Soondubu jjigae (Spicy Soft Tofu Stew)

Soondubu is really popular at Korean restaurants in America and so when other people ask me to make something, this is one of the main dishes they ask about. I've attempted making soondubu once before and it tasted a lot like mapo tofu (good mapo tofu, but still not a success :\). My mom said that she also had difficulty making this dish, so this time I looked up a bunch of recipes and combined the parts that seemed good. This time it turned out really well!



Ingredients:
1 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp gochuggaru (red pepper flakes)
1/2 onion sliced into strips
1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp gook ganjang (soup soy sauce)
1/2 cup of beef (bulgogi) -- can be replaced with seafood or pork belly or kimchi for a vegetarian version (obviously use vegetable stock instead of beef broth stuff if you want that)
2 containers of soondubu (extra soft tofu)
1 1/2 cups of water -- can be replaced with beef stock or water boiled with seaweed for awhile
1/4 tsp dashida (beef broth granules)
1 Tbsp gochujjang (red pepper paste)
4 or so mushrooms sliced
2 green onions sliced
salt

Directions:

1. Lightly fry sesame oil, sliced onion, gochuggaru, garlic, soy sauce, and beef over medium heat.
2. Add water and dashida and bring to a boil.
3. Add in tofu, gochujjang, mushrooms, and bring to a boil again.
4. Add in egg and green onions and boil until egg is cooked. Salt to taste.

This makes a medium spicy tofu stew (if you'd like less spicy, put less gochuggaru and/or gochujjang in it). Only thing I would change from my version is that I used marinated bulgogi (beef) and it makes it taste a bit more like bulgogi than I'd like. Next time I would use non-marinated. Eat with rice on the side (I like rice with everything haha) and you're good to go! Yum, soondubu!