Jjigae is one of those words that freaks out my autocorrect. It assumes that I’m terribly mistaken in my spelling, instead of my trying to get the right amount of emphasis that ㅉ makes.

I know some in my generation live daringly by slightly altering traditional childhood recipes. Really for me, it's about using what I normally stock in my kitchen and punching up the flavors that I love about the dish. We're making a bold-flavored stew with lots of layers that balance each other out. The complexity in taste is one of the things I really cherish about Korean cuisine.

If you ordered this in a Korean restaurant, the stew would come out to you still boiling, and you'll be asked if you want a raw egg added. Say yes. The egg will completely cook from the heat in the clay pot. Mix it around a little as soon as the egg drops in to break up the yolk. Then, start your journey of figuring out when it’s safe enough to eat this bowl of delicious lava set before you.

Soondubu Jjigae 순두부 찌개 Soft Tofu Stew

Ingredients
About 2 servings

11 oz. Soft tofu
½ cup sour kimchi, rough chopped
3 Pork belly strips, ½ inch pieces
Half of small onion, thinly sliced
½ cup Green beans, cut in half
½ cup Mushrooms, sliced thinly
3-4 Garlic cloves, minced
2 Green onion stalks, ½ inch pieces
½ cup sour kimchi juice
1 ½ TBSP fish sauce
1 TBSP gochugaru
1 TBSP sesame seed oil
1 ½ cup water
1 egg
1 tsp sesame seeds
Salt to taste

Steps
1. Chop the green beans in half, thinly slice the onions, mince the garlic, and chop the green onions.

2. In a medium-high heat pot, crisp up and brown the pork belly about 3 minutes each side. Stir in the white onions for a couple minutes, then add the green beans, mushrooms, and sour kimchi and cook for about 3-5 minutes.

3. Pour in the fish sauce, sesame seed oil, sour kimchi juice, gochugaru, and garlic to the pot. Stir to evenly incorporate. Add water, up to about ½ and inch to the top of the pot. Turn the heat down to a medium boil for about 30 minutes.

4. Gently add large chunks of soft tofu. Carefully taste the broth to see if you want more salt. Turn off the heat and add an egg right before serving and immediately break the yolk. Top with green onions and sesame seeds.