Doenjang Jjigae (Fermented Soybean Paste Stew with Chicken and Root Vegetables)

Hello, long time no see everyone! I went back to Singapore for a month in June and laziness got the better of me so I didn’t schedule any posts while I was away, oops! It was a really good and fattening trip – catching up with family and friends and feasting my way through the whole of Singapore and a bit of Malaysia! Now that I’m back here, it’s time to detox and lose the additional kilos that I put on in Singapore… ):

So I’m sharing a really easy, nutritious and delicious stew today – Doenjang Jjigae, a Korean stew (jjigae) made by mixing fermented soybean paste (doenjang) into soups/stews that are chock-full with tasty vegetables and tofu.

My version of doenjang jjigae is very different from the traditional ones as I wanted mine to be a one-pot dish that includes meat and vegetables.

For the meat I opted for skinless chicken drumsticks as it’s a juicy cut of meat and the bones from the drumsticks will add flavour to the broth. Removing the chicken skin also cuts down the amount of fat added into the overall stew.

For the vegetables I kept it really simple by using onion, garlic, potato and radish (had to use red radish as white radish – aka daikon – is hard-to-find and expensive here). I omitted the tofu as well because it’s also a uncommon and pricy ingredient here – I will definitely add it in when I re-make this stew in Singapore!

I used a mix of ikan bilis, sake, bone stock and water for the soup base. Ikan bilis (aka dried anchovies) and sake add an umami flavour to the stew and the bone stock adds richness. The doenjang is already salty on its own, so I didn’t have to add any other salt or soy sauce to the stew.

The doenjang jjigae looks very similar to my Japanese Chicken, Radish and Tofu Stew, but instead of having a light and soupy broth, this one is rich, sweet, umami and incredibly flavourful (I’m not saying the Japanese Stew is not as delicious, just that their deliciousness are different!). While this may not be an authentic or traditional doenjang jjigae, I can assure you that it’s definitely tasty and addictive – it’s so good that we finished every single drop of the soup! Give this doenjang jjigae a try and let me know if you finished the soup as well! (;

Step-by-step Photos
1) Rinse ikan bilis and place in a stock pouch so that it's easy to dispose of the ikan bilis later on.	2) Peel and chop up 1/4 onion into pieces.
3) Minced 4 cloves of garlic.	4) Peel and dice potato and radish.
5) Combine the ikan bilis, onion, garlic, potato, radish, skinned chicken drumsticks, sake and water (or stock) in a pot and bring to a boil.	6) Stir in the doenjang (Korean soybean paste) and simmer for 45 minutes.

(Recipe updated in May 2020 for a less salty dish.)

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Doenjang Jjigae (Fermented Soybean Paste Stew with Chicken and Root Vegetables)

By Jasline N.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Servings: 0 Serves 2

0.511.523

INGREDIENTS

 

• ▢ 1/4 cup ikan bilis, dried anchovies
• ▢ 1/2 onion, peeled and diced
• ▢ 1 potato, peeled and diced into 1-inch chunks
• ▢ 1 small white radish, daikon, peeled and diced into 1-inch chunks
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• ▢ 4 chicken drumsticks, skin removed
• ▢ 1/2 cup sake
• ▢ 2 1/2 cups water / stock
• ▢ 1 1/2 tablespoons doenjang, Korean soybean paste
• ▢ Spring onion, finely chopped (as garnish)

INSTRUCTIONS

• Rinse the ikan bilis and place in a stock pouch.
• Place the onion, potato, radish, garlic and chicken drumsticks in a pot. Add in the ikan bilis pouch, sake and water (or stock).
• Place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil.
• Stir the doenjang into the pot. Turn the heat down to a simmer and simmer for 45 minutes, until the chicken and vegetables are tender.
• Taste the stew - if it's not salty enough, stir in a bit more doenjang or soy sauce. Spoon the stew into serving bowls, garnish with chopped fresh spring onion and serve hot with rice.

NOTES

- To remove the chicken skin from the drumsticks: Using a tea towel (or any food cloth or even paper towels), get a firm grip of the skin then pull the skin all the way back and finally off the chicken drumstick.

- Other optional ingredients that you can add in: chili pepper, tofu

- Adapted from Maangchi's Doenjang Jjigae

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