Korean Seafood Tofu Soup (Soondubu Jjigae)

1. Bring chicken stock, kelp, and dried anchovies to a boil in a large pot. Cover and cook over medium heat, about 10 minutes. Strain broth, discarding kelp and anchovies.

2. Cook pork belly in a large pot over medium heat until browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl; reserve drippings in the pot. Add red pepper flakes; cook and stir until sizzling, about 30 seconds. Return pork belly to the pot. Add strained broth, zucchini, onion, kimchi, serrano chile peppers, ginger, fish sauce, and sugar. Cover and simmer soup until flavors combine, about 15 minutes.

3. Stir tofu, shrimp, mussels, clams, mushrooms, and garlic into soup. Simmer until mussels and clams have opened, about 5 minutes.

4. Break tofu gently into chunks. Ladle boiling soup into serving bowls and crack an egg into each. Garnish with green onions.

Cook's Notes:

Substitute water for the chicken broth, if desired. For added flavor, you can simmer the shrimp shells in the broth in step 1.

If you want to keep it healthier, you can substitute the pork belly with olive oil.

Do not use red pepper flakes from an American grocery store. They are not the same!

Substitute shiitake mushrooms for the button mushrooms if desired.

Editor's Note:

This recipe contains raw egg. We recommend that pregnant women, young children, the elderly, and the infirm do not consume raw egg. Learn more about egg safety from our article, How to Make Your Eggs Safe.