Sundubu - Jjigae (Soft Tofu Stew) Picture taken from www.maangchi.com
The cuisine that I have always been very much intrigued by is the Korean cuisine. Korean food has always featured a mixture of spices that highlights the spiciness of a certain food, yet always maintaining a sense of balance, be it salty or sweet. So, as to further study this particular cuisine that I have always been intrigued in, I had lunch at a particular Korean restaurant on Bloor Street that I passed by very often. I had something called Sundubu-Jjigae or Soon Tofu Soup. The picture above is one I got off the internet. Below is the one that I had.
Let it be known that I have a certain aversion to spicy food, so the one that I had was made sure to be less spicy. This particular one that I had, came with some prawns and mussels. Personally, I feel that other than the typical 5 senses that we use to evaluate food, I was more inclined towards the touch sense when I had this dish. It was a particularly cold day so having the first sip of this boiling soup warmed by body and whet my appetite like no other. At first sight, I thought the spiciness would overpower due to the chilly oil and flakes, but it was actually very pleasant. The spiciness of the soup wasn't overpowering, and it even enhanced the flavor of the soup. The soup smelled of roasted pork stock and spring onions, but as I tasted it, there was a strong sweetness seafood in the soup which wasn't a lingering taste, so it wasn't very heavy on the palate. This sweetness was enhanced by the refreshing taste of the spring onions, as well as the light burning sensation on my tongue. The soup tasted very much like a prawn bisque without the creaminess. It was a play on the senses in a way. A mixture of salty, sweet and umame flavors from the mussels and prawns and onions. Each element in the dish had a major role that it played wonderfully. The tofu was soft, smooth and silky while the spring onions were crunchy and sweet. The mussels were fleshy and tastes of the sea, despite being in the soup, while the prawns were succulent, fresh and sweet. Even though each and every element was in the soup, it all shone through beautifully. It was overall a very delicate dish and a wonderful experience. I had an epiphany as I was eating this, it was that my palate, though usually numbed by a large amount of spice, can be enhanced when the spices and spiciness are both used sparingly.
The finished bowl of soup.
This dish is something that I would definitely go back to. I am generally a big fan of soup, creamy or not, and through this experience, I have found a new delicate and light tasting soup that would definitely impact the use of spices, flavors as well as senses that I will use in cooking, however if I were to add something to this dish, I would add some lemon juice just to give it the extra sourness it could use to bring it up to another level. I definitely liked how even though it was just mostly tofu, it could still fill me up despite how delicate and light it is.
This dish is something that I would definitely go back to. I am generally a big fan of soup, creamy or not, and through this experience, I have found a new delicate and light tasting soup that would definitely impact the use of spices, flavors as well as senses that I will use in cooking, however if I were to add something to this dish, I would add some lemon juice just to give it the extra sourness it could use to bring it up to another level. I definitely liked how even though it was just mostly tofu, it could still fill me up despite how delicate and light it is.