Doenjang-jjigae (Korean: 된장찌개; Korean: wen.dʑaŋ.t͈ɕi.ɡɛ, referred to in English as soybean paste stew, is a Korean traditional '' jjigae'' (stew-type dish), made from the primary ingredient of ''

doenjang ''Doenjang'' * (; "thick sauce") or soybean paste is a type of fermented bean paste made entirely of soybean and brine. It is also a byproduct of soup soy sauce production. It is sometimes used as a relish. History The earliest soybean fer ...

'' (soybean paste), and additional optional ingredients vegetables, seafood, and meat. It is one of the most iconic and popular traditional dishes in

Korean cuisine Korean cuisine has evolved through centuries of social and political change. Originating from ancient agricultural and nomadic traditions in Korea and southern Manchuria, Korean cuisine reflects a complex interaction of the natural envi ...

, and is often eaten regularly regardless of occasion or time of day. ''Doenjang-jjigae'' was initially made with home-made ''doenjang''; however, due to extensive industrialisation of soybean paste, households and restaurants nowadays use factory-made ''doenjang'' instead as their ingredient. From traditional to modern Korean cuisine, ''doenjang'' has become one of the most frequently used ''jang'' (sauce/paste). It is claimed as a national dish. ''Doenjang-jjigae'' is often mistaken for '' doenjag-guk'' (soybean paste soup). The main difference between Korean-style stew and soup is in the method of cooking and serving. ''Jjigae'' is thicker, has more ingredients, and is largely served as a dish. '' Guk'' is served more so as a companion to the rice to be eaten together.

History

The origin of ''doenjang'', which is used as the primary ingredient of ''doenjang-jjigae'', dates back to as early as the Korean Three Kingdoms period. Korea was largely agricultural, with vast farmlands but unstable, insufficient sources of meat, especially during winter. In the search for easily prepared relief substitutes of sources of

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...

, Korean farmers began cultivating ''jang'' (sauce/paste) from various plants and seeds. ''Doenjang'' was first produced during this period through the fermentation of soybeans in the form of ''

meju ''Meju'' () is a brick of dried fermented soybeans. While not consumed on its own, it serves as the basis of several Korean condiments, such as ''doenjang'' (soybean paste), '' ganjang'' (soy sauce), and gochujang (chili paste). ''Meju'' is prod ...

''. Fermented soybean paste is found to be a rich source of isoflavone, which helps in preventing

cardiovascular disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

s and supplies daily nutrients to the body. The first official record of the use of ''doenjang'' is written in the ''

Samguk Sagi ''Samguk Sagi'' (, ''History of the Three Kingdoms'') is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. The ''Samguk Sagi'' is written in Classical Chinese, the written language of the literati of ancient Korea, ...

'', the historical records of the Three Kingdoms era registered by government officials and scholars. In the ''Samguk Sagi'', it is recorded that ''doenjang'' and other varieties of ''jang'' were served at the wedding ceremony of King

Sinmun of Silla Sinmun of Silla (r. 681–692) was the thirty-first king of Silla, a Korean state that originated in the southwestern Korean peninsula and went on to unify most of the peninsula under its rule in the mid 7th century. He was the eldest son of Sil ...

in 683 CE. The earliest form of ''doenjang jjigae'' is mainly connected to ‘curled mallow soup’, which is mentioned in the '' Jeungbo sallim gyeongje'', a record of Korean agriculture by physician Yu Jung-Rim during the rule of King Youngjo (1724 – 1776). Curled mallow soup is a traditional Korean soup-type dish where mallow leaves and other vegetables are boiled in a ''doenjang-''filled broth, and served as a soup complementary with rice. Since this period, various provinces and regions around the Korean peninsula began to develop their own unique recipes of ''doenjang-jjigae,'' and most varieties of these soybean paste stew are still maintained.

Ingredients

There are many variations and subtle differences in the ingredients used in cooking ''doenjang-jjigae'' in accordance to its originating

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

''.'' The ingredients listed in this section provides the primary and typical ingredients which can be commonly found in most servings of ''doenjang-jjigae''. Ingredients included are ''doenjang'' (fermented soybean paste), dried anchovies,

white radish Daikon or mooli, '' Raphanus sativus'' var. ''longipinnatus,'' is a mild-flavored winter radish usually characterized by fast-growing leaves and a long, white, root. Originally native to continental East Asia, daikon is harvested and consume ...

, Korean chilli pepper, minced garlic,

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the on ...

green onions "Green Onions" is an instrumental composition recorded in 1962 by Booker T. & the M.G.'s. Described as "one of the most popular instrumental rock and soul songs ever" and as one of "the most popular R&B instrumentals of its era", the tune is a ...

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Uni ...

, zucchini, and medium-firm tofu. Doenjang''-jjigae'' was traditionally cooked with homemade soybean paste, which was commonly prepared in most households, similar to the preparation of ''

kimchi ''Kimchi'' (; ko, 김치, gimchi, ), is a traditional Korean side dish of salted and fermented vegetables, such as napa cabbage and Korean radish. A wide selection of seasonings are used, including '' gochugaru'' (Korean chili powder), ...

.'' However, large industrialization processes regarding most ''jang'' (sauce/paste) in recent decades have made a nationwide shift to using factory-made ''doenjang-jjigae'' products for quick and easy accessibility and preparation. Many other ingredients can be added to ''doenjang-jjigae'' for a heartier meal, especially

meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...

seafood Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters and mussels, and cephalopods such as octopus an ...

. These secondary ingredients significantly change the taste of the broth and stew, so it is usually referred to by a slightly different name according to the ingredient used. The most common seafood ingredients added to ''doenjang-jjigae'' include

prawn Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton and ten legs (which is a member of the order decapoda), some of which can be eaten. The term "prawn"Mortenson, Philip B (2010''This is not a weasel: a close look at nature' ...

s or small

clam Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. The word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. Clams have two shel ...

s, and

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...

is the most popular and commonly found meat ingredient.

Preparation and serving

The preparation stage of ''doenjang-jjiage'' is largely divided into two stages: the initial boiling of the broth, and the following addition of ingredients. The first step of cooking soybean paste stew is making the base broth. The base broth is made by adding dried anchovies and white radish to the pot of water and bringing to a boil for around 15 minutes. Then, the key ingredient ''doenjang'', along with chilli pepper, is stirred into the broth and mixed carefully. The broth is set to boil for a further 10 to 20 minutes before filtering the anchovies out of the broth. Next, ingredients are added into the broth in the general order of potato and zucchini first for enough time for them to soften, then onions, green onions and tofu, and finishing with the addition of minced garlic for more

pungent Pungency () refers to the taste of food commonly referred to as spiciness, hotness or heat, found in foods such as chili peppers. Highly pungent tastes may be experienced as unpleasant. The term piquancy () is sometimes applied to foods with a l ...

flavor. In contrast to ''doenjang-guk, doenjang-jjigae'' is served at the center of the dining table, mainly as a sharing dish between two or more people. Similarly to other ''jjigae''-type dishes, ''doenjang-jjigae'' is served alongside

steamed rice Cooked rice refers to rice that has been cooked either by steaming or boiling. The terms steamed rice or boiled rice are also commonly used. Any variant of Asian rice (both Indica and Japonica varieties), African rice or wild rice, glutinous ...

, and other ''

banchan ''Banchan'' (, from Korean: ) or bansang are small side dishes served along with cooked rice in Korean cuisine. As the Korean language does not distinguish between singular and plural grammatically, the word is used for both one such dish o ...

s'' (side dishes) consisting of meat or vegetables. ''Doenjang-jjigae'' is commonly served as an accompanying stew when ordering meat at Korean barbeque, since Korean barbequed meat and ''doenjang-jjigae'' are widely accepted to be a hearty and tasty combination.

Health benefits

Doenjang contains isoflavone, which helps prevent diseases such as

osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass, micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue leading to bone fragility, and consequent increase in fracture risk. It is the most common reason for a broken bone a ...

, and

lecithin Lecithin (, from the Greek ''lekithos'' "yolk") is a generic term to designate any group of yellow-brownish fatty substances occurring in animal and plant tissues which are amphiphilic – they attract both water and fatty substances (and so a ...

, which helps improve brain function, so it is effective not only for growing children, but also for adults and the elderly. In addition, doenjang is rich in

dietary fiber Dietary fiber (in British English fibre) or roughage is the portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes. Dietary fibers are diverse in chemical composition, and can be grouped generally by t ...

, which is beneficial for digestive system functions.

Varieties

Multiple varieties of ''doenjang-jjigae'' can be found in Korean cuisine, different in taste, presentation, regionality, and steps of preparation and consumption. These varieties are usually distinguished by their unique main ingredient, which the dish itself is usually named after, with ''doenjang-jjigae'' following it. *''Kkot-gae'' ( swimming crab)''.'' The

carapace A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the unde ...

and legs of swimming crabs are added in the process of making the broth. The crab adds sweetness and deep taste to the stew. *''Cha-dol-bae-gi'' ( beef brisket)''.'' Fried beef brisket in oil is added to the broth and boiled with the rest of the normal ingredients of ''doenjang-jjigae.'' Beef brisket ''doenjang-jjigae'' is usually served at Korean barbecue restaurants as a complementary dish to the meat. *''Bajirak'' (

)''.'' Clams are de-gritted and prepared, then added into a cooked ''doenjang-jjigae'' for deeper taste of

savory Savory or Savoury may refer to: Common usage * Herbs of the genus ''Satureja'', particularly: ** Summer savory (''Satureja hortensis''), an annual herb, used to flavor food ** Winter savory (''Satureja montana''), a perennial herb, also used to ...

. *

'' sundubu'' (curdled soft tofu)''.'' Medium tofu is usually chosen over soft tofu in cooking stews since soft tofu is very delicate and de-solidifies easily, but soft tofu can be used in cooking ''doenjang-jjigae'' for a softer stew for children. *'' Dallae'' (Korean wild chives)''.'' ''Dallae'' is added into the broth of ''doenjang-jjigae'' just before bringing to boil. The chives releases a pungent and mildly herbal taste into the stew. *''Naengi'' (

horseradish Horseradish (''Armoracia rusticana'', syn. ''Cochlearia armoracia'') is a perennial plant of the family Brassicaceae (which also includes mustard, wasabi, broccoli, cabbage, and radish). It is a root vegetable, cultivated and used worldwi ...

)''.'' The leafy roots of horseradish a re blanched in hot water, then added to a cooked ''doenjang-jjigae'' at the end for spicy flavor. Horseradish is often consumed for its richness in

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar ...

, and

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

nutrients. *''Gang-doenjang.'' Vegetable ingredients are first stir-fried with ''doenjang'' and ''gochujang''; less water than in the usual ''doenjang-jjigae'' recipe is added and brought to a boil until the stew has a thick consistency.

References