I'm Korean-American. I grew up in a Korean household with Korean food and Korean customs and Korean smells. Hands down, Korean food is my ultimate comfort food, especially with all the warm and spicy stews. My absolute favorite Korean dish is soon doo boo jigae, or soft tofu stew. Typically in a restaurant, this stew is served in a stone pot, bubbling with spicy and seafoody goodness. Unfortunately, there are few good Korean restaurants in the Boston area, and there are slim pickins for good soon doo boo jigae. So, I attempted to make it myself. Scary.
So, I started by adding about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, and 1 tablespoon of sesame oil to a pot. I then dumped in some Korean red chili powder (go-chu ga-ru), maybe about 2 tablespoons or so. I stirred this around until the oils started to come out of the chili powder and it was basically boiling. Before it started to burn, I added a chopped onion and about 2 cloves of chopped garlic.
After letting this cook for a few minutes, I then added about 3/4 cup of chopped kimchi and a few tablespoons of kimchi juice. Yum... spicy, fermented, and smelly.
After letting this cook for a few minutes, I added two packages of light silken tofu. I also added enough water to cover, maybe about 3/4 to 1 cup or so.
I stirred this around, broke up the tofu a bit, then added some halved fresh shitakes, and a handful of woods ear mushrooms.
I gave this a good stir, and let it boil for several minutes. Then, I added some delicious seafood -- some bay scallops, some littleneck clams (which I later realized I should have scrubbed), and some frozen shrimp.
I let this come to a boil and let it simmer, covered, for maybe 20 minute or so. I added quite a bit of salt and also a drizzle of sesame oil. I garnished with some green onion. The final product LOOKED so scrumptiously good, just like the restaurant versions. But.... it didn't taste so good. I was very disappointed in it's flavor, or complete lack thereof. It was missing something... and I still can't put my finger on it. It was sufficiently spicy, it was salty, the textures were great, but something was missing. I think next time, I'll have to use da-shi-da (basically MSG) or that shrimpy paste stuff, basically something that will lend a more potent seafood-salt flavor.
Suffice it to say that I was disappointed (especially since I made so damn much of it!), but that I'll be trying again in the future.
If you have any suggestions for how to make this taste better, I am open to any! Thanks!
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Wow! Christina, it looks awesome! I really miss your "cooking" and I seriously think you should get your own cooking show!
ReplyDeletemore garlic.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the secret ingredient is anchovies. I actually failed in my own attempt to make soondubu (http://passionateeater.blogspot.com/2007/06/dropping-f-bomb-in-kitchen.html) but my friend succeeded (http://www.foodhoe.com/?p=2089), and she used anchovies. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteYou need to make a seafood broth out of the seafood before you add the other stuff. You can use dried/cleaned anchovies to start, mix in the other sea food...this soup base will give your broth more levels of flavor...
ReplyDeleteCan I seriously come over for dinner soon? ......all the food looks so yummy, keeps me pushing into the dining.....
ReplyDeleteMight want to try, instead of water, either fish or chicken broth. That will add a lot more body and spice to the soup base. If you add water, you'd definitely need msg/dashida...et al. But who needs that yuck? Broth all the way (or stock).
ReplyDelete