This hearty and comforting doenjang jjigae is made with an assortment of seafood.
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.
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!
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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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Michael says
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!
Janet says
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?
Hyosun says
No this is not spicy. Amazon has pretty good selection of Korean ingredients, and check for other on-line Korean grocery stores.
Paula says
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
Hyosun says
It would work, although it’d be a completely different dish. You’d need a lot more broth for all those ingredients.
sunny says
hello,
what’s the reason for putting the vinegar at the end? thank you.
Hyosun says
It will brighten the doenjang taste, making the stew even more delicious!
Lisa says
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
Lisa says
Sorry to repeat myself in the first question. It also seems the garlic is missing in the instructions as well.
Thanks
Sam says
Hi! You’re suppose to sauté the garlic and pepper flakes with the ssamjang paste and then add it to the anchovy water.
Yun says
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?
Hyosun says
Any clear vinegar, such as white vinegar and rice vinegar, will do. Enjoy!
Yun says
Thanks so much! I will try it out tomorrow ^^
Hyosun says
Awesome! Hope you like it.
Angela Rice says
Hello,
How do I preserve the leftovers?
Hyosun says
Hello Angela – It should be fine in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
Jeanny says
is the splash of vinegar special for seafood doenjang jjihae or can you use it with other types of meat in doenjang jjigae?
Hyosun says
You can use it in any doenjang jjigae.
Sally says
This looks like a wonderful recipe and great tips. I am definitely trying anchovy broth aswell. Thank you for sharing.
Hyosun says
Thank you, Sally! Hope you try it soon.