25-Minute Soft Tofu Stew with Clams and Shrimp

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A bubbling, brick-red seafood stew built on gochugaru bloomed in hot oil — the step that gives Korean tofu stew its glossy chili base instead of a dull, gritty broth. Silken tofu goes in whole and gets broken into big custardy curds, clams and shrimp cook in three minutes, and an egg cracks into the center at the table so the yolk sets in the residual heat. One pot, 25 minutes, and a bowl of hot rice to eat it with.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp neutral oil, such as grapeseed or vegetable
• 2 tbsp coarse Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
• 3 oz pork belly or pork shoulder, thinly sliced and chopped (optional)
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 cup kimchi, chopped, plus 2 tbsp of its juice
• 1 tbsp gochujang
• 1/2 small yellow onion, thinly sliced

• 2 cups anchovy-kelp broth or low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tsp Korean soup soy sauce or regular soy sauce
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 11-oz tube silken or soft tofu (sundubu)
• 8 small littleneck clams or Manila clams, scrubbed
• 6 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 large egg
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 2 cups hot short-grain white rice, for serving

Instructions

1. Scrub the clams under cold running water and hold them in a bowl of cold salted water while you prep everything else; discard any that stay open when tapped. Pat the shrimp dry. Slice the onion and scallions, mince the garlic, and chop the kimchi.
2. Set a 1.5- to 2-quart Korean earthenware pot (ttukbaegi) or a small heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the oil and the pork belly, if using, and cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring, until the pork renders some fat and the edges brown.
3. Turn the heat to low — this matters, gochugaru scorches fast. Add the gochugaru and garlic and stir constantly for 45 to 60 seconds, until the oil turns deep glossy red and smells toasty. If it starts to smell sharp or bitter, pull the pot off the heat immediately.
4. Add the kimchi, onion and gochujang. Raise the heat to medium and cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring, until the kimchi softens and the paste darkens slightly.
5. Pour in the broth and kimchi juice, then add the soy sauce and fish sauce. Bring to a hard simmer and cook 4 minutes to pull the base together.
6. Open the tube of silken tofu and slide it into the center of the pot in one piece. Use a spoon to break it into 5 or 6 large curds — don't stir it into mush. Simmer 3 minutes so the tofu heats through and takes on color from the broth.
7. Nestle the clams and shrimp into the stew, cover, and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until the clams open and the shrimp turn opaque and pink. Discard any clam that refuses to open. Stir in the sesame oil and taste the broth — add salt in small pinches if it needs it.
8. Bring the pot to the table while it is still visibly bubbling, set on a trivet. Crack the egg into the center, scatter the scallions over the top, and let it sit undisturbed 1 to 2 minutes; the white will set into the broth and the yolk will stay runny. Break the yolk into the stew as you eat, with hot rice alongside.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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