If you grow up in a Korean household, you’ve probably grew up with soybean paste soup with spinach and clams (Sigeumchi jogae doenjang guk) on the dinner table. This soup is simple to make and so comforting on a cold day.
Soybean Paste Stew (doenjang jjigae ) is a classic Korean stew made with fermented soybean paste (doenjang), tofu and vegetables and considered one of the most popular comfort foods.
This version is also made with soybean paste but adds spinach and clams. Choose any variety of small clams such as littleneck or manilla. When choosing clams, never select ones that are opened, chipped or damaged and once cooked, discard any that have not opened. Before cooking, the clams are soaked in salt water to draw out the sand from the shells.
Other ingredients include garlic and green onions. I also added soybean sprouts as I had some on hand, but that’s optional.
Add chicken, vegetable or anchovy broth or add water used to rinse the rice (which provides starch to bind the soybean paste to the broth).
Other options include: tofu or gochujang (korean red pepper paste) or gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes) for spice.
Rinse the clams and place in bowl with enough cold water to cover along with the salt. Soak for about 30 minutes to draw out sand from the shells. Rinse and scrub the clams. Cut off the thick stem ends of the spinach. Wash throughly to remove excess dirt and cut in half or into bite sized pieces and set aside. In a pot, add the broth and soy bean paste and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the paste. Add in clams, garlic and optional bean sprouts and simmer for about 3 minutes or until the clams have opened. Add in the spinach and green onions and continue to cook for about a minute or until the spinach has wilted. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Discard any clams that have not opened. 
Ingredients
Instructions