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.)

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