해물 순두부 찌게 - Haemul Sundubu Jjigae - Seafood Sundubu Stew

Here's one of my favorite dishes, a real must for anyone interested in Korean cuisine.

Typically eaten in late fall to early winter (the critical time for most spicy stews), Sundubu Jjigae characterizes much of the Korean cuisine in its intense yet comforting flavor, its variability, its breadth of ingredients, and the sensitivity of its temperature and timing.

This stew can be made with a wide variety of ingredients, blooming from a standard "seafood" type to everything from "mushroom" to "ham and cheese." This means that this particular recipe is not a "standard" one, and has its own variations and harmonies.

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

• *2 tubes of 순두부, a delicately soft type of tofu, often written "Mild/Soft Tofu"
• 돼지 불고기, Pork Bulgogi, a type of spicy, marinated pork
• Seafood: shrimp, mussels, squid, scallop, really any kind of seafood, fresh or frozen
• *멸치 다시마, Anchovy Dashima, a broth made from boiling dried and gutted anchovies, thickly sliced dikon radish, onions, dashima (a type of kelp), and sliced Korean hot red/green peppers.
• *Shin Kimchi, which is just a well-fermented kimchi
• 1 Egg
  
• Red/Green Korean hot peppers
• Onions
• Green onions / scallions
• Enoki 팽이 Mushroom
• *다대기, a paste made from Korean red pepper powder, soy sauce, minced garlic, in a 1:1:1 ratio
• *Salted baby shrimp
• Oil (olive, vegetable, corn)
  
• *Clay pot

All of these ingredients can be found in a standard Korean grocery, and, as mentioned above, ingredients can vary all the time, so feel free to try your own blend. Ingredients with *asterisks* are necessary for traditional, high-quality Sundubu.

Procedure:

1. Utilizing a small amount of water and heat, boil the water to clean the clay pot. This primarily heats the pot (as the thick clay heats slowly), but also is useful for cleaning it. Then, remove water.
   
   N.B. A clay pot is traditionally used as the heavy lid helps pressurize and the thick, insular nature of the clay keeps the pot warm long after serving.
   
   
2. After lightly coating the bottom surface of the pot with oil, keep the heat on high and add a small* amount of the pork and kimchi. Stir occasionally, keeping lid on tight otherwise to prevent burning.
   
   * Quote: "Just enough for it to be noticed from time to time while eating." -chef
   
   
3. Once the meat is nearly cooked (careful never to overcook), turn the heat to low momentarily to add in the tubes of soft tofu, all the various seafood, and about a ladle-full of the 다시마, anchovy-kelp broth, in that order. The composition of food layers is critical in Sundubu. Raise the heat to near-high, cover, and bring to a boil.
   
   
4. Prepare the hot peppers (slice horizontally, in circles), onions (peeled and sliced), enoki mushrooms (lop off the roots), green onions, etc. Then add about 2 spoonfuls of 다대기, the red pepper paste, stir in gently*, and add about a teaspoon of salted baby shrimp.**
   
   *It is crucial not to mix or stir the contents in any aggressive manner, so as not to break the composition.
   **The salted baby shrimp is critical as a salting agent, as well as for its flavor.
   Quote: "A good Sundubu is made by its 다대기, an excellent one by its 다시마." -chef
   
   
5. Once the seafood has finished cooking, the liquid soup will have pooled up. Add in the side materials prepared in step 4 and let boil a little longer. Then, make some room in the middle and pop in a whole egg. Add more peppers to adjust spiciness. At the end, kill the heat, and drizzle some sesame oil over the stew and serve, covered, in the clay pot.
   
   
   
   
   
   Enjoy!