Korean Beef and Tofu Stew (Sogogi Dubu Jjigae): An Easy 20-Minute Recipe

Picture a cold evening, a bowl of steamed rice, and a bubbling red stew full of thick tofu slices and tender beef. That is sogogi dubu jjigae (소고기두부찌개), beef and tofu stew, one of the most common dinners in Korean homes. It looks fiery, but the heat is gentle and the broth is savory and a little sweet from the onion.

This version follows a recipe from 10000recipes (만개의레시피), one of Korea's biggest recipe sites, whose official YouTube video is linked at the bottom of this post. We have written the steps out in English, converted the spoon measurements, and added notes on what to use if you can't find some Korean ingredients outside Korea.

At a glance: serves 4 · about 20 minutes · one pot · medium spicy

Ingredients

For the stew

• 1 block of tofu (firm or medium-firm)
• 200 g beef, cut for soup (small cubes or thin pieces)
• 1 pack of enoki mushrooms
• ½ onion
• 1 Korean green onion (daepa), or 2–3 regular scallions
• 400 ml water
• 1 tablespoon mirim (13 g)
• A pinch of black pepper

For the seasoning paste

• 2½ tablespoons water (27 g)
• 2 tablespoons gochugaru, Korean chili flakes (16 g)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (15 g)
• 1 tablespoon saeujeot, salted shrimp (7 g)
• 1 tablespoon chamchi-aekjeot, tuna fish sauce (12 g)
• 1 tablespoon guk-ganjang, soup soy sauce (10 g)

The grams are given because Korean recipe spoons are often rounded rather than leveled. If you have a kitchen scale, the weights are the most reliable guide.

Can't find an ingredient? Try these

• Tuna fish sauce (참치액젓) – a Korean seasoning that adds a deep, savory flavor. Regular fish sauce works in its place; start with a little less and taste.
• Soup soy sauce (국간장) – lighter in color but saltier than regular soy sauce. If you only have regular soy sauce, use about the same amount (it will make the broth a little darker) and adjust with salt at the end.
• Salted shrimp (새우젓) – tiny fermented shrimp sold in jars at Korean grocery stores. Without it, add a little more fish sauce or a pinch of salt.
• Gochugaru (고춧가루) – this one is hard to replace. Cayenne pepper or other chili powders are much hotter and taste different, so look for Korean chili flakes at an Asian grocery store or online.
• Mirim (미림) – a sweet cooking wine used to take away the raw smell of meat. Japanese mirin is very similar.
• Mushrooms and vegetables – the original recipe notes that you can switch them to whatever you like. Shiitake, oyster mushrooms or zucchini all work well.

How to make it

1. Prepare the vegetables and tofu

1. Cut the tofu into thick slices.
2. Slice the green onion diagonally into large pieces, and cut the onion into thin strips.
3. Trim the root end off the enoki mushrooms and pull them apart into small bunches.

2. Season the beef and mix the paste

4. Season the beef with the mirim and a little black pepper. The original recipe uses beef cut for soup (국거리용).
5. In a small bowl, mix all the seasoning paste ingredients together.

3. Into the pot

6. Arrange the tofu, beef, enoki mushrooms and onion in a pot, then pour in the 400 ml of water.
7. When the beef starts to cook, add the seasoning paste, cover with a lid and boil for about 5 minutes.

4. Finish and taste

8. Add the green onion and a little more pepper, and let it boil briefly.
9. Taste the broth. If it needs more salt, add a little of the liquid from the salted shrimp jar.

Tips for the best result

• Don't stir too much. Tofu breaks easily. Arranging everything neatly in the pot and leaving it to boil keeps the pieces whole.
• Make the paste first. Mixing the chili flakes, garlic and sauces with a little water before adding them helps the color and flavor spread evenly.
• Adjust the heat. For a milder stew, start with 1 tablespoon of gochugaru. For more heat, add a sliced green or red chili with the green onion.
• Season at the end. Fish sauce and salted shrimp vary in saltiness by brand, so add any extra salt only after tasting.

How Koreans eat it

Jjigae (찌개) is a thicker, more strongly seasoned dish than guk (국, soup), and it is almost always eaten with a bowl of steamed rice. At home, the pot often goes straight to the middle of the table and everyone takes from it. Kimchi and one or two simple side dishes are all you need alongside.

Leftovers keep in the fridge for a day or two. The flavor often gets deeper the next day; just reheat it until it boils again.

If you enjoy cooking Korean food at home, you might also like our Korean BBQ guide, which explains the sauces and side dishes you will see at a Korean barbecue table.

Watch the recipe video

This recipe comes from the official YouTube channel of 10000recipes (만개의레시피). It shows each step from above, so you can see exactly how thick to cut the tofu and how the pot should look before the paste goes in.

Watch on YouTube: 10000recipes – Beef and Tofu Stew (소고기두부찌개)