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.