The red pot I make when the shellfish is fresh and the kimchi jar is open is this one – Korean spicy seafood tofu soup, and this home cook’s version blooms onion and scallion first, then the mushrooms, then the sea. A home cook wrote it in nine steps with the seasoning in the seventh: fish sauce and salt, plus more chili powder if you need it. I made it as written, and it is the hot, briny pot that demands rice.

Han shi la hai xian dou fu tang (韩式辣海鲜豆腐汤) is Korean spicy seafood tofu soup – clams, octopus, and crab stick simmered with silken tofu, mushrooms, and kimchi in a gochujang and chili-powder broth, finished with fish sauce and green chili.

What Is Korean Spicy Seafood Tofu Soup?

This is the seafood sundubu: a soft or inner-bean tofu is chosen; onion is minced, scallion shredded, and mushroom chunked. Clams soak to spit their sand, octopus legs are sliced, and crab sticks cut. Oil takes the onion and scallion to soft, then the mushroom; the seafood and kimchi join with a spoon of gochujang and a spoon of chili powder. Water boils, fish sauce and salt season it – more chili powder if the heat is shy – and the cubed tofu goes in to cook through before the green chili finishes it.

For the pork version of the same red stew, my Korean soft tofu stew is the milder, meatier pot.

Why This Recipe Works

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• The clam soak. Sand out before the pot.

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• Onion, then mushroom. Sweetness before the sea.

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• Gochujang and chili powder. The double red.

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• Fish sauce, not just salt. The briny seasoning.

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• Tofu late, green chili last. Silken and fresh.

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Equipment Needed

• A pot
• A bowl for the clams
• A ladle

Ingredients

• 1 box of silken (inner-bean) tofu, cubed
• A handful of white clams, soaked
• A few octopus legs sliced, and crab sticks in segments
• 1/2 onion minced, with scallion shredded and mushroom chunked
• 1 tbsp gochujang and 1 tbsp chili powder, plus fish sauce and salt
• A little kimchi and green chili

Ingredient Notes

The sea: Clams soaked, octopus and crab stick ready. The red: Gochujang and chili powder – and fish sauce for the brine. Tofu: Silken, added late. My Korean soft tofu stew is the pork version of the pot.

Prep & Mise en Place

Soak the clams; cut the octopus and crab stick; prep the vegetables; cube the tofu.

Cooking Process

Step 1 – Prep the materials – choose a softer tofu; I used inner

Prep the materials – choose a softer tofu; I used inner-bean (silken).

Step 2 – Mince the onion, shred the scallion, and chunk the mush

Mince the onion, shred the scallion, and chunk the mushroom.

Step 3 – Soak the white clams in water to spit the sand; slice t

Soak the white clams in water to spit the sand; slice the octopus legs; cut the crab sticks into segments.

Step 4 – Cut the green chili into segments

Cut the green chili into segments.

Step 5 – Heat oil in the pot and stir the onion and scallion to

Heat oil in the pot and stir the onion and scallion to soft, then add the mushroom.

Step 6 – Add the seafood and the kimchi with a spoon of gochujan

Add the seafood and the kimchi with a spoon of gochujang and a spoon of chili powder; stir-fry.

Step 7 – Add water to a boil, season with fish sauce and salt –

Add water to a boil, season with fish sauce and salt – add more chili powder if it is not spicy enough.

Step 8 – Once it boils, add the cubed tofu

Once it boils, add the cubed tofu.

Step 9 – When the tofu is cooked, add the green chili – and eat

When the tofu is cooked, add the green chili – and eat with rice.

Common Mistakes When Making This Dish

1. A gritty pot. Cause: clams not soaked. Fix: soak them first. 2. A flat, salty broth. Cause: salt only. Fix: fish sauce – and taste. 3. Broken tofu. Cause: added early or stirred hard. Fix: late, and gentle. 4. A dull red. Cause: one red only. Fix: gochujang and chili powder together. 5. Rubbery seafood. Cause: over-boiled. Fix: in at the boil, tofu after.

Variations

Milder: Less chili powder, more kimchi. Pork instead of seafood: My Korean soft tofu stew is the meaty pot.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the double red? Gochujang plus chili powder – color and heat. Why fish sauce? The brine of the sea, not just salt. When do the clams go in? With the seafood, before the tofu. How long does it take? About 35 minutes. Is it spicy? Yes – Korean red hot, and my savory tofu and egg stir-fry is the fast plate beside it, and golden pan-fried tofu the crisp one.

How to Serve

Serve boiling with rice – with Korean soft tofu stew, silken tofu potage, and home-style tofu for a hot-pot table, or with spicy numbing tofu and braised tofu with bok choy for contrast.

Storage & Reheat

Best fresh; refrigerate 1 day. Never leave out more than 2 hours.

Allergen Notice

This recipe contains shellfish (clams, octopus, crab stick, fish sauce), fish (fish sauce), and soy (tofu, gochujang). It is free of gluten (verify the pastes), dairy, egg, and nuts.

Nutrition Disclaimer

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

About the Author & Recipe Development

I am Jason Guo, a Chinese chef who has cooked professionally for more than five years – including time as a head chef – and now runs my own small restaurant in China, where tofu appears on the menu almost every day. This xiachufang cook’s Korean spicy seafood tofu soup is the red pot of my shellfish days, and the recipe’s fish-sauce seasoning is exactly why the broth tastes of the sea. I tested it as written. I have not tested the milder version, so that is your experiment, not my claim.

Authoritative References

USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service – Safe Temperature Chart for safe storage of cooked dishes.