Korean style spicy tofu soup filled with assorts of vegetables and mushrooms. This Korean Style Spicy Vegetable Tofu Soup is simple yet packed full of flavor, perfect for a weeknight meal, especially when served with rice and side dishes.
One of things I miss most this past year was going out and enjoying dining out with family and friends. Everything I do revolves around food. Simple dinners at home, celebrating with family, hanging out with friends, traveling to new destinations. Regardless of what it is that we’re doing, good food is always involved.
But this past year everything changed. And suddenly, all those little things that I always took for granted without realizing are the things that make me realize how lucky I’ve been. I miss being able to go out with friends to dine in a restaurant, going to the grocery store without worrying about what I touch, working without wearing two masks, walking outside without wearing a mask or worrying how close I am to someone I don’t know. We’re getting there though! And I’m so grateful for that.
When things become more normal, one of the first things I want to do? All you can eat Korean BBQ and hot pot. If you’ve never had that combo before, you definitely need to give it a try. An insane amount of food but so much fun to eat.
In the mean time though, we’re going to have to hold these cravings with homemade Korean style food until I can eat to my heart’s content.
There’s a restaurant in SF that specialized in Korean style spicy tofu soup. And the menu consists of like 15 different types of tofu soups. Some could be vegetarian, some could be pork based, some could be seafood based. There’s even one that’s mushroom based. My favorite!
Today, I wanted to focus on veggies. You can use whatever veggies that you can find in the fridge. It’s the perfect meal for clearing out the fridge of leftover produce. Or if you prefer a more classic version, try this Korean Style Spicy Soft Tofu Stew.
For this spicy tofu soup, I used cabbage, napa cabbage, enoki mushroom, mushrooms, and green onions. The base soup contains dashi, chili oil, gochugaru, garlic, and soft tofu. If you’re going vegan or vegetarian, you can use a kombu based dashi rather than anchovy or bonito.
The soup is savory and spicy. And so packed full of flavor. It doesn’t take long to put together, and it tastes absolutely amazing. The perfect comfort food for a cold night.
Can’t wait for you to try this!
In a small pot, add dashi packet with three cups of water. Bring it to a boil and turn off the heat.
In a stone pot or a regular medium sized pot, add la yu chili oil and gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) over low to medium heat. Cook for a few minutes until the chili flakes are lightly toasted to bring out the flavor, but be careful not to burn the chili flakes.
Add minced garlic and cook until the garlic has softened and become aromatic.
Pour in the stock. Season with soy sauce.
Add roughly torn cabbage, mushrooms, and sliced napa cabbage. Cook for several minutes until the veggies have softened.
Add sliced green onion and soft tofu. Cook until the mushrooms have softened. Try not to stir too much. Otherwise, the silken tofu will break apart. Gently stir in sesame oil.
Right when you’re ready to serve the soup, add the enoki mushroom. Season with salt to taste.
Serve the Korean Style Spicy Vegetable Tofu Soup hot.
Enjoy!
- 1 packet kombu or bonito dashi or anchovy stock packet
- 3 cups water
- 1 tablespoon la yu chili oil, or other chili oil
- 2 tablespoons gochugaru
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2-3 cups broth
- 1 ½ cups sliced napa cabbage
- 1 ½ cups sliced mushrooms
- 1 ½ cup cabbage
- 12 ounces silken or soft tofu
- 1 green onion, chopped
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ package of enoki mushrooms
- Salt to taste
- In a small pot, add dashi packet with three cups of water. Bring it to a boil and turn off the heat.
- In a stone pot or a regular medium sized pot, add la yu chili oil and gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) over low to medium heat. Cook for a few minutes until the chili flakes are lightly toasted to bring out the flavor, but be careful not to burn the chili flakes.
- Add minced garlic and cook until the garlic has softened and become aromatic.
- Pour in the stock. Season with soy sauce.
- Add roughly torn cabbage, mushrooms, and sliced napa cabbage. Cook for several minutes until the veggies have softened
- Add sliced green onion and soft tofu. Cook until the mushrooms have softened. Try not to stir too much. Otherwise, the silken tofu will break apart. Gently stir in sesame oil.
- Right when you’re ready to serve the soup, add the enoki mushroom. Season with salt to taste.
- Serve the Korean Style Spicy Vegetable Tofu Soup hot.
I love this recipe! Love Korean Food, Soups and Tofu! This is just for me!