Easy Doenjang Jjigae

and some substack/life updates!

I appreciate everyone here letting me pop into their inboxes, especially all the paid subscribers offering their direct support. But lately, I have been letting you all down with the infrequency of my posts, so I have paused billing. You can still expect recipes from me (I can’t promise how often), and they’ll now be free to everyone.

I want to be totally honest with you all, my relationship with food is currently not in a good place. I've got some work to do on learning to love that post-baby, almost-forty body. Please don’t worry, I have a great therapist and have worked through this before, so I know it will be okay, but right now it’s not easy to feel inspired to develop recipes. If something smacks with me joy on the level of those glorious stuffed shells (you’ve all made that, right?!) I’ll pop into your inbox, otherwise, I need to take a sec.

These days, feeding myself can feel like the least of my problems as I’m seriously struggling to feed this kid. One of the most frequent comments I’ve received since having a child is, “That kid’s gonna eat well.” But from birth, every meal with this baby has been an uphill battle. We started out with latching issues, then insane reflux-induced projectile vomit, and now almost every spoonful is confronted by tightly pursed lips.

But there is one dish both she and I will always eat—Doenjang-Jjigae. Ham did some work with the team at Cote, who were so kind and delivered me my first meal postpartum: their butcher’s feast which features a simple Doenjang-Jjigae packed with crisp-tender zucchini and jiggly soft tofu. It immediately became my favorite thing to eat. It’s wholesome, satisfying, quick to make, and, most importantly, doesn’t leave me feeling pangs of guilt (don’t worry, I’m working on it).

We’ve been using Solid Starts to guide us with feeding the baby, and according them it’s best to wait until 1 year before serving aggressively flavored foods like doenjang. But after watching baby girl toss my perfect 2-finger wide egg strips, steamed sweet potato wedges, quartered banana spears, and smashed blueberries on the floor, I threw all the rules out and began offering tastes of whatever I was eating. When she had her first taste of doenjang jjigae her eyes lit up and she actually asked for more. How could I deny her! A little research revealed that Korean mothers often give babies doenjang jjigae as a first food, and since Korea also has the best postpartum care on the planet, I trust that she’ll be okay with this non-Solid Starts approved dish.

Doenjang is a funky, salty, fermented soybean paste that makes miso look like a boring nerd (sorry, miso, I still love you). I’m sure this will offend both Korean and Japanese cooks, but to make it feel less imtimidating I think of doenjang jjigae as a punchy, heartier miso soup.

Hear me out: They both start with a flavorful broth. In the case of miso soup it’s a light, clear dashi often made with kombu and bonito flakes. With doenjang jjigae, dried anchovies, chili, aromatics and sometimes sliced pork are simmered togther for a rich, savory base. They are both rely on fermented soybean paste for their primary flavor (miso paste/doenjang) and are both finished with tofu. I know they are wildly different dishes, but whenever I’m cooking something new, I like to relate it to a dish with a similar blueprint to get a better understanding of the method.

My recipe is not traditional, instead using ingredients I typically have on hand to get me and the baby the doenjang jjigae goodness we crave. Instead of dried anchovies, I use the oil-packed ones I’m always stocked up on. For additional richness I use chicken bone broth and skip out on the pork, because we always have broth in the freezer. You can incorporate more vegetables to the stew, like radish or potato, but I keep it simple and load it up with lots of zucchini. Use whatever chili you have, from dried chili flakes to serrano peppers, and adjust the heat to your taste. You will need doenjang (I get it at H Mart). There is no substitute for it. However, it lasts forever and I promise you will want to use it with so many things. Try this pasta by Eric Kim, or mix it into softened butter and toss with roasted or steamed veggies. You can even add it to caramel for some sweet-salty edge.

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In case you missed it…

There’s a new episode of Cooking 101 now on YouTube and it’s all about broccoli! (Also, yes, I’m 9 months pregnant in all of these because they were shot over 2 weeks last summer. No, I’m not pregnant again, as so many have asked me in my DMs.)

I’ve been working on a super fun collab with the super talented team at Raf’s! Between now through May 26th you can get a DOSA CROSA! It’s the croissant of my dreams inspired by my favorite food, masala dosa. The traingular flaky beauty is stuffed with the aloo masala from my cookbook, there is dosa batter in the dough, and it’s served with coconut kessar mango chutney. Available from 9am until they sell out!

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Easy Doenjang-Jjigae

serves 4 | active time: 20 minutes | total time: 20 minutes

Easy Doenjang Jjigae

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INGREDIENTS

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• 3 tablespoons butter

• 1 small onion, thinly sliced

• 4 garlic cloves, chopped

• 4 anchovies

• 1 teaspoon gochugaru (or another fresh or dried chili to taste)

• 4 cups low sodium chicken bone broth

• 2 cups water

• 2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced (about 1 pound)

• 5 tablespoons doenjang

• 1 pound silken tofu, cut into large cubes

• Steamed rice to serve

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1. In a medium pot over medium-low heat, melt butter until foamy. Add onions, garlic, and anchovies and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are wilted and tender, and the anchovies have broken down, 6 to 8 minutes. 

2. Add the chili and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. 

3. Add the chicken broth, water, zucchini, and doenjang. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes. 

4. Add tofu and simmer until heated through, about 3 minutes. Serve with rice.