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Korean Soups & Stews

Korean food has a soup or stew for every situation. There's one for hangovers, one for cold mornings, one for when you're ill, one for celebrations. Most of them come together faster than you'd think, and almost all of them taste better the next day. This is where I collect everything soupy.

Guk vs Jjigae vs Tang: What's the Difference?

Korean has specific words for different soup styles, and understanding them helps you know what you're making:

  • Guk (국): A lighter, broth-forward soup with a higher liquid-to-ingredient ratio. Often eaten daily alongside rice. Examples: miyeokguk (seaweed soup), kongnamul guk (beansprout soup).
  • Jjigae (찌개): Thicker, heartier, more intensely flavoured than guk. The ingredients dominate over the broth. Cooked and served in the pot it's made in. Examples: doenjang jjigae, sundubu jjigae, kimchi jjigae.
  • Tang (탕): A deeply flavoured, long-simmered broth, usually made from bones or meat. Richer than guk but different from jjigae. Examples: seolleongtang (ox bone soup), samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup).
  • Jeongol (전골): A hot pot-style dish cooked at the table in a wide, shallow pot. Ingredients go in raw and cook in the broth as you eat. Budae jjigae started as a jeongol.

The Flavour Bases You Need

Most Korean soups start with one of three flavour bases:

Doenjang (fermented soybean paste): The foundation of doenjang jjigae and many lighter soups. Dissolve a spoonful into broth and you have instant depth. Pairs with courgette, tofu, mushrooms, and clams.

Gochujang + gochugaru: The base for kimchi jjigae, sundubu jjigae, and tteokbokki. The combination of the paste and the flakes gives both body and heat.

Anchovy + kelp dashi (myeolchi yuksu): The Korean equivalent of Japanese dashi. Made by simmering dried anchovies and dashima (dried kelp) for 15 minutes. Light, savoury, and slightly briny. The base for many guk. Instant dashi packets work in a pinch.

How to Make a Fast Korean Broth

For a weeknight soup that tastes like it took longer:

  1. Sauté a tablespoon of doenjang or gochujang in a splash of sesame oil for 1 minute
  2. Add 600ml water or light stock
  3. Add tofu, courgette, mushrooms, or whatever vegetables you have
  4. Simmer 10 minutes
  5. Taste and adjust with more doenjang, a splash of fish sauce, or a pinch of salt
  6. Finish with sesame oil and spring onions

That's doenjang jjigae in its most basic, honest form. Add clams or pork belly to go further.

Five Soups to Start With

  • Kimchi jjigae: Old kimchi, pork belly, tofu, gochugaru. The older the kimchi the better — sour kimchi makes a richer soup.
  • Sundubu jjigae: Silken tofu in a spicy anchovy broth. Crack an egg in at the end, let it just set, eat immediately.
  • Doenjang jjigae: The everyday Korean soup. Earthy, savoury, endlessly adaptable. Make it with whatever vegetables need using up.
  • Budae jjigae (Army Stew): The glorious, chaotic one — Spam, sausages, kimchi, ramen noodles, baked beans in one pot. Deeply comforting.
  • Kongnamul guk: Beansprout soup. Light, clean, ready in 15 minutes. The everyday hangover cure.

Recipe Inspiration For You...

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Frequently Asked Questions

What's the easiest Korean soup to start with?

Doenjang jjigae. It requires minimal technique — you're essentially dissolving fermented paste into water and simmering vegetables in it. Tofu, courgette, and mushrooms work well. It's also very forgiving: too bland, add more doenjang; too strong, add more water. Once you've made it a few times it becomes instinctive.

Can I make Korean soup without a stone pot (dolsot)?

Yes — you don't need one. A regular saucepan works perfectly for making jjigae, guk, and tang. Stone pots retain heat well and look great on the table, but they're not essential for flavour. If you want to serve at the table in the pot it was cooked in, any oven-safe pot or cast iron casserole works just as well.

How do I make Korean anchovy broth (myeolchi yuksu)?

Add 10–12 dried anchovies (heads and guts removed if possible) and one 10cm piece of dashima (dried kelp) to 1 litre of cold water. Bring to a simmer, cook for 15 minutes, then strain. That's it. The broth will keep in the fridge for 3 days. Instant dashi packets are a good shortcut — they're not identical but work well for weeknight cooking.

What can I do with old or sour kimchi?

This is when kimchi is most useful for cooking. Over-fermented, sour kimchi is the ideal base for kimchi jjigae — its funky acidity becomes a flavour asset rather than a problem. It's also great in kimchi fried rice, kimchi pancakes (kimchijeon), and braised pork dishes. Don't throw it out when it gets sour — move it to the cooking pile instead.

Is Korean soup spicy?

It depends entirely on the dish. Doenjang jjigae has no heat at all. Kongnamul guk is mild. Sundubu and kimchi jjigae are spicy but adjustable — reduce the gochugaru and gochujang for less heat. Seolleongtang and samgyetang have no chilli in them at all. There are plenty of Korean soups that suit low heat tolerance; the spicy ones are just the most famous internationally.

Have You Eaten?

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