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    Home » Main Dish

    Seafood Doenjang Jjigae

    Published 04/26/2015. Updated 08/13/2019

    Jump to Recipe

    This hearty and comforting doenjang jjigae is made with an assortment of seafood.

    DSC 0739 1 e1655763157955 - Seafood Doenjang Jjigae

    It’s been over 5 years since I last posted a doenjang jjigae(된장찌개) recipe, which is a staple stew made with fermented soybean paste, doenjang. It was a very basic doenjang jjigae recipe with fatty pork, but a popular one. Head over there if you like meat in your stew. This time, I made a variation made with seafood.

    Any type of seafood can be added. The typical additions are clams, mussels, shrimp, squid, and oysters. You can use any one of these or a combination. Seafoods add a nice refreshing briny flavor to the stew. 

    The most important ingredient in doenjang jjigae is obviously doenjang. Doenjang is traditionally homemade, but most households buy commercially available doenjang these days. For many years, we were lucky enough to have doenjang that my mother-in-law made. It was the best doenjang! Now I make my own doenjang. When I’m out of my homemade doenjang, I usually resort to premium doenjang from Korea, but if none of these is an option for you, check out my Pantry Staples post for a major brand you can find at Korean markets or on-line. 

    DSC 0823 2 e1655763035942 - Seafood Doenjang Jjigae

    We all know by now a good Korean stews are usually made with anchovy broth, and it doesn’t take much time to make it. Dry anchovies last a long time in the freezer. Doenjang jjigae is also commonly made with ssalddeumul (쌀뜨물), water from rinsing rice. Or you can simply use water. All the seafood in this recipe will give you a flavorful base for the stew. 

    A small trick you can use for doenjang jjigae is to use a small amount of vinegar at the end. It will brighten the doenjang taste, making the stew even more delicious!

    DSC 0815 e1430106673971 - Seafood Doenjang Jjigae

    For more Korean cooking inspirations, follow  along on YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

    DSC 0823 2 e1655763035942 500x500 - Seafood Doenjang Jjigae

    Seafood Doenjang Jjigae

    4.86 from 7 votes
    Main Course, stew
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    30 minutes
    Servings: 2
    Print Recipe

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup assortment of seafood I used a few small clams, 1/2 squid, and 5 medium shrimp
    • 8 to 10 ounces tofu
    • 1/2 medium zucchini
    • 3 to 4 mushroom caps
    • 1/4 medium onion
    • 3 ounces Korean radish mu
    • 1 chili pepper green or red
    • 1 to 2 scallions
    • 3 cups of anchovy broth or water see note
    • 2 tablespoons doenjang (Korean soybean paste)
    • 1 teaspoon gochugaru (Korean chili pepper flakes)
    • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
    • 1 teaspoon vinegar

    Instructions

    • Rinse and scrub the clams. Place the clams in salted water (1 tablespoon of salt in 2 to 3 cups of water) for 30 minutes or longer to get the clams to spit out the sand. Clean the squid, and cut into bite size pieces. Clean the shrimp.
      DSC 0750 e1430107733710 - Seafood Doenjang Jjigae
    • Cut the tofu into 1/2-inch thick bite size slices. Cut the zucchini, onion, mushrooms, and radish into bite size pieces. Roughly chop the scallion, and thinly slice the chili pepper.
      DSC 0766 1024x685 - Seafood Doenjang Jjigae
    • Add the anchovy broth (or rice water or plain water), soybean paste and gochugaru to a small pot. Stir well to dissolve the soy bean paste. Add the radish and onion. Bring it to a boil over medium high heat, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
      DSC 0793 1024x685 - Seafood Doenjang Jjigae
    • Add the tofu, zucchini, mushroom, chili pepper and garlic. Boil for an additional 2 minutes.
      DSC 0799 1024x685 - Seafood Doenjang Jjigae
    • Add the seafood, starting with the clams. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes or until the clams are open. Stir in the vinegar, and throw in the scallion. Cook for another minute or two.
      DSC 0803 e1430108700539 - Seafood Doenjang Jjigae

    Notes

    Use the water used to rinse rice, ssal ddeum mul or anchovy broth for jjigae/stew. For anchovy broth, boil about 10 medium dry anchovies and one 3-inch square dried kelp in 4 cups of water for 10 minutes.
    Tried this recipe?Mention @koreanbapsang or tag #koreanbapsang!

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    Comments

    1. Michael says

      March 31, 2021 at 7:56 pm

      5 stars
      I faithfully followed your instructions and it came out amazing! Better than in the KTown restaurants in NYC where I live. Shopped for my ingredients at HMart. Thank you for making it so easy!

      Reply
    2. Janet says

      February 06, 2020 at 7:52 pm

      I’m going to make this soup. I lived in Seoul for a few years and this looks like the soup we got at our local restaurant. I loved that it was still boiling when served and got spicier as I got farther down into the bowl. Is yours quite spicy? I live in Iowa now and am learning to make my own Korean food (Chap Chae, yum!) But ingredients are hard to find! Any suggestions?

      Reply
      • Hyosun says

        February 10, 2020 at 12:37 am

        No this is not spicy. Amazon has pretty good selection of Korean ingredients, and check for other on-line Korean grocery stores.

        Reply
    3. Paula says

      January 24, 2020 at 9:01 pm

      Hi, it looks delicious. Can I serve this soup with sweet potato noodles and rice cakes and soba noodle? I’m thinking to serve this soup in hot pot type. Do you think it would work? Thank you

      Reply
      • Hyosun says

        January 24, 2020 at 11:31 pm

        It would work, although it’d be a completely different dish. You’d need a lot more broth for all those ingredients.

        Reply
    4. sunny says

      December 11, 2018 at 9:36 am

      hello,
      what’s the reason for putting the vinegar at the end? thank you.

      Reply
      • Hyosun says

        December 12, 2018 at 12:00 am

        It will brighten the doenjang taste, making the stew even more delicious!

        Reply
    5. Lisa says

      October 25, 2016 at 11:37 am

      Hi,

      I see red pepper flakes listed. When do we put it in? But it’s not in the instructions. When does it go in?

      Thanks,

      Lisa

      Reply
      • Lisa says

        October 25, 2016 at 11:43 am

        Sorry to repeat myself in the first question. It also seems the garlic is missing in the instructions as well.

        Thanks

        Reply
        • Sam says

          May 16, 2017 at 1:12 pm

          Hi! You’re suppose to sauté the garlic and pepper flakes with the ssamjang paste and then add it to the anchovy water.

          Reply
    6. Yun says

      May 08, 2016 at 12:28 pm

      Thanks so much for sharing your recipes! I am so attracted your recipe of adding vinegar to jjigae. What kind of vinegar do you suggest?

      Reply
      • Hyosun says

        May 09, 2016 at 12:05 am

        Any clear vinegar, such as white vinegar and rice vinegar, will do. Enjoy!

        Reply
        • Yun says

          May 12, 2016 at 6:37 pm

          Thanks so much! I will try it out tomorrow ^^

          Reply
          • Hyosun says

            May 16, 2016 at 1:03 am

            Awesome! Hope you like it.

            Reply
    7. Angela Rice says

      April 23, 2016 at 8:11 pm

      Hello,
      How do I preserve the leftovers?

      Reply
      • Hyosun says

        April 24, 2016 at 12:32 pm

        Hello Angela – It should be fine in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.

        Reply
    8. Jeanny says

      June 02, 2015 at 5:07 pm

      is the splash of vinegar special for seafood doenjang jjihae or can you use it with other types of meat in doenjang jjigae?

      Reply
      • Hyosun says

        June 02, 2015 at 9:59 pm

        You can use it in any doenjang jjigae.

        Reply
    9. Sally says

      April 27, 2015 at 5:31 pm

      This looks like a wonderful recipe and great tips. I am definitely trying anchovy broth aswell. Thank you for sharing.

      Reply
      • Hyosun says

        April 27, 2015 at 10:49 pm

        Thank you, Sally! Hope you try it soon.

        Reply

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