Korean Tofu Soup
The Korean Tofu Soup is packed full of flavour with Kimchi, garlic spices and silky soft tofu. It comes together in just 30 minutes for a delicious meal that is vegan and gluten-free!
Sundubu Jjigae: aka Korean soft tofu soup
This recipe for Korean Tofu Soup is a spin on the traditional Korean dish Sundubu Jjigae, a Korean soft tofu soup or stew.
It’s traditionally made with ground meat, (which we will be leaving out of this recipe to make it vegan), kimchi (make sure your kimchi is vegan), and silken tofu. Sometimes it’s also made with an egg to top it off.
The flavour of the soup is slightly spicy and tangy from the kimchi flavour. The sesame oil in the soup gives it a great aromatic element and the soft tofu is light, and melt in your mouth, making it the perfect cozy soup recipe!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- This soup makes a delicious vegan meal that is packed with flavour and protein.
- This recipe can be modified to add in any type of veggies, protein or noodles you love.
- This recipe is warming and cozy and comes together in just 30 minutes!
How to make Korean Tofu Soup
Heat the olive oil in a pot and add the onion ginger and garlic letting cook for 2 minutes. Then add the kimchi and stir everything together.
Add the seasoning and broth and bring the soup to a boil, then cover and let simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the cubed tofu to the soup along with some sliced green onions and stir together.
Is Korean Tofu Soup healthy?
Traditionally Sundubu Jjigae can be made with quite a bit of oil and fat from the ground meat, but this version of Korean Tofu Soup is definitely healthy!
This soup is made with just a touch of oil, low-sodium veggie broth, kimchi, (which is fermented and great for your gut health) and tofu.
Tips for making this recipe perfectly
- This soup needs the kimchi in it for flavour, so don’t skip out on this ingredient! Most Asian grocery stores will sell kimchi, as well as many health food stores.
- Make sure to use soft tofu in this recipe, not firm tofu! Firm tofu is too tough and won’t give the soup the right texture.
- This soup is even better the next day! If you have time to make this soup in advance and let the flavours sit together, the flavours will intensify.
More soup recipes to try
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Korean Tofu Soup
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Cook
- Cuisine: Korean
Description
This Korean Tofu Soup comes together in just 30 minutes for a delicious cozy meal!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 2-inch cube ginger, chopped
- 1/2 cup kimchi [make sure your kimchi is vegan!]
- 1 tsp red chilli flakes
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp tamari
- 1/2 cup kimchi juice
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 pack soft tofu, drained and cut into large cubes
- 2 green onions, sliced
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a pot on medium-high heat then add the onion, garlic and ginger and let cook for 2 minutes.
- Add in the kimchi, red chilli flakes, sesame oil, tamari and kimchi juice and mix all together letting cook on medium heat for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the broth, bring to a boil, then cover and let simmr on low for 10-15 minutes.
- Remove the lid and add in the tofu and sliced green onions to serve.
Notes
This soup needs the kimchi in it for flavour, so don’t skip out on this ingredient! Most Asian grocery stores will sell kimchi, as well as many health food stores.
Make sure to use soft tofu in this recipe, not firm tofu! Firm tofu is too tough and won’t give the soup the right texture.
Make sure your kimchi is vegan! Some kimchi is fermented with seafood, vegan kimchi is not!
This soup is even better the next day! If you have time to make this soup in advance and let the flavours sit together, the flavours will intensify.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 125
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 500mg
- Fat: 7.5g
- Saturated Fat: 1g
- Carbohydrates: 6g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 5g
Keywords: Korean soup with tofu, kimchi soup, tofu stew recipe
If you tried this Korean Tofu Soup or any other recipe on the blog let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment/rating below! Be sure to follow along on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook for even more deliciousness!
Beautiful soup recipe and I even added dumplings and snow peas yum!
★★★★★
Thanks Cassandra! So happy you liked it!
I made this recipe, or a spin-off but I was a bit confused what to do for the kimchi juice? The kimchi we buy only comes in little jars and there is definitely not a lot of excess liquid. I didn’t know what to do so I just added extra kimchi, but it crowded the broth a bit. Are you supposed to separate the kimchi from the liquid before using?? Regardless, it was a delicious meal and we will definitely be trying again. Thank you 🙂
Hi Bree, most containers of Kimchi have a fair bit of liquid in them with is packed with flavour. For the next time you make them you can just leave out the kimchi juice!
I would love to try making this soup in my crock pot. Is this possible and what would I need to do differently? Recipe look yummy. Tfs.
★★★★★
Hi Emma, I haven’t tested this out in a crockpot but I really don’t think it needs one since it’s such a quick recipe, a crockpot is usually best to let something cook for a while.
I really like this recipe, the only problem I have is that I live alone and it’s a bit much for me to finish, even in a couple of days. How would you go about saving this for later? Can you freeze it? Thanks!
★★★★
Hi Meadow, If you want to store this soup broth just keep the tofu separate to add it in fresh 🙂
Wow. Just wow.
★★★★★
Happy you enjoyed the recipe Beth 🙂
This was so yummy and easy recepie!!!! Thank you:)
Glad you enjoyed Carina!
This was really tasty and simple to make!
★★★★★
Thanks Christine! Glad you enjoyed!
This looks delicious!! I love to try new dishes out,
★★★★★
Thanks so much Emily!