''Sundubu-jjigae''
[
*] (, -豆腐--) is a ''
jjigae
''Jjigae'' (Korean: 찌개, ) is a Korean stew. There are many varieties; it is typically made with meat, seafood or vegetables in a broth seasoned with ''gochujang'' (red chilli paste), ''doenjang'' (soy bean paste), ''ganjang'' (soy sauce) or ...
'' in
Korean cuisine. The dish is made with freshly curdled
soft tofu (dubu) which has not been strained and pressed, vegetables, sometimes
mushroom
A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans.
The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...
s,
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 onio ...
, optional
seafood (commonly
oyster
Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not ...
s,
mussels,
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
shrimp), optional meat (commonly
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 ...
or
pork
Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE.
Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...
), and ''
gochujang'' or ''
gochugaru
Korean chili peppers or Korean hot peppers, also known as Korean red, Korean dark green, or Korean long green peppers according to color (ripening stages), are medium-sized chili peppers of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. The chili pepper is long ...
''. The dish is assembled and cooked directly in the serving vessel, which is traditionally made of thick, robust porcelain, but can also be ground out of solid stone. A raw egg can be put in the ''jjigae'' just before serving, and the dish is delivered while bubbling vigorously. It is typically eaten with a bowl of cooked white rice and several ''
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 ...
''.
Extra soft tofu, called ''sundubu'' (; "mild tofu") in
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
, is softer than other types of tofu and is usually sold in tubes. The ''sun'' in ''sundubu'' means "pure" in Korean.
History
The origins of using
unpressed tofu in Korean cuisine is not well documented, but records from the
Joseon dynasty archives show an early form of sundubu jjigae being served. Some historians assume that unpressed tofu use spread to the masses during the Joseon dynasty.
Overseas
Following the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, some American military servicemen who returned from South Korea brought home jjigae (especially dubu jjigae) recipes. In 1986, Monica Lee opened Beverly Soon Tofu in the
Koreatown
A Koreatown ( Korean: 코리아타운), also known as a Little Korea or Little Seoul, is a Korean-dominated ethnic enclave within a city or metropolitan area outside the Korean Peninsula.
History
Koreatowns as an East Asian ethnic enclave have ...
neighborhood of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, and it was the first restaurant in the United States to specialize in sundubu jjigae. By the 1990s, sundubu jjigae restaurants were more popular throughout the United States.
The dish became even more widely known when
Hee Sook Lee
Hee Sook Lee (June 24, 1959 – July 18, 2020), born Hee Sook Hong, was a South Korean-born American businesswoman and founder of the BCD Tofu House chain of restaurants.
Early life
Hee Sook Hong was born in Seoul, the daughter of Young Pyo H ...
, a first-generation Korean immigrant, opened her sundubu restaurant, BCD Tofu, in
Vermont Avenue
Vermont Avenue is one of the longest running north–south streets in City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County, California. With a length of , is the third longest of the north–south thoroughfares in the region. For most of its length be ...
,
Koreatown
A Koreatown ( Korean: 코리아타운), also known as a Little Korea or Little Seoul, is a Korean-dominated ethnic enclave within a city or metropolitan area outside the Korean Peninsula.
History
Koreatowns as an East Asian ethnic enclave have ...
, and expanded it into a national chain. The chain was named after the “Bukchang Dong” district in Korea where Lee's mother-in-law owned a restaurant. In Canada, several BCD and other similar restaurants have been open in Toronto since 2001,
and can also be found in other cities across the country. The North American version of the dish was eventually introduced back to
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
due to its popularity.
See also
*
Jjigae
''Jjigae'' (Korean: 찌개, ) is a Korean stew. There are many varieties; it is typically made with meat, seafood or vegetables in a broth seasoned with ''gochujang'' (red chilli paste), ''doenjang'' (soy bean paste), ''ganjang'' (soy sauce) or ...
*
List of soups
This is a list of notable soups. Soups have been made since Ancient history, ancient times.
Some soups are served with large chunks of meat or vegetables left in the liquid, while others are served as a broth. A broth is a flavored liquid usua ...
*
List of tofu dishes
This is a list of tofu dishes. Tofu, also called bean curd, is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is a component in many East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisines. Tofu dishes
* ...
*
Korean cuisine
References
External links
Recipe for Soondubu jjigae
{{Soy, state=collapsed
Korean soups and stews
Tofu dishes
Seafood dishes