Doenjang Jigae with Dashi

No, I don't have the fancy stone bowls like the Korean restaurants. It's just a black bowl.

I've been easing into making my current favorite Korean soup, doenjang jigae, by making this miso soup with Korean flair. It's become a frequent enough meal that I decided it was worth investing in a tub of doenjang. I'm glad I did!

Rather than just reusing my old recipe, I initially worked from this recipe from My Korean Kitchen. But I'm sticking with dashi as the base, since I still have no interest in working with either beef bones or dried anchovies.

It's delicious! Preschooler hasn't tried it yet, but I have a feeling I'll just be making him a separate bowl of miso soup whenever we have this, even if I kept the spice out of his bowl. The doenjang definitely has a stronger flavor than miso.

The Recipe: (adapted from My Korean Kitchen) (makes 3 servings)

3.5 c rice water (from rinsing rice)

1.5 tsp hondashi granules

3 tb doenjang

1 tsp gochujang

2 tsp gochugaru

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 onion or 1 shallot, sliced thin

1 package soft tofu, cubed

veggies: I like zucchini, kale, and dried shiitakes

1 tb Korean dipping sauce or haphazard splashes of soy sauce and sesame oil and rice vinegar

2 green onions, sliced

short-grained rice, for serving

Boil water
Whisk in hondashi, doenjang, gochujang, and gochugaru
Add garlic and onion, and boil for at least 2 minutes
Add other vegetables at various times, depending on how long they need to soften (I add dried shiitakes with the garlic/onion, zucchini 2 minutes before serving, and I just put ribboned kale/chard/etc into our bowls to wilt when I serve it)
Add tofu and sauce, and boil for 5 minutes
Add green onions. Remove from heat
Serve with rice on the side

The Verdict:

Overall grade: A+

Overall reason: Easy, healthy, delicious! Fulfills my craving for a Korean restaurant.

Time to prepare: 30 minutes

Husband quote: "I like it." (This is a monumental statement, considering it's soup and it has tofu.)

Comments

Kitchen renovation!

BEFORE: AFTER: Still to come: a beautiful new induction range and some wood shelving on the left side, above the backsplash. And maybe the shelving unit on the wall facing the cabinets should be green, but we're going to live with a while before making that decision.

Adzuki Beans with Black Rice

I hope I don't turn any readers away by featuring cilantro in my first photo. My current food obsession is black rice. I was first introduced to it at Sushi Pure . It's purple when cooked, and I was completely smitten when purple sushi arrived at our table. I mean, purple sushi! It was like my birthday or something. Actually, it might have been my birthday, because I pretty much always have sushi on my birthday, but anyway. It's kind of sweet and has this great chewy texture. When I learned how healthy it is , my crush evolved to full-out love. Sushi Pure's Spicy Tuna Roll (photo from FoodSpotting.com) In my ongoing research for ingredients that are low in calories but high in nutrition, adzuki (also spelled azuki) beans came up. I learned that these are the sweet red beans used in Japanese desserts, including red bean ice cream, which I've been obsessed with since I was a kid. But since turning them into ice cream probably negates the health benef...

Spicy Tomato Jam

Little pot of bubbling goodness seeks lentil patties, sweet potato fries, or pretty much anything else. I recently made this recipe from Crumb Blog for lentil patties with tomato jam. The lentil patties were pretty good, but the tomato jam was really something to write home about. It's one of those foods that makes you feel warm, even when it's cold. It has just the right balance of sweetness, acidity, and spice. The mustard seeds are a must (haha, must ard seeds). Their crunch, and the little burst of toasty peppery flavor that follows, are amazing in contrast to the rest of the flavors. The next time you're tempted to put ketchup on something, consider this instead. I have a little bit of this gold left over in the freezer. I'm thinking I may thin it out with vegetable broth and use it as a sauce for a stir-fry. Stay tuned for the results. The only change I made to this recipe was upping the amount of mustard seeds. I think 1 tsp is the perfect a...

Adventures of a healthy-ish pseudo-foodie

Search This Blog