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Sundubu jjigae without clams or pork (oyster sauce is the trick)

7SoominAm2026.10.05 09:26👁 1965💬 49♥ 47

This one is #2 on 10000recipe's home cooking ranking right now, and I can see why. Most sundubu jjigae recipes ask for clams or pork, which is annoying if you just want a quick bowl. The recipe author says they don't even like pork in it, so they make it with anchovy broth and oyster sauce instead. Serves 1, about 30 minutes.

Ingredients 1 pack soft tofu (sundubu) 1/4 green onion (daepa) 1/4 onion 1/4 Korean zucchini (aehobak) 1 cheongyang chili (optional, for heat) 1 egg 1 tbsp sesame oil 2 tbsp cooking oil 1.5 tbsp gochugaru (1 tbsp if you don't like spicy) 1/2 tbsp salt 1 pinch sugar 1 tbsp oyster sauce 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp minced garlic Anchovy broth 1. Make the anchovy broth first. Add a little shiitake or dashima if you have it, but anchovy alone is fine. Finely chop the green onion and onion.

2. Slice the chili diagonally if you want it spicy.

3. Cut the zucchini into half-moons.

4. Put the sesame oil and cooking oil into a ttukbaegi (earthenware pot) or small pot.

5. Stir-fry the onion and green onion.

6. Add the gochugaru and fry it to make chili oil.

7. Add the salt and a pinch of sugar. The author says sugar is optional, but restaurants usually add it.

8. Add the oyster sauce and soy sauce and stir.

9. Pour in the anchovy broth until the pot is about half full. Too much and it overflows when the tofu goes in.

10. Bring it to a rolling boil, then add the zucchini, chili and garlic.

11. Add the soft tofu.

12. Finish with the egg and green onion.

The author's point is that without clams or pork you can't skip the oyster sauce or the anchovy broth, and the seasoning has to be just right. I'm trying this tonight since I never have clams at home anyway. Do you crack the egg in whole or stir it in?

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Comments 49

8Dabin2026.10.05

no bc i always thought the clams were the whole point of sundubu and now im finding out i was just paying extra. making this tonight with a little buldak sauce dont judge me

5mintchoco_hater2026.10.05

Oyster sauce in sundubu is a bit of a cheat code, a lot of restaurants do something similar honestly. No clams is fine. No egg though, that's where I draw the line

6Hugo2026.10.05

Step 6 is where I always burn the gochugaru and my flat smells like a crime scene for a day. Low heat, or am I just impatient?

5tteok_and_roll2026.10.05

Low heat and keep stirring. Burnt gochugaru is a crime, but at least it's a crime of passion

5caffeinated.kat2026.10.06

The bubbling ttukbaegi is half the reason I order this in Seoul

6Dain2026.10.05

Whole egg, don't touch it. Let the broth cook the white and break the yolk at the table. Stirring it in is how you end up with egg drop soup. Oyster sauce instead of clams is smart though

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7Sebin2026.10.05

Both work. Whole egg if you eat alone and slowly, stirred in if you're sharing and nobody wants to fight over who gets the yolk

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7SoominOP2026.10.06

Agree, whole egg at the very end and hands off

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breaking the yolk at the table is the best part of the entire meal

6Hajun2026.10.05

Half a tbsp of salt plus soy sauce plus oyster sauce for one bowl sounds like a lot. Has anyone actually made it or are we all just saving the post like I am

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6Seoa2026.10.05

Soft tofu is basically unseasoned water so it eats a lot of salt. I'd still go half and taste right before the egg, you can always add, you can't take out

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7Nari2026.10.05

Did a version like this last winter. With anchovy broth the soy and oyster sauce were fine but I skipped the salt and didn't miss it. Taste right before the tofu goes in, that's the moment

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5gochujang_gang2026.10.06

Made a similar one and full salt was fine for me, but I like salty. Half is the safer start

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6Hajun2026.10.06

Ok, half salt. You've all pushed me into actually cooking instead of saving

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7SoominOP2026.10.06

Fair worry. I'd start with half the salt like others said and adjust at the end, the soy and oyster sauce already do a lot

7Dahye2026.10.05

Saving this for the first cold day in Houston, so maybe February. The chili oil step is the one I always skip and now I know why mine tastes flat

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7Nari2026.10.06

A cold day in Houston, I'm laughing. You might have to blast the AC and pretend

6Yoonseo2026.10.05

Small vocab note: 뚝배기 (ttukbaegi) holds heat so well the stew keeps bubbling after you take it off the stove. That's why the whole egg trick works, it finishes cooking on the table

8Dabin2026.10.05

no bc i always thought the clams were the whole point of sundubu and now im finding out i was just paying extra. making this tonight with a little buldak sauce dont judge me

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Buldak sauce in sundubu. I'm judging. A little

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8Dabin2026.10.06

judge all you want i'll report back

6Hugo2026.10.05

Step 6 is where I always burn the gochugaru and my flat smells like a crime scene for a day. Low heat, or am I just impatient?

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5tteok_and_roll2026.10.05

Low heat and keep stirring. Burnt gochugaru is a crime, but at least it's a crime of passion

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6Dain2026.10.06

Not impatient, gochugaru burns in seconds. I turn the heat off when I add it and let the hot oil do the work

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6Hugo2026.10.06

Turning the heat off is genius. My flat thanks you

5mintchoco_hater2026.10.05

Oyster sauce in sundubu is a bit of a cheat code, a lot of restaurants do something similar honestly. No clams is fine. No egg though, that's where I draw the line

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6hanbyeol2026.10.06

A lot of sundubu places use some kind of seasoning base anyway, so oyster sauce at home is a pretty reasonable shortcut

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6devils_avocado2026.10.06

No clams is fine but I'd fight you on the egg being required. Some days I want it clean

5caffeinated.kat2026.10.06

The bubbling ttukbaegi is half the reason I order this in Seoul

5dadjoke_dk2026.10.06

What did the tofu say to the spoon? Go easy, I'm soft. Ok I'm done

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5Gyuwon2026.10.06

The tofu didn't laugh. It just jiggled awkwardly

5tiny.tigress2026.10.06

No clams is the best news this week. The clams were always the part I picked out

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6Minh2026.10.07

Picking out the clams is like subbing off your best striker. This recipe just never put him on the pitch

5nunchi_zero2026.10.06

Every time I order this they ask how spicy and I say medium and then cry

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5Lucia2026.10.07

medium and then crying is the official sundubu experience, I'm crying with you

5Ayşe2026.10.06

anchovy broth from those little packs works fine too, right?

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6kkt.882026.10.07

Those little packs are what most Korean households use on weeknights. Nobody is boiling anchovies at 8pm after work

5Tenzin2026.10.06

순두부 (sundubu) = soft tofu, 순 like "pure". 찌개 (jjigae) is the stew. Cooking it in a 뚝배기 feels like a level up

6busan_or_bust2026.10.06

Cheongyang chili is impossible to find here, what's a good swap? Jalapeño?

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6hanbyeol2026.10.06

Jalapeño works if you leave the seeds in. Cheongyang is hotter but the flavor is close enough for a home bowl

6Jaehee2026.10.06

Saving this with the 40 other recipes I'll never make. This one might actually happen

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5jaywalker2026.10.07

"This one might actually happen" is what we all say. See you in the saved folder

5Kasia2026.10.06

My flat will smell like gochugaru for three days and I've accepted that

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5lyric.thief2026.10.07

"Smells like teen spirit" but it's gochugaru and it's my flat

4Elif2026.10.07

can I use regular tofu if soft tofu isn't sold near me?

5Fernanda_m2026.10.07

Oyster sauce and anchovy broth together is such a good umami combo. Makes sense it's #2

5jjk_enjoyer2026.10.07

Ttukbaegi bubbling after you take it off the stove is the anime power-up sound of Korean food

7Siwoo2026.10.07

A soup that smells like a crime scene for three days. In Norway we call that lutefisk season

6Lukas932026.10.07

Is #2 on 10000recipe a big deal or does every recipe end up in the top somewhere? Genuinely curious how that ranking works

5Camila2026.10.07

Tofu-n of flavor without clams. I'll stop

6hazel_n_honey2026.10.07

The tip about not filling the pot more than half before the tofu goes in is the one nobody tells you. My stovetop learned the hard way

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Sundubu jjigae without clams or pork (oyster sauce is the trick) · KOMMU.LIVE