Sundubu-jjigae.

Sundubu-jjigae is the most fragile of the red stews — silken tofu falls apart at the edges, the broth is barely thickened, the egg slides in at the very end and curtains through. The chef's settled method does three things in order: scallion oil, bloom chili, dump everything in.

One stock coin. Two spoons of chili. Three ones for the savory base. Egg last.

Ingredients

The aromatic base

• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• Half a daepa (white parts), sliced thin — for 파기름 (scallion oil)
• 2 tbsp gochugaru

The 1·1·1 savory + stock

• 250ml water
• 1 stock coin (코인육수) — Korean dashi cube — or 1 tsp dashida
• 1 tbsp jin-ganjang
• 1 tbsp anchovy fish sauce (멸치액젓)
• 1 tbsp minced garlic

The body

• ¼ onion, sliced
• ¼ Korean zucchini (애호박), cubed
• 1 tube silken tofu (순두부, ~300g)

Finish (1 minute before serving)

• 1 egg
• Remaining green parts of daepa, sliced
• 1 cheongyang chili, sliced — optional

Method

1. Make scallion oil. In a small pot, heat oil over medium. Add the white parts of the daepa and stir until fragrant — 30 seconds. This is the foundation aroma.
2. Bloom the chili. Add 2 tbsp gochugaru. Stir 20–30 seconds — don't burn. The oil turns deep red.
3. Add water + stock + 1·1·1. Pour in 250ml water and drop in the stock coin. Add jin-ganjang, fish sauce, and garlic.
4. Add vegetables + tofu. Slide in onion, zucchini, then break the silken tofu into rough chunks straight into the pot. Don't stir — let it settle. Boil 5 minutes.
5. Finish. Crack one egg into the center. Add the green daepa and chili. Cook 1 more minute — the egg white sets but the yolk stays soft. Don't stir.
6. Serve straight from the pot. Crack the yolk at the table — it threads through the broth.

Tip · the stock coin trick

Korean stock coins (코인육수) are dashi cubes that dissolve cleanly without leaving residue. Yumi Hana stocks them. No coin? 1 tsp dashida + a small piece of dried kelp gives you the same depth.

Tip · don't stir the tofu

Silken tofu is held together by surface tension. Stirring breaks it into a paste. Break it into rough chunks straight into the pot, then leave it alone — the simmer does the rest.

Tip · the egg goes in last

Egg added at the start curdles into rags. Egg cracked into the simmering broth at minute 5 sets the white but holds the yolk soft. Crack it at the table and watch the yolk thread.