Aromatic Spring Delight: Doenjang Jjigae with Beef and Wild Garlic
Aromatic Spring Delight: Doenjang Jjigae with Beef and Wild Garlic
How to Make Hearty Beef and Wild Garlic Doenjang Jjigae
I made a delicious doenjang jjigae (Korean soybean paste stew) using the leftover wild garlic from making seasoning paste yesterday, and added beef to it. Ideally, you’d use beef for soup, but since I only had bulgogi-cut beef in the freezer, I decided to use that. Even a small amount made a difference in the taste. Haha…^^
Essential Ingredients- Doenjang (Korean soybean paste) 1.5 Tbsp
- Ssamjang (Korean seasoned soybean paste) 1 Tbsp
- Gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) 1 Tbsp
- Fresh wild garlic (dallae) 1/2 bunch
- Beef (for soup or bulgogi) a small amount
- Onion 1/4
- Potato 1/2
- Cheongyang chili pepper 1
- Anchovy broth
- Zucchini a little
- Green onion a little
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
Prepare all the vegetables for the stew. Trim the roots of the wild garlic and rinse it gently under cold running water. Slice the potato and zucchini about 0.5 cm thick, and thinly slice the onion. Slice the Cheongyang chili pepper and green onion diagonally.
Step 2
For this doenjang jjigae, I’m using bulgogi-cut beef instead of soup-cut beef. I took a small piece of leftover bulgogi beef from the freezer. (Using soup-cut beef will result in a more tender texture.)
Step 3
Pour the anchovy broth into a ttukbaegi (earthenware pot) or a regular pot. Add 1.5 Tbsp of doenjang and 1 Tbsp of ssamjang, and stir until the pastes are well dissolved. Adding ssamjang will add a deeper, more savory flavor to your doenjang jjigae.
Step 4
Once the broth starts to boil, add the firmer vegetables first: the potato, onion, and zucchini. Cook them until the potatoes become translucent and are somewhat tender. This step helps to make the stew broth more refreshing.
Step 5
While the vegetables are cooking, add 1 Tbsp of gochugaru to give the stew a mild spicy kick. You can adjust the amount of gochugaru according to your preference.
Step 6
When the vegetables are almost cooked, add the prepared beef. To prevent the beef from becoming tough, add it just as the stew begins to boil vigorously.
Step 7
Skim off any foam that rises to the surface as the beef cooks. This will make the broth clearer and cleaner.
Step 8
Finally, add the aromatic wild garlic, sliced Cheongyang chili pepper, and green onion. Let it simmer briefly until everything is heated through. Your delicious wild garlic doenjang jjigae is now ready! Wild garlic loses its aroma if overcooked, so add it at the very end and simmer for just a short time. Enjoy it with a warm bowl of rice!
