I’m back with a recipe review! This time it’s comparing 2 different doenjjang (fermented soybean paste) stews, both from internet chef influencers. I wasn’t familiar with Korean food until later in life (late twenties?) when my friends and I went to Korean barbecue because of osmosis influence or proximity from Japanese cuisine and then a Korea town opened up near my hometown. I wouldn’t say I consistently eat Korean food because I’m Vietnamese and the overlap is significant but the flavor profile is different. However, as my experience grows, I see/taste more Korean recipes I want to try to make at home. I first made doenjang stew after buying soybean paste for an Anthony Bourdain recipe, but I wanted to start with a simpler recipe so I found this online recipe from Maangchi, who also wrote the kimchi recipe I followed back when I thought I could make kimchi (I just buy kimchi nowadays lol). Then when I got this Simply Korean cookbook by Aaron Huh I decided to make their version of the same stew with 1 or 2 ingredient changes.
Doenjang stew is made from Korean fermented soybean paste, similar to Japanese miso, but much saltier and intense, at least to me, since miso could be light and generally not as salty. This stew is considered a comfort food that every household makes and has their own family recipe, so you will not find it in a regular Korean restaurant unless it was specifically a tofu or comfort food restaurant, I guess. I mean, I haven’t seen it yet.
This first recipe from Maangchi uses shrimp as the protein! I replaced the zucchini with mini bell pepper because I don’t like zucchini, and I didn’t use anchovy guts, I just used dashi powder or shrimp broth cubes. Check the recipe here!
This second recipe from Simply Korean uses beef as the protein and adds onion and daikon and mushrooms and gochugaru and instead of anchovy, beef stock. I used shrimp again because I didn’t have beef, and also replaced mini bell pepper for the zucchini. Check the youtube recipe here!
(I did take photos but they’re not exactly aesthetic appealing so no photos here)
Now, obviously I should have used beef brisket slices for the second version for the ultimate beef flavor, but I wanted to keep it the same as the first version to compare it better so I used shrimp again. The second version is just that much more flavorful with the gochugaru and with a lot of pleasant textures from the different vegetables. But the first version is still amazingly umami without the extra ingredients. Both versions are relatively quick to make, just need to chop ingredients for prep, while the boiling takes 15 to 20 minutes because you need to cook the potatoes through. Both stews should be eaten with white rice as a main dish, I used jasmine rice, and you can add extra side dishes if you want, I eat it with kimchi usually because I like spicy foods because the pain makes me feel alive.
I highly recommend if you crave hearty, umami and comforting stews during cold or rainy weather, these recipes are the way to go. But only if you can eat a lot of soybean paste and tofu. If that’s not something you think you like, or you aren’t excited about miso, etc, then feel free to skip, but you’re missing out!