tags: #KoreanFood #MacroFriendly #Recipe/Status/we-have-a-winner ## Ingredients 20250113 Thought it would only yield 5 servings, but it's more like 7-9... ### Main - **2 packs** medium-firm tofu, cut into big cubes - **~500 g (1 lb)** lean beef mince (I used 93 lean/7 fat but feel free to choose higher fat content ground beef for better taste) - **35 g** fish sauce - **80 g** ssamjang **or** gochujang. If gochujang, add some sesame oil to compensate (a spoonful or more to taste) - soy sauce to taste - Water **or** Bibigo beef broth 1 pack (beef broth tastes better and is an easy way to add more protein. Alternatively, can add 1 anchovy tablet, which you can find in any Asian grocery store. Plain water is fine) ### Vegetables and misc. - **300 g** (one) yellow onion, diced - 20260106 - 500g also worked. Had one giant onion. - **300 g** enoki mushrooms, cut off stems and halve or leave as is - **600 g** zucchini, quartered - 20250106 - this is a good amount. - **30 g** garlic, minced - optional: potatoes (100g / serving). Or rice - this recipe is especially low carb if you leave out the potatoes. I find the recipe without potatoes to already be filling. If you do add potatoes, keep the amount per serving on the low-end (I normally add 200g per serving of sweet potatoes if I'm doing a sweet potato bowl or salad, but 200g is too much here considering the dish is already so high-volume). I'm not suggesting skipping out on carbs altogether, but I found saving the carbs I was going to add to this recipe and enjoying them as a standalone later—I enjoy sweet potato in all its glorious forms—gave me more joy. - optional - green onions (add at end) - cheese for extra richness ## Instructions 1. Throw minced lean beef into pot with garlic. Add some salt, gochugaru (I used paprika bc I didn't have it), garlic powder on top. 2. While ground beef is cooking, dice yellow onion, zucchini, potatoes, chop enoki mushrooms in half, cube (medium sized cubes) tofu, and mince garlic. 1. Optional: boil diced potatoes in a separate pot in water + salt OR microwave diced potatoes + splash of water for a bit before adding to pot 3. Once beef is browned (not fully bc we are simmering later), place beef in separate container. Saute onions, add a splash of water to prevent burning. Lid on so the onions turn soft quicker. Add a splash of soy sauce. 4. Add tofu into pot, enoki mushrooms, and microwaved/boiled potatoes. Add whole pack of beef broth then water so ingredients are submerged in liquid. 5. Add 1. Gochujang 80g 2. Fish sauce 35g 3. Splash(es) of soy sauce and/or salt to taste 4. A little bit of sesame oil (I don't like too oily, but add liberally if you do) 6. Add zucchini last. Simmer until zucchini is soft and absorbs flabor (10-20 min). 7. Add spring onions once fully cooked. --- ### Attempt 1 on 20251215 Doenjang Jjigae is the real deal but I don't have it so will substitute it for ssamjang or gochujang with some sesame oil Notes / Substitutions - Enoki mushrooms → sliced cremini mushrooms since I didn't have enoki mushrooms - gochujang + some sesame oil - Water → beef stock (since I don’t have anchovy/beef stock powder). this worked well - Missing some other veg, like onions. Next time should add potatoes as well! Flavor was ok but the mushrooms were not great and no onions was sad, need to remake with these changes - use actual enoki mushrooms - add an onion - add potatoes ### Attempt 2 on 20260106 - worked out! minor tweaks left Actual quantities of ingredients used - see Ingredients section for notes Did not add any potatoes. Don't think the pot I have is big enough for the whole thing + 800g of potatoes. Modified Instructions section above according to what I did today. To do better next time: - Added zucchini maybe a bit too late so it didn't absorb as much flavor, but seeing as I am splitting this across 5 maybe 6 meals, the zucchini has plenty of time to absorb flavor and become mushy (for better or for worse). - Didn't chop enoki mushrooms in half, but mushrooms turned out fine. They break apart during cooking and mixing anyway. Could change next time or keep the same Comments: the bomb! amazing during cold Boston winters. had it with some kimchi. very comforting.