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Bon Appétit

Soondubu (Spicy Soft Tofu and Seafood Stew)

5.0

(3)

Image may contain Dish Food Meal Bowl Stew Plant and Curry
Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou, Prop Styling by Ayesha Patel

This fiery, bubbling Korean broth is a powerhouse mixture of alliums, kimchi, gochugaru, and briny, fresh seafood. Gochugaru has a sweet, bright pepper flavor and is much less spicy than your run-of-the-mill crushed red pepper flakes, so you can use a lot.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    4 servings

Ingredients

1

Tbsp. grapeseed or extra-virgin olive oil

½

small onion, finely chopped

2

scallions, white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced

2

garlic cloves, finely chopped

½

cup chopped Napa cabbage kimchi with juices

3

Tbsp. gochugaru (coarse Korean hot pepper flakes)

3

Tbsp. soy sauce

1

14-oz. package silken tofu

8

large shrimp, peeled, deveined

4

oz. squid, bodies and tentacles separated, bodies cut into ¼"-thick rings

8

mussels (5–5½ oz.), scrubbed, debearded

Kosher salt or fish sauce

1

large egg yolk*

Cooked rice (for serving)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium. Add onion, scallions, and garlic and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are very soft but not browned, 8–10 minutes. Add kimchi and juices and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute (just to concentrate the flavor). Add gochugaru, soy sauce, and 2 cups water. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Cook just until flavors come together, about 5 minutes.

    Step 2

    Add tofu (try to keep it in one piece; using a big spoon is an easy way to remove it from the package), then surround with shrimp and squid, and finish with mussels. Cover and cook just until shrimp are opaque and mussels open, about 2 minutes. (Try to avoid stirring so tofu doesn’t break up.)

    Step 3

    Remove stew from heat; taste and season with salt or fish sauce if needed. Top with egg yolk just before serving. Serve with rice alongside.

    Step 4

    *Raw egg is not recommended for the elderly, pregnant women, children under four, and people with weakened immune systems.

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Reviews (3)

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  • I had to modify a tiny beat with things I had at home: used regular cabbage, regular red pepper flakes, and shrimp only. The rest was as prescribed ;-) I stewed everything without the water, added an additional bunch of herbs that I had, tofu, and just shrimp that I had. DELISH!!! and will be on my repeat list. Thank you for another awesome recipe.

    • Marina

    • USA

    • 12/7/2022

  • This is a great recipe! Tastes authentic and very easy and straightforward to make. Only adjustment for me is that i cut down soy sauce to 1 tbsp and add 1tbsp of fish sauce. Less salty and less soy sauce flavor which i enjoy.

    • Anonymous

    • 7/7/2020

  • Why are there no other reviews of this yet?! This recipe is quite simply amazing. Have I made it properly yet? No. But the fact it’s good even with a few substitutions is a sign - and the sign says ‘You should make this!’. Couldn’t find gochugaru so substituted 1 TBSP of dried finger chilli flakes the first time, and 1 TBSP regular chilli flakes the second time I made this. Both delicious. I also didn’t have quite the range of seafood - but just prawns was delicious, and Korean seafood dumplings was also a great substitute. Plus or minus tofu, it’s all good.

    • Anonymous

    • London

    • 12/2/2019