae, uses pork intestine as a casing to hold a mixture of glass noodles, glutinous rice, and vegetables, resulting in a chewy exterior and a multi-layered interior structure. This texture provides a different eating experience compared to stews that rely on standard cuts of meat. The oily characteristics of the ground seeds interact with the sausage filling to create a savory profile that stands apart from more common jjigae varieties. Pieces of cabbage maintain their firm texture throughout the simmering process, adding volume and a clean element that balances the heavy base. Just before the pot leaves the stove, fresh perilla leaves are added to introduce a grassy scent into the fatty broth, which helps manage the overall richness. A single spoonful of gochugaru provides enough heat to sharpen the nutty qualities of the perilla without overpowering the savory elements. Because the sausage casing can burst if boiled for too long, the pieces are only heated briefly at the very end of the cooking process. Serving the stew in a heavy stone pot ensures that the liquid remains at a boiling temperature for the duration of the meal.

🏠 Everyday
Prep 18min Cook 22min 4 servings
Korean Beoseot Jjigae (Mushroom Stew)
Stews Easy

Korean Beoseot Jjigae (Mushroom Stew)

Korean mushroom stew, or beoseot jjigae, is a clean and oil-free soup made by simmering three varieties of mushrooms with tofu and onions in a kelp-infused broth. The recipe uses oyster, shiitake, and enoki mushrooms to create layers of distinct textures and umami. Seasoned simply with soup soy sauce and minced garlic, the clear broth highlights the natural characteristics of the ingredients. The cooking process involves boiling sliced onions and garlic in kelp water first to build a sweet base, followed by adding the mushrooms. Oyster mushrooms are torn along the grain for a tender texture, shiitake mushrooms are sliced to provide bite, and enoki mushrooms are added during the final minute of cooking to maintain their crispness. Skimming the foam while boiling ensures the broth stays clear. It is a light, warming dish that serves as a gentle and easily digestible meal.

🥗 Light & Healthy 🏠 Everyday
Prep 12min Cook 16min 2 servings
Korean Beef Mushroom Stew
Stews Medium

Korean Beef Mushroom Stew

Soegogi-beoseot-jjigae is a Korean stew featuring thinly sliced beef with oyster mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms in a beef stock base. The beef stays tender throughout the cooking time because it is cut thin, and the two varieties of mushrooms contribute layered umami that deepens the broth considerably. Firm tofu absorbs the surrounding liquid and takes on the flavors of the stew while adding protein and body to the pot. Onion and green onion provide sweetness and fragrance that round out the savory base. The stew is seasoned simply with soup soy sauce and garlic, which keeps the natural flavors of beef and mushroom prominent. Tearing oyster mushrooms by hand along their grain allows the broth to penetrate the fibers better than cutting, and removing the tough stems from shiitake mushrooms before adding them keeps the broth clean and free of bitterness.

🏠 Everyday
Prep 18min Cook 24min 4 servings

Tips

Finish on low heat; high heat can break the blood curd.
Cook sprouts uncovered to reduce any raw bean odor.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories
318
kcal
Protein
27
g
Carbs
12
g
Fat
18
g