Korean Soft Tofu Stew (Silken Tofu in Spicy Clam Broth)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 30 min
- Level
- Easy
- Servings
- 2 servings
- Ingredients
- 10
About this dish
Sundubu-jjigae is one of Korea's most recognizable stews, built around silken soft tofu simmered in a fiery broth with clams, ground pork, and gochugaru.
Read more
The process starts by frying sesame oil, chili flakes, and garlic together until the fat turns red and fragrant, which becomes the flavor foundation of the entire pot. Stock is poured in and brought to a hard boil, then two eggs are cracked directly onto the surface of the stew and left to set into a soft, barely-cooked yolk. Clams bring a clean oceanic salinity to the broth while the pork provides a meatier, rounder depth, and the two work together to create a layered complexity that neither delivers alone. The stew is served still boiling in an earthenware pot because the clay retains heat far longer than metal, keeping every spoonful scalding from first to last. A scoop of rice stirred into the leftover broth absorbs the spicy, savory liquid completely.
Ingredients
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Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Heat
Purge and rinse the 150 g clams, then loosen the 100 g ground pork so it is ready to cook evenly.
- 2Control
Heat 1 tablespoon of sesame oil in a stone pot over medium heat and stir-fry the pork for 2 minutes until the outside turns white and opaque.
- 3Heat
Add 1.5 tablespoons of gochugaru and 1 tablespoon of minced garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds until the gochugaru flavor fully blooms in the oil.
- 4Control
Add 400ml of water and the soaked clams and bring to a boil over high heat.
When the clam shells start to open, spoon in 400g of soft tofu in large chunks.
- 5Control
Season with 1 tablespoon of soup soy sauce and simmer for 5 more minutes.
The tofu is well seasoned when it starts to take on the orange tint of the broth.
- 6Finish
Just before turning off the heat, crack in the eggs and add diagonally sliced green onion.
Serve when the egg whites are just barely set from the residual heat of the stone pot.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- Soft tofu, clams, and ground pork layer flavors in this classic spicy sundubu jjigae.
- Finish cue
- When the clam shells start to open, spoon in 400g of soft tofu in large chunks.
- Avoid this
- Add the clams as the 400 ml water comes to a boil, then add the soft tofu when the shells begin to open so the clams do not overcook.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official cooking and food safety guidance.
This recipe
30min, 10 ingredients
Category median
35min, 9 ingredients
Based on 122 recipes
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