Soondubu Jjigae

Here's my take on the Soondubu Jjigae (one of my favorite Korean foods). I'm cooking it Arab-style haha. Also, our homemade kimchi recipe special!  \^o^/
Let me start off by saying that I LOVE SOONDUBU JJIGAE! Okay. That's better. And not only that, but I love kimchi. There's one problem however--and it could be just my paranoia--I like to know what goes into the stuff I'm eating. So even though I've tried a couple different soondubu places 1) 2), I like to make my own to feel healthier (since I see every ingredient that goes into my stew).

Also, because of the fermentation process of Kimchi and the many different versions and flavors, I thought it would be best to just make my own. *Note: we only had the purple cabbage, not the napa cabbage usually used for kimchi-- 배추

Alright, well, we made the kimchi first so that we can add it in the jjigae later.
1 whole purple cabbage
1/3 cup Red pepper powder (we couldn't find flakes)
1/4 cup Fish sauce (Three Crabs brand)
2 garlic cloves
4 stalks green onion
1/4 cup carrot slices
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 cup cold water

Slice the cabbage and place in a large bowl. Pour water and salt; set aside for 10 minutes.
In another large bowl, add all other ingredients together to make a paste. Return to the cabbage and wash and drain well. Mix cabbage and paste together. Store in a glass container and press so the kimchi doesn't have too much air in between it. Pour remaining paste over the kimchi.
Personally, I enjoyed this kimchi most when it was fresh. My sister, however, likes to eat it even more as it ferments. We stored it in the fridge to keep it fresh and crunchy. :D

The following recipe was adapted from two recipes I found online: Maangchi's and EatYourKimchi's
I found that EYK's recipe was sort of 'modern' and simple to follow. I also liked how they included many tips on how to make the jjigae more authentic and Martina's easy to follow cooking directions. Maangchi had a very authentic and flavorful-looking recipe but, since this is my first try, I wanted to keep it simple and only use beef as the meat in the jjigae. This is the recipe we came up with! If you try it, let me know how it turned out for you! :D

There are two parts to this: the anchovy stock and the jjigae part. Once you have the stock, everything is easy. We made enough stock for two batches that we cooked on two different days. With leftover stock, it was fast cooking!

Anchovy stock: (we couldn't find any dried anchovies ㅠ.ㅠ so we improvised; look online for good instructions on how to make the stock)
3-4 sheets of Nori (again, we couldn't find dried kelp)
4 cups water
3 more cups water
1 white onion
3 cloves garlic
1 cup dried shittake mushrooms
2 tbsp fish sauce

Soak the nori in 4 cups water. Set aside. Timing is very important here: Boil 3 cups water, onion, garlic, mushrooms and fish sauce in a large pot; it should boil for 20 minutes. I use a timer because I forget. :p Add the soaked nori and the water to the pot. Boil 10 more minutes. Taste your anchovy stock. It should taste fishy and sort of like soondubu jjigae. If you don't know what flavor to anticipate, go to your nearest soondubu jjigae restaurant. Once your stock is complete, strain the sauce. Our nori fell apart so we used a fine strainer. Yay! You're halfway there!

Soondubu Jjigae:
2 cups anchovy stock (we might have used more--just eyeball it)
Some meat, we used beef. Again, just eyeball it depending on how much meat you like in your jjigae
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp red pepper flakes -- I advise you to put a little and taste it. The worst thing is not to have the perfect spiciness. So taste as you go.
1 cup kimchi *optional? Sometimes I see it in my jjigae, sometimes not.
1 green squash, chopped (looked like zucchini except not) (lol)
One block organic soft tofu (doesn't need to be organic haha but it should be soft)
1/2 tsp soy sauce. This is what adds salt to the stew, so taste as you go.
2 chopped green onions
Egg *optional

*Note again: we thought long and hard about whether or not we should buy a dolsot (돌솥) for bibimbap and jjigae and such. We probably will, once we find it but we don't have one now. I assure you, your favorite pot for making soup will work just fine.

So, you start out by heating your pot. Once hot, add the olive oil and wait for that to heat up too. If it's hot, the meat will keep all it's juices and taste delicious. When olive oil is hot, put in your chopped meat and cook it thoroughly. Add the chopped squash and cook until tender. The meat and vegetable will create a nice combo. Add any other vegetables you would like. Add your kimchi and red pepper flakes/powder and mix well so the pepper is evenly distributed. Add the stock. I might have added more than 2 cups of stock because I was making enough for 4-5 people--just wing it and taste as you go. If your stock is hot, it might sizzle in the hot pot. Don't worry, it's supposed to do that. Carefully--and I really mean carefully because I almost burned myself--add the soft tofu to the stew and bring back to a boil. Taste your creation. If it needs salt, add the soy sauce. If it needs spice, add more pepper flakes. If it needs flavor, you probably needed to fix your anchovy stock from the beginning. Boil for 5ish minutes. If it seems too watery, just let it boil off the excess water. Have patience. If it's too thick, well, stew is supposed to be dense but you can add more stock. As long as you like your food. :) Lastly, add the green onions for a minute and crack the egg into your jjigae. Enjoy!

Notice that you must cook certain things in order. Things that need the longest to cook are added first (meat, vegetables) and the onion and egg at the end because it doesn't need much time. Time is extremely important in cooking. As well as tasting as you go so you can improve your dish and make it exactly the way you imagined it to be. Happy cooking!

Behind the scenes:
We made the second batch today with chicken instead of beef. We also used a Costco mixed frozen vegetables bag for the veggies. It was pretty good! Even my dad (who's never tried soondubu before) and my mom (who tried it but said our version is better than BCD's) enjoyed it. Soooooo basically that just means that cooking gives you the freedom to make whatever you like, as long as it's edible and you like to eat it. :p
Also, I did take pictures but I thought they looked bleh because of the steam and the low light. Sorry no pics this time.