Dubu-jeongol (Stuffed Tofu Hot Pot)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •28 to 30cm wide shallow jeongol pan, shabu pot, or shallow braiser with lid
• •Portable tabletop burner
• •Wide skillet for browning tofu and cooking jidan
• •Fine strainer or skimmer
• •Small sharp knife for tofu pockets

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the broth

   Put the water, anchovies, kelp, dried shiitakes, and radish in a pot over medium heat. When small bubbles collect at the edge, about 8 minutes, lift out the kelp. Kelp left to boil hard gives the broth a slick bitterness, and no arrangement on top can hide that. Simmer the anchovies, radish, and shiitakes 12 minutes more, then strain. Save the shiitakes and measure 4 1/2 cups broth, adding water if you are short. Stir in the soup soy sauce, rice wine, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. It should taste lightly seasoned, because it will reduce at the table.

   Remove the dark guts from the anchovies before they go in. That small pinch of work is the difference between clean broth and a fishy pot.
2. 2

   Salt the tofu

   Cut each tofu block into 8 rectangles, each about 3 inches by 1 1/2 inches by 3/4 inch, for 16 pieces total. Lay them on a towel and sprinkle both sides with the 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt. Rest 15 minutes, then press gently with another towel until the surface is dry. Wet tofu tears under the knife and spits in the pan; dry tofu browns cleanly.

3. 3

   Season the beef

   Finely mince 2 of the soaked shiitake caps. Mix them with the ground beef, soy sauce, minced scallion, garlic, sesame oil, rice wine, potato starch, sugar, black pepper, and sesame seeds. Stir in one direction for 1 minute until the filling turns sticky. That stickiness matters because the beef has to cling inside the tofu pocket instead of falling into the broth.

   Cook 1 teaspoon of the filling in the skillet and taste it. Raw filling is not something to guess at. Adjust with a few drops of soy sauce only if it tastes flat.
4. 4

   Brown the tofu

   Heat 2 tablespoons of the neutral oil in a wide skillet over medium heat. Brown the tofu in batches, 2 to 3 minutes per broad side, until pale gold. Do not chase a dark crust. This tofu still has to simmer, and too much browning makes the outside leathery. Move the browned pieces to a tray and let them cool until you can handle them.

5. 5

   Fill the pockets

   With a small sharp knife, cut a slit along one long side of each tofu piece, stopping before you cut through the far side. Tuck in 2 level teaspoons of beef filling, about 12g, and press the tofu closed gently. It should look full, not swollen. If one piece tears, set it near the side of the pot and cook it anyway. The table will forgive one imperfect pocket faster than it forgives cloudy broth.

6. 6

   Make egg garnish

   Beat the egg yolks with a pinch of salt in one bowl and the whites with a pinch of salt in another. Wipe a skillet with a little oil and cook each into a thin sheet over low heat, keeping them pale. Slice into fine strips for jidan (egg garnish). Add this at the end, not the beginning, so it stays clean and tender.

7. 7

   Prepare vegetables

   Slice the 2 remaining soaked shiitake caps. Cut the cabbage, onion, zucchini, carrot, mushrooms, minari, scallions, and chilis as listed. Keep the tender minari leaves separate from the stems. If you are using dangmyeon, soak only 50g and drain it well. More than that steals the broth and turns a composed jeongol into a noodle pot.

8. 8

   Mix dipping sauce

   Stir together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, broth or water, sliced scallion, and gochugaru if using. This cho-ganjang (soy-vinegar sauce) is for dipping the tofu pieces at the table. Keep it sharper than the broth and do not sweeten it; the pot itself should stay clear.

9. 9

   Arrange the pot

   Lay the cabbage and onion across the bottom of a wide shallow jeongol pan. Put the drained dangmyeon in the center if using. Arrange the stuffed tofu in a ring or spokes with the filled slit facing up, then set the carrot, zucchini, mushrooms, scallions, chilis, and minari stems in separate bands of color. Pour 4 cups of broth down the side of the pan, not over the tofu, and keep the remaining 1/2 cup nearby. Arrange first, broth second. That is the jeongol distinction.

   Use a 28 to 30cm pan if you have one. A crowded pot boils unevenly and hides the colors you worked to prepare.
10. 10

    Simmer and serve

    Set the pan on a portable burner at the table over medium heat. Cover for 5 minutes to cook the beef filling evenly, then uncover and simmer 6 to 8 minutes more, spooning broth over the tofu. The beef filling must be fully cooked with no pink at the thickest pocket. Add the minari leaves and jidan strips for the last minute. Taste the broth only after the filling is cooked; adjust with 1 teaspoon soup soy sauce for depth or 1/4 teaspoon salt for plain saltiness. Keep the burner low while serving, and lift the tofu gently from the side so the arrangement lasts long enough for everyone to see it.

Chef Tips

• •Use firm tofu, not silken and not extra-firm unless that is all your market has. Firm tofu presses dry enough to brown but still stays tender in the broth.
• •A bronze sinseollo brazier is beautiful, but a wide shabu pot or shallow braiser on a portable burner is honest. 시대가 바뀌면 음식도 바뀌어야 해요. When times change, food must change too. The vessel can modernize; the cutting and arrangement still have to be careful.
• •Do not add gochujang to this pot. Dubu-jeongol is not meant to be red and heavy. If someone wants heat, give it through the dipping sauce or a few sliced chilis.
• •Minari is best in spring, when the stems are fragrant and crisp. In another month, use good scallion greens and a small handful of ssukgat (crown daisy) if you can find it. Cook the month you are standing in.
• •Leftovers reheat gently, but the dish will no longer be composed. That is not failure. Save the remaining broth, tofu, and vegetables together and eat them the next day with rice, knowing the dinner-party face of the pot has already done its work.

Advance Preparation

• •The anchovy-kelp-shiitake broth can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Season it lightly after reheating, because cold broth tastes duller than it will at the table.
• •The beef filling can be mixed 1 day ahead and kept refrigerated. Stir it again before filling the tofu so the texture tightens.
• •The tofu can be salted, dried, browned, and stuffed up to 4 hours ahead. Keep it covered in the refrigerator and cook it the same day, adding 2 extra minutes to the covered simmer if it goes into the pot cold.
• •The egg jidan and cut vegetables can be prepared the morning of serving. Keep minari wrapped in a damp towel so it stays crisp, and arrange the pot only shortly before people sit down.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 600g)