Sundubu Jjigae - Korean Soft Tofu Stew (Recipe)

It's March, but it feels like the depths of winter. All I want to do is fill my belly with hot soups and stews in a bid to stay warm.

A double whammy of chilli heat and steaming broth is guaranteed to keep the chills away and one of my weapons of choice is the Korean dish sundubu jjigae aka soondubu jjigae.

Dried shiitake, garlic, dried anchovies

Sundubu jjigae is a hot and spicy stew (jjigae) made with super-soft uncurdled tofu (dubu), seafood, mushrooms, onions, kombu (kelp) and gochujang (a Korean savoury chilli pepper paste).

Made in a special earthenware bowl called a ddukbaegi which can be heated directly on a stovetop, a raw egg is cracked straight into the jjigae just before it's time to eat, and then the jjigae is served in the same bowl while it's still bubbling away.

The combination of barely poached egg and cloud-like tofu dancing together in the intense broth is obscenely good, especially when you break into the egg and the soft golden yolk melds with it all. I'm addicted.

Jjigaes can also be made in a normal saucepan and decanted into bowls, but this isn't half as exciting, since you don't get that cauldron effect.

Jjigaes always come with a bowl of white rice and little side dishes called banchan - out of laziness I often just serve kimchi.

Gochujang, sundubu, kombu dashi

Usually eaten with a long metal spoon and metal chopsticks, I find myself abandoning the latter so I can spoon more of the spicy jjigae broth onto the rice and into my mouth.

I got my ddukbaegi bowls and all the other Korean ingredients from the Centerpoint Food Store off Tottenham Court Road. You can also get everything in the Korean stores in New Malden.

Sundubu Jjigae - Korean Spicy Soft Tofu Stew

Serves 2

• 2 Korean earthenware bowls (optional)
• 1 sachet of kombu dashi or 10g kombu flakes
• 20g dried or 4 fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1 medium white onion
• 8 dried anchovies
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp gochujang (red pepper paste)
• 2 handfuls of small clams in the shell or cleaned prawns
• 1 pack of extra soft tofu (sundubu)
• 2 spring onions
• 1 red chilli
• 2 eggs
• Kimchi and rice to serve

Slice the mushrooms and cut the onion in half. Remove the heads from the anchovies. Sliver the spring onions and the chilli.

Place the kombu, mushrooms, garlic, onion and anchovies in a saucepan and add 500 ml cold water. Bring to a vigorous boil and then simmer for 15 minutes to make your jjigae stock.

Add a tbsp of gochujang and a tbsp of oil to each bowl and place them on the stove OR add the gochujang and oil to a saucepan. Heat till it sizzles.

Pour the simmering stock into the bowls/saucepan of sizzling gochujang (don't bother straining - the softened garlic and mushrooms etc are part of the stew).

Top up with water if necessary and then bring to the boil.

Add the seafood to the bowls/saucepan. This will cool the jjigae down, so bring to the boil again.

Add the extra soft tofu and break up into clumps. Add the slivered spring onions and chilli and stir.

Have the rice and banchan or kimchi ready for serving.

Bring the jjigae to the boil one more time and crack in the eggs.

If using the bowls, immediately remove from the heat with oven gloves.

If using the saucepan, immediately decant into (warmed) serving bowls.

Eat the jjigae while it's still bubbling like the fiery depths of Hell and try very hard not to burn your mouth.

Watch and listen to my sundubu jjigae in all its seething glory: