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Sundubu Chigae

A Korean stew of soft tofu, anchovies, kelp, clams, pork, kimchi, and egg.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 15 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Sundubu Chigae

Ingredients

Directions

Make the broth

  1. Fill a stone pot with water and boil anchovies and kelp.

  2. Add clean clams and cook until done.

  3. Remove clams and strain anchovies and kelp, reserving all liquid.

Cook the base

  1. Dice the pork.

  2. Cut the kimchi into small dice.

  3. Trim green onions and cut into 5-6 cm lengths.

  4. Put kimchi, pork, red pepper powder, and oil into the empty pot and cook over low flame until pork is cooked.

  5. Add clam water and bring to a boil.

Finish and serve

  1. Add tofu, clams, and chopped onion.

  2. Add garlic and green onion and boil again.

  3. Add salt and pepper.

  4. Crack raw egg into the pot and serve hot.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

676Calories
67 gProtein
38 gFat
16 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 11 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Pork100g cooked242
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Shrimp100g cooked99
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Tofu100g firm76
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Kelpnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Kelp + tofutop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  3. Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,090 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Tofu + garlictop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together604 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  5. Tofu + oniontop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together729 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Anchovies and kelp
Their simmered liquid forms the savory stock that the whole stew is built on.
Kim chee
Its acidity and fermented flavor season the broth and deepen the stew's taste.
Soft tofu
Its silky, delicate texture makes up the body of the stew.
Pork
Cooked in the pot with kimchi, it adds savory richness and fat to the base.
Clams
Release their briny liquid into the broth, adding a clean seafood sweetness.
Egg
Cracked in raw at the end, it cooks gently in the hot broth and adds richness.

The step that matters

Cooking the kimchi, pork, and red pepper powder in oil over low flame. Frying the chili powder gently in oil releases fat-soluble flavor compounds and colour, while cooking the pork fully. Too much heat can scorch the pepper powder and make the base bitter.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (kelp, clam, pork, tofu, garlic, pepper, egg):

  1. Welsh onionfits better
  2. Potatofits about as well
  3. Spinachfits about as well
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against kelp, clam, pork, tofu, garlic, pepper, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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