I've been using some recipes for Sundubu jjigae and Gamjatang. Specifically:
Gamjatang
Sundubu Jjigae
I follow the recipes somewhat closely, combining the two (or more) recipes but basically taking as much umami flavor from both. For example, for Sundubu Jjigae I would both the fish sauce, mushrooms, seafood etc. recommended by maangchi, and then also add the soy sauce, brown sugar, and ground pork recommended by Chef Paik.
My hope would be that it's some super flavorful soup! But it's not. It's not as good as the sundubu that I get in restaurants in the USA. I have not been to Korea but have had a lot of food in Korean towns across the US. They all have a somewhat similar flavor that's pretty dense and pairs well with rice.
My flavor is like, just mostly spicy and seafoody. It feels too light and unsatisfying. I must be missing something. Maybe it's a lot more salt and sugar or something like most restaurants use, but just wanted to get your thoughts here.
by BigBaozo
8 Comments
Could it possibly be MSG that’s missing? It’s a pretty common addition to this kind of food and adds the umami depth.
I use beef bone broth stock. Dashida, as a sort of msg replacement/taste heavien-er.
To fix, maybe try adding more doenjang, or stock powder.
Next time, add more pork bones for the broth (for the same amount of water). You need more *stuff*. For soup, it’s tricky to measure or replicate, even when “following a recipe”, because it’s hard to take into account the evaporation.
If you’re ever tempted to add plain water, add stock instead. Better yet, have some bone broth ready to go from the fridge/freezer.
OP I know what you mean, sigh.
Try this: instead of using Maangchi’s (very very good btw) recipe for the seasoning paste, try going to Hmart and buying one of the pre-mixed soup bases. They come in little jars or sauce packets.
They have them for many soups and soon-dubu jigae is definitely one.
For your gamjatang, try adding:
1-3 tbsps doenjang paste, AND 1-2 Tbsp fish sauce.
Basically, you need more umami (MSG) and probably you need to push your salt a bit more. I can’t eat restaurant soups anymore because the salt level is craaaazy. But they are delish.
Good luck.
Dasida is the answer, it has msg in it already. Restaurants in Korea use this and a little bit of lard if needed. Both of those will add tons of flavor to any jjigae.
Dashida is your friend. They have different varieties, beef, chicken, seafood, anchovy…
All restaurants likely use dashida (has msg) or just msg and a lot of salt and fat. You know it tastes good because my mom doesn’t like it when I buy it when I shop with her lol.
I like Maangchi, her sundubu/recipes reminds me of my mom’s, but maybe it’s cause she was born in the southern region? But if you want restaurant flavor, you’re going to have to amp up the unhealthiness lol. When I make her recipe for sundubu I use lard for the fat.
I like Aaron and Claire’s sundubu and jajangmyeon recipes, when I want something more intensely flavored, both of which have dashida, and both taste like when I’d eat at a restaurant in Korea.
Well in that Maangchi Gamjatang, a lot of the flavor is going to come from making that pork bone broth, and the fish sauce, dried mushrooms, and doenjang adding more umami. I was actually reading the ramen subreddit the other day and I think they recommended using half pork femurs and half neck bones since the femurs have a lot of fat in their marrow and as it dissolves it gives the soup that creaminess.
For the Jigae, the flavor is mostly coming from the anchovy kelp stock, and also from cooking the seafood in the broth in their shells since there’s a lot of flavor in that too, and the fish sauce just pushes it even farther.
So really the flavor is coming from:
Dried Anchovies
Seaweed (MSG)
Dried Mushrooms
Shrimp and Mollusk Shells
Pork Bones
Fish Sauce
Bean Paste
If your soup tastes thin you need to start with a more concentrated stock, salt won’t make it less watery. So just add either more anchovy, kelp, mushrooms, shells, or bones to your stock when you start and let it cook down.
Maangchi adds her gochugaru after the liquid. For a more amped up flavor in your soondubu i really recommend toasting the gochugaru in oil early on, this is similar to blooming your spices and makes a big difference in flavor imo. Watch it really closely to make sure the gochugaru doesnt burn. Also smells amazing. I like korean bapsang’s recipe [here](https://www.koreanbapsang.com/kimchi-soondubu-jjigae-soft-tofu-stew-kimchi/) where she says 1 cup water or anchovy broth, 1 use 1 cup of water plus 1 tsp hondashi powder – this is bonito soup base and a super easy way to add that dashi depth of flavor to many jjigaes.