Dwenjang Chigae (Soya bean soup)

Dwenjang is the DADDY of korean soups. One of the most famous of Korea's soups, its super easy to throw together using what ever items you happen to have in the cupboard and its really healthy. Cheap, healthy and yum..it doesn't get much much than this does it? Its perfect for when you get home from work and want to sort something out quickly. The base soup is also vegetarian although you can add fish and meat if you want to.

Are you sold?!! I damn well hope so because dwaenjang rocks. Can't comprehend my irrational love of soup? Ermmm. Yeh me neither.

So I have seen a lot of dwaejang recipes right? Just google it and you'll find tons. Different ingredients everytime which might leave you wondering if it really is a kind of soup on its own. Well, the beauty of it is while there are a few pretty much essential ingredients, you can be flexible after that and add the things you like in the quantities you like. Therefore I am going to be a rebel and depart from the usual recipe format ie insistence that you have a strict list of ingredients and instead I list core ingredients and suggested optionals. Kind of a pick n mix salad bar idea really.

This recipe is sufficient for one person as a main dish (with rice of course) and perfect as a sidedish in a meal for say three or four people.

Ingredients

Core Ingredients

• about 4 cups of water - or enough to fill most of a black Korean cooking (see picture)

If you are boiling the rice as opposed to using a rice cooker, do the rice first and save the water you cooked it in...it is common in Korea to do this and then use the water for soup...plus it's more energy efficient.

• roughly 1 and a half large table spoon of dwaenjang

• 1 teaspoon gojuchang

• 1 medium potato cut into 1/2 inch cubes or about 4 baby new potatoes cut into halves

• half a small courgette cut into half moon shape slices - I think that they are known as zucchini in the states - a thin green squash (see picture for example) ho pak in Korea

• half a block of tofu -cut into slices or cubes

• half a small onion

• sea salt

• sesame oil

• one piece of ta shi ma seaweed (if you don't have any don't worry too much)

Suggested extra ingredients - add however much you think you would like (use your instincts)
shredded chinese cabbage
anchovies
shell fish eg clams or mussels - very commonly used in Korea
sliced beef -fry first before adding to soup
chillis -sliced - This is one of my favourite extras - but I like my soup with a kick
mushrooms of varying types -shitake especially recommended (and the long thin mushrooms - enochi)
a few pinches of gochugaru red chilli powder - again, this will hot it up
1 spring onion/green onion/yang pa (same same) sliced - if you add it, either do it right at the end or just sprinkle on top for decoration
fried pork pieces

Directions

• Put the water in the bowl and bring to the boil. If you are using the ta shi ma, put it in the boiling water for 2-3 minutes with a few anchovies if you have them. Then take the ta shi ma out but leave the anchovies.

• Add the gochugaru (if you are using it) and and the potatoes. Let it cook for about 4 -5 mins - you need to give the potatoes a chance to soften up a bit but not too much.

• Add the onion and the courgette/squash and a dash of sesame oil and pinch of salt.

• Stir in the dwaenjang and the gochujang.

• Add whatever other ingredients you are going to (unless I say above to add them at the end) and let the soup bubble away for about another 5 minutes, adding the tofu a few minutes before serving.

Serve with rice and kimchi.

Lovely jubbly.