Dubu-jjigae.

The chef tried many versions of dubu-jjigae and settled on this. The whole thing is one onion at the bottom, tofu on top, water + five spoons of seasoning, boil. Five spoons. That's it.

This is the stew you make when you're tired and there's tofu in the fridge.

Ingredients

The base layer

• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 block firm tofu (~300g), cut into 1.5cm slabs

The 5-ones seasoning (per 400ml water)

• 400ml water
• 1 tbsp gochugaru
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp jin-ganjang (Korean dark soy)
• 1 tbsp anchovy fish sauce (멸치액젓)
• 1 tbsp oligosaccharide syrup (올리고당) — or honey/sugar
• ½ tsp dashida (Korean dashi powder) — optional

Finish (last 2 minutes)

• 1 stalk daepa (spring onion), sliced — green parts especially
• 1 cheongyang chili, sliced — optional, for heat

Method

1. Layer the base. Slice onion across the bottom of a small pot. Lay tofu slabs on top.
2. Add water + 5 seasonings. Pour 400ml water over. Add gochugaru, garlic, soy, fish sauce, oligosaccharide. (Dashida if using.)
3. Boil 5 minutes. Medium-high heat, lid off. The broth turns red and the tofu warms through.
4. Add daepa + chili. Slide in the spring onion and chili last. 2 more minutes.
5. Serve hot. Straight from the pot to the table with rice and one banchan.

Tip · why onion on the bottom

Onion on the bottom does two things: protects the tofu from sticking to the pot, and releases sweetness up into the broth as it cooks. Don't skip the layer order.

Tip · the 올리고당 thing

Oligosaccharide syrup is a Korean staple — sweet but doesn't crystallize on heat. No 올리고당? Use 1 tbsp honey or ½ tbsp sugar. The point is balance — without it, the gochugaru-fish-sauce combo skews aggressive.