Sundubu

Ultra-soft, freshly pressed tofu served warm in its whey, eaten plain with soy sauce or as the star of a fiery jjigae.

Sundubu — literally 'pure soft tofu' — is the freshest, most delicate form of tofu, made by curdling soymilk without pressing or draining, resulting in a product with the consistency of a very soft pannacotta. In Korea, making sundubu is a morning craft: small tofu workshops in neighborhoods called dubu-jip (tofu houses) press fresh batches before dawn, and locals queue to buy it still warm, carrying it home in a plastic bag to eat simply with soy sauce, sesame oil, and spring onion. This uncooked preparation — sundubu-muchim or plain sundubu — is considered a delicacy by purists, prizing the clean, slightly sweet flavour of the soybean without any further cooking. Sundubu also forms the backbone of soondubu-jjigae, where its delicate curds dissolve softly into a spiced broth. The tofu-making tradition in Korea dates back to the Three Kingdoms period, and there are still rural villages in Gangwon Province and Gyeonggi Province with multi-generational tofu artisans. Tourists visiting Gangneung or the Insadong area of Seoul can watch sundubu being made by hand and eat it warm within minutes of production.