This Korean Spicy Seafood Soup/Stew is easy, healthy, naturally gluten-free and soy-free, and is a favorite in our household as it is very similar to the popular Korean dish Sundubu Jigae (spicy soft tofu stew). This soup is loaded with protein from the delicious seafood and our secret to replacing soft tofu with our steamed eggs recipe!
Made soy-free on purpose
Typically, a lot of Korean soups/stews have the addition of tofu or soft tofu. Some use a firmer tofu cut into cubes to add to their stew, and sometimes a softer, silky tofu is added to the stew. The popular Sundubu Jigae that is well known typically utilizes the soft, silky tofu.
We know that soy is one of the major allergens and so we thought to ourselves, what could we use instead that still has a similar texture of using tofu. We did some experimenting and realized that steamed eggs add that softened, silky texture very similar to that of soft, silky tofu! So there you have it, our tofu alternative for soups and stews. This steamed egg alternative to tofu gave us a dish that was packed with healthy proteins, and is soy-free! *cue angelic music now* Use our easy steamed eggs for this recipe.
Also, make sure the kimchi you purchase and use is soy-free if being soy-free is a dietary concern for you or your family.
Easily transform this recipe to be Whole30 or Paleo compliant
This recipe can also be easily transformed to be Whole30 compliant by finding kimchi that does not have added sugar to it and by using a Whole30 compliant fish sauce (like this one). Or you could also omit the potatoes in this recipe to make it Paleo compliant.
We hope you enjoy our version of a Korean spicy seafood soup!
Need a kimchi recipe?
- Easy Napa Cabbage Korean Kimchi – Cut-Up Kimchi
- Korean Winter Kimchi
- Korean White Kimchi (Baek Kimchi)
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Ingredients
2 cups seafood combo mix
1 cup kimchi**, chopped
4 medium/large-sized gold potatoes, diced (about 3 1/2 cups)
2 yellow onions, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 tbsp red chili pepper powder (gochugaru)
1 tsp sea salt
Pinch ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp brined/salted shrimp*
6 large-sized dried anchovies
2 tbsp olive oil
4 servings of steamed eggs (see our recipe here)
3 cups water
Instructions
- Prepare and chop the kimchi, seafood combo (dependent on your preference - chopping this is optional), onions, and dice the potatoes. Set each aside separately.
- Put a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Once warm, add olive oil.
- Add anchovies to the pot and toast the anchovies lightly in the olive oil for about 2-3 minutes.
- Add chopped kimchi and onion to the pot and stir-fry for about 2 minutes.
- Add the diced potatoes to the pot and the water.
- Turn up the heat to medium-high and let cook until the potatoes are done/soft. This will probably take about 10 minutes depending on how small you diced the potatoes. Check on a few potatoes every once in a while to see if they’re done/soft.
- While this is cooking, it’s time to make the spicy sauce mixture that will give your soup some heat and delicious flavor and it is also the time to make the bowls of steamed eggs. In a small bowl, add salt, black pepper, red chili pepper powder (gochugaru), fish sauce, brined/salted shrimp*, and minced garlic. See our steamed egg recipe to make the steamed eggs.
- Once the potatoes are done, add in the seafood combo and the spicy sauce mixture you just made.
- Cook for another 3-5 minutes for all the flavors to combine well together.
- Scoop out the steamed egg with a spoon and place in the soup. Just keep spooning out the steamed egg and placing it into the soup until all of the steamed egg is in the soup. This will resemble the same kind of look and texture as if you had used traditional soft, silky tofu. Let it boil for another minute.
- Serve with sliced green onions on top (optional).
- Enjoy!
Notes
*If you don’t have easy access to salted/brined shrimp, you can omit this ingredient and just add an extra ½ tsp of fish sauce instead. You should be able to find salted/brined shrimp in an Asian market/grocery store near you. **Make sure the kimchi you're using is compliant to your specific dietary needs.
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