Sundubu Jiggae (재동순두부) – Is This the World’s Most Comforting Comfort Food?

By Mark Wiens 15 Comments
Jaedong Sundubu (재동순두부)
Jaedong Sundubu (재동순두부)

I only had a few hours.

My flight from Bangkok landed at Incheon in the morning, and my next flight was on its way to Honolulu in the afternoon.

I could have stayed in the airport (a very nice airport at that) and used the wifi, but I love food too much, and I was determined to have a bowl of one of Korea’s, and perhaps even the world’s, most comforting comfort foods: sundubu jiggae.

Food photos outside
Food photos outside

When I visited Seoul (video) a few years back, I was more focused on grilled meats and addicted to kimchi jiggae, another stellar Korean stew, but somehow I only had sundubu jiggae once or twice.

But since then, I had eaten it on more occasions outside of South Korea, so when I had a short layover, I had to get some.

I searched out Jaedong Sundubu (재동순두부) on Seoul Eats, and after getting out of the plane, that’s where I headed.

My bubbling pot of goodness about to be devoured
My bubbling pot of goodness about to be devoured

It was a little confusing to get there, not the subway or anything, but after taking the exit, all signage was in Korean (I’ve written good directions at the bottom if you’re interested in going).

Luckily it didn’t take more than a few minutes to locate a small alley, and after asking a few random pedestrians, I found the restaurant.

Arriving to Jaedong Sundubu (재동순두부) right at noon, the restaurant was packed, and I had to wait in line for about 10 minutes before we were seated.

Kimchi
Kimchi

As soon as we sat down, we were immediately delivered our colorful assortment of classic banchan side dishes.

Banchan side dishes
Banchan side dishes

A couple kinds of kimchi, seasoned seaweed, slices of egg omelet, and tiny candied fish.

Loving the sides
Loving the sides

One thing I immediately noticed while seated at Jaedong Sundubu (재동순두부) is that the side dishes were self service, meaning you could fill them up as many times as you liked. This is dangerous for me, a lover of all things kimchi!

The egg, slow cooking in the luscious chili oil
The egg, slow cooking in the luscious chili oil

The menu was fully in Korean, so I had little choice but to point to what someone at the next table, had on their table and order two of the same.

I ordered, or course, sundubu jjigae (순두부찌개), a spicy Korean stew made with un-curdled tofu, bits of seafood, onions, chili flakes, oil, and finally a raw egg plopped in the middle of the boiling goodness.

It came with a metal container of rice and the side dishes.

Sundubu jjigae (순두부찌개)
Sundubu jjigae (순두부찌개)

Sundubu jjigae (순두부찌개) comes to your table like a bubbling volcano of lava, the chili oil cuddling the tofu egg into a red mess of magma – and it’s served just about as hot as something cooked in a volcano too.

So why is sundubu jjigae (순두부찌개) the most comforting comfort food?

I attempt to eat as many comfort foods as possible in my travels, and Sundubu jjigae (순두부찌개) is pretty high up on the list mainly for two reasons.

  1. The entire contents of the dish is so soft, you really could almost skip chewing for entire meal, and just let the chili saturated tofu and egg slide down your throat. It’s like spicy baby food.
  2. The dish literally remains piping hot until your last bite.

Along with these two main reasons, there are so many more, like that it just tastes amazing.

Don’t hate on the tofu here!

This tofu almost tastes like silky scrambled eggs, and covered in red chili oil, coated in egg yolk, and eaten over rice with alternating bites of kimchi, I could hardly contain my joy.

One thing for me is certain, sundubu jjigae (순두부찌개) is one of the great South Korean food comfort dishes.

Jaedong Sundubu (재동순두부)
Jaedong Sundubu (재동순두부)

Jaedong Sundubu (재동순두부)

Ok so here are the details so you can go enjoy this sundubu jjigae (순두부찌개).

Take the subway to Anguk station and Exit #2. Walk outside and go straight less than 100 meters until you see the blue sign for Bukchon-ro 2-gil. Make a right on the small alley (pictured), and go down for about 20 meters until you see the white signs for the restaurant (look for the pictures, no English).

15 comments. I'd love to hear from you!

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  • High Rated Gabru

    3 years ago

    WOW!! amazing content. Thanks for share Mark.

  • Johnny Phelps

    3 years ago

    I have tasted many Korean foods, but never sundubu jiggae. May be its only available in Korea and I’ve never been there.

  • Marcin

    5 years ago

    Good stuff Mark, now they have an English menu possibly thanks to you. I found it released its full flavors after 10 minutes when it was cooler.

  • dan

    7 years ago

    I stumbled on your blog when googling Itaewon stew and I must say your analysis of soondubu is spot on. I am so lucky that there is an all you can eat Korean BBQ and hot pot restaurant near my house that offers soondubu broth as one of their hot pot options…can’t get enough of this comfort food!

  • Carmen

    10 years ago

    Yum! Looks so delicious… got to get there someday. We used to eat Korean food in London all the time and loved it. Thanks for sharing!

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Hey Carmen, it’s a wonderful dish, hope you can visit Seoul soon!

  • Charli | Wanderlusters

    10 years ago

    I’ve just discovered Korean food. Sadly not in Korea, I’m house sitting in Melbourne at the moment and the city offers such superb cuisine. I’ll have to head down to Victoria st and sample some sundubu jiggae! thanks for the introduction 🙂

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Hey Charli, good to hear from you, glad you enjoyed Korean food. Let me know how you like it!

  • Jenna

    10 years ago

    I’ve never eaten Korean food (I know, must change that!), so I found this interesting! I love the fact that those side dishes are all you can eat. I am a big fan of tofu, so I’m sure I would enjoy the spicy stew dish.

  • Christine |GRRRL TRAVELER

    10 years ago

    You got me at sundubu… lived off of this in Korea, minus the egg! In general, there’s 2-3 types of tofu~ soft and firm.. maybe even a medium firm too. The soft dubu is what they use. I think it’s comfort because it’s light and like kimchi jigae, it’s easy and quick to make, so it’s common dish. =)

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Hey Christine, glad you love this dish, and thank you for the info about the tofu. It’s such a great dish!

  • Maria

    10 years ago

    Wow! Even the location looks comforting (tucked away, out of the busy street).

    • Mark Wiens

      10 years ago

      Hey Maria, yes it was, and even though it was cold outside, it was so nice and warm inside!