Korean Spicy Tofu Soup

The other night I was in the mood for something warm and hearty. The weather has been a little chilly lately, and I felt that soup would be perfect for dinner. Creamy? No. Veggie? Nah. I couldn't quite pinpoint the craving. Until I spotted the tofu in the back of my fridge. I decided to make this Korean spicy tofu soup, soon dubu. Husband and I love it. It is a typical Korean comfort food dish. We always go out for it and I have never made it at home, although I've been meaning to try for forever. It is traditionally made in individual hot stone pots and it is bubbling and sizzling when served at restaurants. I do have a stone pot, but it is small and I wanted to make a big batch of the soup. So I used a regular pot. For my first try, it turned out great! I had to make a few substitutions and do without some ingredients, but it was barely noticeable. The recipe below is the full recipe. I will definitely be making it more regularly.

My substitutions: I used firm tofu chopped into cubes instead of a tube of soft tofu. Also, I had no chili oil, so I heated a little olive oil in a pan and added dried chili pepper flakes. Let this sizzle for a bit and it makes a basic chili oil.

Ingredients:                                                                                            

1 tube of extra soft tofu

6 oz. ground beef

A few portabello mushrooms chopped

1 chopped yellow onion

1/2 cup of chopped green onions

Spoon of minced garlic

1 tbsp miso paste (deng-jang)

1.5 tsp of red pepper paste (gochu-jang)

Chili oil

Sesame oil

Seafood soup powder

Directions:

In a bowl mix together the miso paste, pepper paste, chili oil, sesame oil and garlic. In a pot heat up a little oil. Add in the paste mixture until it's heated and becomes soft. Then add in the ground beef and cook over medium heat. After the beef is cooked through, add 4 cups of water. (I used half chicken broth and half water). I then added a few spoons of seafood soup powder. [Usually this soup has some seafood in it, but I prefer it without the clams and shrimp. The seafood powder adds the right amount of flavor without it being fishy]. Cover and bring to a boil. After it begins to boil, add the tofu, onions and mushrooms and a last drop of chili oil. When it's cooked through, turn off the heat and crack an egg in it right before serving. 

Serve with a side of rice.

Banchan

Anyone who has ever eaten Korean food knows all about the banchan. Banchan are the little side dishes that accompany the main dish and are served complimentary. They are also continuously replenished during a meal. You can have as little or as much as you want and the variety is endless. Think of it as asian tapas, but they consist mainly of veggies.

This weekend with my mom in charge, my sister and I made a few banchan. We first made a fried tofu dish that is made by slicing up firm tofu and lightly frying it on the fry pan. Then a marinade of soy sauce and garlic is drizzled on top. Lastly, a mixture of red chili powder, sesame seeds and chopped green onions is sprinkled on top. Presentation and color remember?

Next we made a dish that uses Korean squash, hobak. Slice up the hobak and sprinkle it with salt. Let it sit for 10 minutes so that excess water will be drawn out. After the 10 minutes have passed, give the slices a bit of a squeeze to get all that water out. Next, saute them and they are good to go. Easy right?

The last thing we made was fried tempura, which is also known as fishcake. After removing the fishcake from the package, I dunk them into boiling hot water for a second just to remove some of the oil. Then cut each sheet into small pieces. I then saute them for a bit until they are slightly browned. Add the usual soy sauce, sugar and garlic. Then add a few slices of jalapenos to add a little kick and season with sesame seeds.

Banchan is an easy way to add flavor and variety to your meals in a healthy way. All the ingredients you can buy at your local Korean market. I hope you'll try it!

Tofu Scramble

I am always struggling to find the perfect meal that is healthy, but also tasty and filling. I have the hardest time with breakfast. Growing up, my mother would never let us leave the house in the morning without having an enormous breakfast. There was the usual toast, eggs, fruit but then corn, baked potatoes with cheese, hot dogs and clam chowder (yes for breakfast) would make an appearance. So now, at age 28, breakfast is still my favorite and largest meal of the day; however, it is consistently a carb fest.

Whenever I am at a loss for healthy ideas I call my husband. To say that he is super healthy, fit and disciplined is an understatement. He suggested that I try using the tofu that's been sitting in our fridge. Hmmm....

I decided to go with a tofu scramble. I squeezed the water out of the tofu, crumbled it, chopped up red bell peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, gluten free italian chicken sausage, red onions and some basil. It turned out amazing!! I will definitely be adding it to my repertoire.