Vyvanne's Doenjang recipe

Welcome to Vyv's Vivacious Viewzone. The only verdict here is vainity in food, for verily, I am vain and verbose and you may call me V.

Alright, flowery prose aside, this is for Shadowlite and anyone else who might be interested in giving Korean cuisine a whirl. It's really easy to make, tasty and filling, and this dish is my #1 comfort food.  First up is the base recipe I use cause I'm lazy and then I'll add a few notes at the end if you want to really bring the flavors up and be a bit more restaurant quality authentic.


Vyv's Doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew).  Prob serves about 3-4

Ingredients
-1 russet potato
-1 onion
-1 zucchini
-1 package firm tofu
-1 bunch of spinach
-green onion
-1 cup fermented soybean paste (doenjang).  How much you use is heavily based on personal preference. More means a stronger flavor. I use a full cup but most people can probably dial it back to half to start, ~6-8 tablespoons)
-4 to 6 cloves garlic (I like garlic so I usually go 6+)
-4 cups vegetable stock (water is fine if you are lazy and want a quicker meal, just will be a little less flavorful)
-1 tablespoon vinegar (rice vinegar ideally)

-soy sauce (if you can, try and find soup soy sauce, which is a variation used specifically in Korean cuisine)


Optional
-Anchovies
-1 Korean Chili pepper ideally. Serrano pepper or jalapeno works
-Korean pepper flakes (gochugaru, can also substitute with regular chili flakes)
-clams
-pork shoulder or loin


1. In a large pot, bring vegetable stock to a boil and add soybean paste.
1. Chop potato, onion, zucchini, and tofu into roughly one inch cubes, add to pot.
2. Add spinach, mince garlic, add to pot.
3. Bring to a boil again after adding all ingredients, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5-15 minutes.  Season to taste with soup soy sauce, add sparingly, simmer length is again based on taste preferences - longer is a deeper, richer taste.
4. Add vinegar within the last 1-2 minutes of your simmer, brings a bit of brightness to the dish.
5. Sprinkle with green onions and serve with rice.


This is intentionally vague because there are endless variations of this dish and a lot of it is personal preference. The above is a vegan non-spicy version.  Those of us who like our food to hurt, you can add chili pepper flakes and/or the pepper themselves based on your tolerance for heat.  Lighter folks could add a few tea or tablespoons of chili flakes, those of us who reallllly like fire, I would recommend chopping the peppers early have them the first thing you put into the broth.

I also like my stew to be on the saltier side, so I am pretty darn liberal with soy sauce.  Celery salt is also one of my favorite seasonings, so I put a fair bit of that in as well. Black pepper is not traditionally Korean but I quite like it, adds an interesting spice to the flavor profile. YMMV of course. Feel free to experiment with spices and seasonings!


Omnivores can enhance the flavor with clams, anchovies, and/or pork/beef.  Ideally you would use a dashi bag to wrap the anchovies in and put that in the boiling stock, or a cheesecloth can also work. Clams are a great addition to bring the flavors of the sea to the dish.  Fans of meat can use pork shoulder, loin, or beef with lots of fat to be sauted and then added in as well.


This is an infinitely customizable dish, so feel free to experiment!