Korean Stew (Fermented Bean Paste)

Fermented Soybean Paste Stew (Doenjang jjigae) 된장찌개

Doenjang is a traditional Korean fermented soybean paste. Its name literally means "thick paste" in Korean. To produce doenjang, dried soybeans are boiled and stone-ground into coarse bits. This paste is then formed into blocks, which are called meju (메주). The blocks are then exposed to sunlight or warmth. When so exposed, dried rice plants are attached to the surface of the soybean blocks. Dried rice plants are readily available in Korea and are a rich source of bacteria (Bacillus subtilis). The fermentation process begins at this stage. The Bacillus subtilis bacteria reproduce, consuming soybean protein and water in the meju. The unique smell of the meju is mainly the ammonia produced by the bacteria. One to three months later, depending on the block size, the meju are put into large, opaque pottery jars with brine and left to further ferment, during which time various beneficial bacteria transform the mixture into a further vitamin-enriched substance (similar to the way milk ferments to become yogurt). Liquids and solids are separated after the fermentation process, and the liquid becomes Korean soy sauce (Joseon ganjang; 조선간장). The solid, which is doenjang, is very salty and quite thick, often containing (unlike most miso) some whole, uncrushed soybeans.

While traditional homemade doenjang is made with soybeans and brine only, many factory-made variants ofdoenjang contain a fair amount of wheat flour just like most factory-made soy sauce does. Some current makers also add fermented, dried, and ground anchovies to accentuate the doenjang's savory flavor.

Doenjang can be eaten as a condiment in raw-paste form with vegetables, as flavored seasoning or even as a dipping condiment. However, it is more commonly mixed with garlic, sesame oil, and sometimes gochujang to produce ssamjang, which is then traditionally eaten with or without rice wrapped in leaf vegetables such as red leaf lettuce. This dish is called ssambap. This combination of leaf vegetable and doenjang (or ssamjang) often complements popular Korean meat dishes, for example samgyeopsal, bulgogi, and bossam.

It can also be used as a component of soup broth, for example in a popular stew (jjigae) called doenjang jjigae which usually includes tofu, various vegetables such as chili peppers, zucchini and scallion, and (optionally) mushrooms, red meat, or scallops.

Doenjang is rich in flavonoids and beneficial vitamins, minerals, and plant hormones (phytoestrogens) which are sometimes claimed to possess anticarcinogenic properties. In Korean traditional meals, the menu has concentrated on vegetables and rice, but doenjang, which is made of soybeans, has a great deal of lysine, an essential amino acid that rice lacks. Linoleic acid (53% of the fatty acids) and linolenic acid (8% of the fatty acids) have an important role in normal growth of blood vessels and prevention of blood vessel-related illness. Doenjang's efficacy still exists after boiling, in dishes such as doenjang jjigae.

Doenjang is considered one of the essential sauces of authentic Korean cuisine. However, the condiment has historically been unknown outside of Korea, although recent international articles have resulted in an increase in its popularity. A 2007 Chinese article on the "Sauces of Korea" listeddoenjang and gochujang as essential flavorings, and explored the origins of the condiments, particularly focusing on Sunchang County, where most Korean soy sauce is produced. The article pointed out that doenjang does not contain any artificial additives and in fact has healthy amounts of essential vitamins, such as vitamin C and vitamin B₁₂. The health benefits of doenjang are rumored to extend longevity, and this is illustrated by the fact that out of the 32,000 people in Sunchung county, eight are over 100 years old and many are over 90. The article was influential throughout China, resulting in many Chinese restaurants adding doenjang stew, modified slightly to Chinese tastes, to their menus shortly after publication. South Korea'sJoongAng Ilbo covered this story in China on December 13, 2007. Claims are being explored about the role of Doenjang in reducing visceral fat, though studies have only been done on rodents.

Dajiang, a type of fermented soybean paste popular in northeast China, bears a great similarity in texture and taste to Korean doenjang. The tradition of eating dajiang is said to have been started by the Manchu people, who originally occupied China's northeastern provinces. Northeastern Chinese people enjoy eating raw vegetables in the summer, and dajiang is used like a salad dressing to add flavor.

Doenjang also bears similarities to Japanese miso.

Ingredients:

1 medium size potato (about 1 cup’s worth), peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
1 cup worth of zucchini or squash, cut into ½ inch cubes
1 cup worth onion, cut into ½ inch cubes
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 green chili pepper, chopped
7 dried anchovies, removed the heads and intestines and chopped
1 stalk of green onion, chopped
150 grams of tofu, cut into ½ inch cubes
5 tbs of soy bean paste (doen jang)
4 large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and chopped

Directions:

1. Prepare an earthenware pot. Add  potato, onion, garlic, zucchini, green chili pepper, shrimp, and dried anchovies.
2. Add 2 ½ cup water.
   *tip: Don’t put too much water, just enough to cover everything
3. When it starts boiling after 10-15 minutes, add 5 tbs (1/4 cup plus 1 tbs) of bean paste, stir the stew, and keep cooking for another 15-20 minutes.
4. Add tofu and cook another 5 minutes
   Tip: Occasionally stir the boiling stew with a spoon.
5. Add green onion and serve with a bowl of rice and other side dishes.
   Tip: to check whether or not the ingredients are cooked, taste the potato.

U-wa!! 우와!!

Korean Stew (Kimchi)

Kimchi Stew (Kimchi jjigae) 김치찌개

Kimchi jjigae is a variety of jjigae, or stew-like Korean dish, made with kimchi and other ingredients, such as scallions, onions, diced tofu, pork, and seafood, although pork and seafood are generally not used in the same recipe. It is one of the most common jjigae in Korea.

Kimchi is known to have been eaten as pickled vegetables, and only became the kimchi known today in the mid-Joseon era, when chili peppers were first introduced to the country. Kimchi jjigae is assumed to have been developed around this time, as well.

Kimchi jjigae is often cooked in Korean homes using older, more fermented and “ripe” kimchi, creating a much stronger taste and containing higher amounts of "“good” bacteria also found in yogurt. However, it should be noted that the living bacteria present in fresh, uncooked kimchi will not survive the cooking process. The stew is said to be more flavorful if prepared with older kimchi, while fresh kimchi may not bring out a full and rich flavor. Kimchi is the most important ingredient in kimchi jjigae, and other ingredients tend to depend on personal preferences.

Sliced kimchi is put into a pot with beef, pork or seafood, tofu, sliced spring onions and garlic, and are all boiled with water or myeolchi (anchovy) stock. The stew is seasoned with either doenjang (bean paste) or gochujang (red pepper paste).

Like many other Korean dishes kimchi jjigae is usually eaten communally from the center of the table if more than two people are served. It is accompanied by various banchan (side dishes) and rice. It is usually cooked and served boiling hot in a stone pot.

Ingredients:

200 grams of pork belly (about 1/2 pound)
4 or 5 cups of chopped kimchi
1 tbs sugar, 1 tsp of hot pepper flakes, 1 tbs hot pepper paste
onion, green onions
half a package of tofu
sesame oil and water

Directions:

1. In a shallow pot, put some chopped kimchi and juice.
2. Add sliced onion, hot pepper paste, hot pepper flakes, sugar, and green onions, and pork belly (or tuna).
3. Pour water over top until all the ingredients are submerged.
4. Close the lid of the pot and boil it 25 or 30 minutes. (first 10 minutes will be high heat and then turn down the heat over medium heat)
5. Add some tofu and boil it 5 minutes more and put some sesame oil right before serving.

KimchiiiiiiiI! ♥ 김치 ♥

Korean Stew (Tofu)

Soft Tofu Stew (Sundubu jjigae) 순두부찌개

Sundubu jjigae (순두부찌개) or Soon Tofu is a hot and spicy jjigae (Korean stew) dish made with uncurdled dubu (tofu), seafood (oysters, mussels, clams and shrimp are common ingredients), vegetables, mushrooms, onion, scallions, and gochujang or gochu garu (chili powder) in Korean cuisine. The dish is assembled and cooked directly in the serving vessel, which is typically made of thick, robust porcelain, but can also be ground out of solid stone. A raw egg is put in the jjigae just before serving, and the dish is delivered while still bubbling vigorously. This dish is eaten with a bowl of cooked white rice and several banchan (side dishes).

Korean immigrants in Los Angeles originated Sundubu jjigae or Soon Tofu in 1990s. Hee Sook Lee, a first-generation Korean immigrant first arrived in Los Angeles with two of her three sons in 1989. She left behind her husband and 18-month-old son so that she and the other two sons, 5 and 7 at the time, could get an education. She decided to open a restaurant. To differentiate her eatery from the seemingly endless array of restaurants lining the streets of Koreatown, Hee Sook Lee decided she would serve just one simple tofu dish, soon-dubu -- a common, cheap lunch dish with chunks of white tofu submerged in a bubbling bright-red soup saturated with spices.

Hee Sook Lee took to the kitchen, spending long nights experimenting with different spices and condiments. From the commonplace stew, she conjured up 12 varieties with different types of meat and flavors. She brainstormed ways to customize the dish like a cup of coffee, offering four degrees of spiciness, with or without monosodium glutamate. After about a year of preparation and some advertising, Hee Sook Lee opened her first BCD Tofu House on Vermont Avenue in April 1996. It is the first Soon Tofu specialty restaurant. The name is short for Buk Chang Dong, a neighborhood in Seoul where her in-laws once ran a restaurant. Ten months after the first restaurant opened, Hee Sook Lee opened a second BCD Tofu House in Koreatown. Ten months after that, she opened a third in Garden Grove. Just two years into the business, Hee Sook Lee began to export her Soon Tofu to South Korea. Even at this rate, Hee Sook Lee hasn't been able to open branches fast enough to keep up with the demand, and numerous imitators took advantage of the opportunity. Now Soon Tofu is hugely popular in Korea.

Also According to Chef Roy Choi (of Kogi Korean BBQ fame), sundubu jjigae was a dish developed by Korean immigrants in Los Angeles.

Ingredients:

12 dried anchovies
1/3 cup of kelp, half onion, 5 cloves of garlic, 3 shiitake mushrooms
100 grams of beef, 1 cup of mixed seafood, 3 shrimp
2 green onions, 1 green chili pepper
2-5 tbs of hot pepper flakes
olive oil, sesame oil, 2 tubes of soon du bu
2 tbs of fish sauce, and 2 eggs

Directions:

1. Pour 5 cups of water into a pot and add 12 dried anchovies after removing intestine part.
2. Add half onion, some dried kelp (about 1/3 cup), 3 dried shiitake mushrooms, 5 cloves of garlic and boil it over high heat.
3. Approximately 10 minutes later, lower the heat to low medium heat and boil it for another 20 minutes.
4. Set aside the stock and take out the mushrooms and chop them into small pieces.
5. Heat your earthen ware (or ceramic pot) on the stove and put 2 ts of olive oil.
6. Chop 100 grams of beef and put it into the pot and stir it.
7. Add the chopped shiitake mushroom and stir it.
8. Add 2 tbs – 5 tbs (1/4 cup) of hot pepper flakes and keep stirring for 1 minute.
   *tip:
   2 tbs—mild
   3 tbs—medium
   4 tbs—hot
   5 tbs (1/4 cup)—suicidal hot ! : )
9. Pour 2 cups of the stock you made. It will be sizzling. Don’t be afraid! It’s just TOFU stew! : )
10. Add 1 cup of mixed seafood and 3 shirimp.
11. Add 2 tbs of fish sauce.
12. Cut the 2 tubes of Soon du bu (soft Tofu) in half and squeeze it out into the pot and break the tofu with a spoon several times in the pot.
13. When it boils, add 2 chopped green onions and 1 green chili pepper.
14. Crack eggs and drizzle some sesame oil before serving.

Sigsaleul jeulgil su 식사를 즐길 수 :)