Doenjang-jjigae is a stew made with tofu, zucchini and other ingredients, seasoned with soybean paste. It's one of the all-time favorite Korean dishes.

For many people, this soup reminds us of home cooking and our mother’s recipes. This stew is also a source of power. Coach Park Seri dedicated herself to feeding the stew, spicy beef roast, and other Korean food items to the Korean national women’s golf team during the Rio Summer Olympic Games in August 2016 so that they could maintain their best condition during the Games. Thanks to her efforts, when they won the gold medal all the athletes said that their coach took really good care of them, much better than their mothers.



Soybean paste is the main ingredient that controls the overall taste of the broth. It's a very popular fermented food item, along with kimchi. The paste is made from fermented soybeans. It adds flavor to the food, and serves as a type of seasoning. Soybean paste is tasty and healthy, as well. The Korea Food Research Institute said in October 2016 that it discovered a natural lactobacillus in soybean paste. According to the institute, this lactobacillus helps improve your immune system and inner organs, prevent colitis, and has anti-influenza effects.

You can add spring greens, too, such as wild chives or shepherd's purse, to stimulate your appetite, especially in the spring, as both plants are good for your digestion and help with insomnia. In the spring, many people add zucchini, as well. Anchovies can also be added, along with red pepper paste (고추장), to make a thick stew, dubbed gang doenjang jjigae (강된장찌개).

** Ingredients
90 g beef (top round sirloin)
3 sheets brown oak mushrooms

Seasoning sauce:
½ tbsp. (9 g) clear soy sauce
1 tsp (4.5 g) minced green onion
½ tsp (2.8 g) minced garlic
⅓ tsp (0.5 g) sesame salt
⅛ tsp (0.3 g) ground black pepper
1 tsp (4 g) sesame oil

3½ cup (700 g) rice washed water
5 tbsp (75 g) soybean paste
½ cake (250 g) tofu
1 tsp (2.2 g) coarse red pepper powder
½ roots (20 g) green onion
1 (15 g) green pepper
1 (20 g) red pepper


** Preparation
1. Clean the blood off the beef with a cotton cloth. Cut it into squares that are 2.5 cm on each side and 0.5 cm thick.
2. Soak the brown oak mushrooms (50 g) in water for 1 hour. Remove the stems. Wipe away any water. Shred them into strips that are 4 cm long and 0.5 cm wide.
3. Cut the tofu into cubes that are 2 cm wide, 3 cm long and 1 cm thick.
4. Mix the beef and mushrooms with their respective seasoning sauces.
5. Cut the green onion and the green and red peppers into diagonal slices that are 2 cm long and 0.2 cm wide.



** Recipe
1. Preheat a soup pot. With no water yet, add the beef and mushrooms. Stir fry them for 2 minutes over medium. Then add the rice-washed water.
2. Dissolve the soybean paste in the broth. Boil it for 4 minutes over high. When it boils, lower the heat to medium. Boil it for another 10 minutes.
3. When the paste is fully dissolved, add the tofu and red pepper powder. Boil it for 2 minutes. Add the green and red peppers and boil it for another 1 minute.





Managed by Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
In cooperation with the Institute of Traditional Korean Food (ITKF)
Content from “The Beauty of Korean Food: 100 Best-Loved Recipes”
arete@korea.kr