Shared Recipe: Doenjang jjigae (Korean miso stew)

So I've occasionally been going to Waba, a local Korean restaurant on Hillsborough st here in Raleigh. From time to time they add new items that aren't on their normal menu. Yesterday, I was informed of one such new item that hadn't been posted or anything, a Miso stew. It had a load of vegetables including cabbage, potatoes, onions, garlic, zucchini, and tofu, as well as beef. So I figured I'd give it a shot. When it came out it had a really weird smell to it.

But when I ate it, it was absolutely delicious.

Apparently the staff was worried that Americans wouldn't like it because of the smell. I guess, knowing how finicky other Americans are, that would make sense. But to me, if it's supposed to taste good I can get past the weird smells or looks. And this didn't disappoint.

So the above video is the closest aproximation to the one done at Waba. obviously there's some differences, like shrimp instead of beef and no cabbage from what I can tell, but for those willing to try out a weird smelling food that tastes great, this should be worth it.

I'll go soft with the beer recommendations here and say it would go well with a pale ale or a IPA because it's a bit of a spicy stew. In fact, might not be bad to try with a Rye PA like Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye.