My Love from Korea: Sundubu Jjigae

I have been asked so many time "What is your favorite Korean food?" and every time I give an honest and frank answer, people throw a strange look OR react weirdly by saying "Wow that's quite unexpected" to laugh spontaneously. This actually happened during my Korean scholarship interview where both of the Korean panels were laughing at my answer...

I didn't know what's so unusual but my favorite #KoreanFood (or let me shorten it to #kfood) is Pajeon (파전). Often dubbed as Korean Pancake, I fell in love with the familiar taste of Pajeon. It tasted like Indonesia' Kekian (the one we always use in capcay) and now that I think about it, one should not say kekian as his/her favorite Indonesian food.

Ok I get it.

Don't worry, I still have lots of #kfood that I love, like chicken-based dishes such as jjimdak (찜닭) and dakgalbi (닭갈비). Eh but then people don't stop there and ask, "But how can you get Halal jjimdak or dakgalbi in Korea?"

Well it's basically impossible and I should just puasa (fasting) until I come back to Indonesia or visit the Halal-chain branches in Malaysia or Singapore. Turned out that being in Korea doesn't mean I am getting closer to my favorite #kfood until I found my new love... Sundubu Jjigae (순두부 찌개)!

I remember this dish as the first real Korean dish that I ate after coming to Seoul in February 2015. I had been stuffed myself with breads and milkshakes from the fast-food chains until some friends asked me to eat out at a Korean restaurant. I barely had an option when I asked for vegetarian menu in that restaurant. My options were only Sundubu Jjigae with seafood or Jjamppong aka seafood noodle.

I chose Sundubu Jjigae and loved it! So, what actually Sundubu Jjigae is?

For me, it's simply Korean style tofu soup that almost always served in black-Korean-pot or ddukbaegi (뚝배기). But for the sake of educating my readers properly, I got this description from Wikipedia.

Sundubu jjigae (순두부찌개) is a jjigae (Korean stew) in Korean cuisine. The dish is made with uncurdled dubu (tofu), vegetables, sometimes mushrooms, onion, optional seafood (commonly oysters, mussels, clams and shrimp), optional meat (commonly beef orpork), and gochujang (chili paste) or gochu garu (chili powder). The dish is assembled and cooked directly in the serving vessel, which is traditionally made of thick, robust porcelain, but can also be ground out of solid stone. A raw egg is put in the jjigae just before serving (also optional), and the dish is delivered while still bubbling vigorously. This dish is typically eaten with a bowl of cooked white rice and several banchan (side dishes).

As it was my first week in  Korea, I felt really great to successfully order Vegetarian dish in normal Korean restaurant. Later I learned that the gochujang that they used commonly is not Halal ㅠㅠ Be careful, fellow Muslim!

Seafood Sundubu Jjigae from 두부의 추억 151 이대점

Normally, I go to two places for Sundubu Jjigae. First, 두부의 추억 151 near Ewha. Don't ask me to translate the name, they really don't have English name nor English menu. But I did see many foreign visitors dine here. I assume they can read Korean as they don't seem to suffer when ordering food hahaha.

They offer only 4 kind of Sundubu Jjjigae. I always go with the Seafood one.

The portion is standard Korean, served with one bowl of brown rice and nice banchan (side dishes). They would either serve ampas tahu (I don't know how to translate this, something like cold soy porridge?) or tteokbokki as their specialty side dish.

What I like about them is that they are very generous with the seafood. This meal is definitely worth my KRW6,000

To be honest, I am not entirely sure of the Halal-degree of this dish so I have only been there with friends' invitations. I can definitely recommend and swear for the second place, Loving Hut Rainbow in Sinchon!

Loving Hut Rainbow - Sinchon, Seoul

Loving Hut is international vegan chain restaurant that can be found in all over Asia. I can always find Loving Hut every time I travel in Asia, except in Saigon hahaha. I always said how lovely it would be to have Loving Hut near my home before moving to Seoul and my wish is granted! This Loving Hut branch is reachable by walking from my dormitory.

They offer many interesting Korean dishes in vegan version, making it possible for me to try Jajangmyeon, Kalguksu, Mandu and other dishes with no worries. Although there is no dish that I don't like from Loving Hut, I always order Sundubu Jjigae before ordering something else...
(that shows how much I love it!)

my set of happiness!

I don't normally finish my banchan when eating in Korean restaurant because I am not sure what's in it, not even in Halal Korean restaurant, due to my diet of not eating any red-meat-based products. But dining in Loving Hut means it is safe for me to eat and try everything. Their banchan is the bomb! (Still not touching the kimchi btw hahaha)

my love, vegan sundubbu jjigae

Everything about this Sundubu Jjigae is just too perfect!

texture and content - must try!

Good news, you only need to pay for KRW6,500 to enjoy this Sundubu Jjigae 'set'. (when you order a portion of #KoreanFood, it is normally served with rice and all that. Free flow of water included - so nice, right?)

whole bowl of environmentally friendly and healthy ingredients!

Oh, one thing to note: do not easily fall into #kfood red colour visual. Its NOT spicy at all.

So if you happen to look for Vegan/Halal #kfood in Seoul, be sure to visit Loving Hut Rainbow in Sinchon! But if you are in Indonesia or UAE, visit the upcoming K-Food Fair 2015 in your countries to taste the Halal #KoreanFood wonders! Check the #kfoodfair2015 Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/kfoodfair2015 or their website here.

Don't miss out the dates of this year' #kfoodfair! Selamat makan-makan!