Vegan Korean Soybean Paste Stew (Dwenjang Jjigae) Recipe

Watch video above to see how I made this traditional Korean dish! See below for the written recipe and approximate ingredients.

Any time I go travelling or haven’t had Korean food in a long time, I always crave this dish. This is a very traditional Korean dish called Dwenjang Jjigae, also known as fermented soybean paste stew. This is what I would classify as one of the most traditional Korean dishes.

I grew up eating this dish and to me, there’s nothing more comforting than a big bowl of rice with some dwenjang jjigae! It’s such a delicious meal to me and makes my stomach feel all good inside.

The great thing is that this dish is super easy to veganize! It’s a quick meal to put together and if you’re ever in the mood for a nice comforting and warm dish, this might be a good idea. Now, I’m not sure how non-Koreans will enjoy this stew as it might be an acquired taste…. but I hope you like it!

Vegan Korean Soybean Paste Stew (Dwenjang Jjigae) Recipe 

Note: these are VERY APPROXIMATE measurements – I don’t normally like to measure anything when it comes to making this dish. I would taste things as you go and adjust as necessary. Watch video above to see how I did this. 

Ingredients (approximately 2 servings): 

• 2 cups of water (add more if necessary)
• 2-4 small pieces of dry kelp OR around 1 tsp of kelp powder
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1/2 cup chopped zucchini
• 1 bunch enoki mushrooms, roots chopped off
• 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
• 1 Korean green pepper, chopped (optional)
• 1 tsp gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper flakes)
• 2-3 tbsp dwenjang (Korean fermented soybean paste)
• 1 cup medium or soft tofu, cut into bite-sized squares
• 1-2 stalks green onion, chopped

Instructions:

1. Add water into a small pot and add kelp pieces OR kelp powder. Bring to a boil. If you’re using kelp pieces, you’ll need to let it bowl at medium heat for about 15-20 minutes to make kelp broth. If using kelp powder, simply bring it to a bowl and making sure it’s dissolved into the water.
2. Add vegetables into the pot (minus green onions) and bring to a boil again.
3. Add in the gochugaru, dwenjang and tofu into the pot and mix everything well. Make sure the dwenjang is not clumped up. Taste & add more dwenjang or gochugaru if necessary. Dwenjang is salty so make sure to add little at a time – the final stew result should be slightly salty because you’ll be eating it with rice!
4. Add in the green onions and bring to a nice boil. Cook for about 10 – 15 minutes until the vegetables have completely cooked.
5. Serve with rice!