Not all quality home-cooked meals have to be made from scratch. To enjoy Korean food at home with minimal time investment, a variety of pre-made food packages will come in handy.
Together with chef Jason Oh of Seoul-based Nam Yeong Chicken, the Korea JoongAng Daily introduces a recipe for a simple sundubu noodle dish that only requires a couple of store-bought products.
Sundubu jjigae, a stew made with soft tofu with a velvety texture, is one of the most commonly eaten Korean dishes worldwide. It is usually red with gochujang (hot pepper paste) and gochugaru (hot pepper flakes) for seasoning. Depending on preferences, some people add kimchi or use beef or seafood broth instead of water to add a deeper flavor. As the dish is usually served hot, many diners choose to have one raw egg ready to put in their jjigae right before they dig in.
Making the sundubu jjigae is now easier than ever as you can buy the liquid seasoning package at stores around the world. If you want an even simpler recipe, try making it using instant cup noodles. Basically, you cook the cup noodles and add some of the key ingredients like sundubu and sundubu jjigae sauce, as well as an egg yolk to make your simple meal at home a little bit more special.
Ingredients:
Kimchi cup noodles, 15 grams of sundubu jjigae sauce package, 50 grams of sundubu (or soft tofu), 20 grams of thinly sliced beef brisket, one egg yolk, chopped green onions, chopped coriander, chili oil
Instructions:
Open the cup noodle and add any seasoning that comes with it.
Put store-bought sundubu jjigae sauce into the cup and add slices of beef brisket.
Cover everything with chunks of sundubu and set aside.
Place chopped green onion, coriander, and an egg yolk on a small plate and set aside.
Pour boiling water into the cup noodle with all the ingredients.
Use the plate of greens and egg yolk as a lid to put on top of the cup noodle and wait for about three minutes to cook. (The boiling water usually cooks the beef slices, but if you see the meat is not yet fully cooked, put the entire cup noodle into a microwave for about 20 to 30 seconds.)
Put everything on the plate into the cooked cup noodles and pour some chili oil on top.
BY LEE SUN-MIN [lee.sunmin@joongang.co.kr]