Soybean paste stew with vegetables (Doenjang-jjigae)

1. Remove the heads and guts of the dried anchovies, dry-toast them in a small pan for 1 minute, then pour in the water and simmer for 10 minutes; strain.

2. Cut the potato, courgette and tofu into 1.5 cm cubes, the onion and shiitake into bite-sized pieces, and the green chilli and spring onion diagonally into rings.

3. Dissolve the doenjang in the hot anchovy stock by pressing it through a sieve with a spoon, so no lumps remain.

4. Add the potato and grated garlic and cook for 5 minutes, then add the courgette, onion and mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes.

5. Slide in the tofu, add the gochugaru and green chilli, and cook for 3-4 minutes more; finally scatter over the spring onion.

6. Serve piping hot in the pot, with rice and kimchi.

Tip: Doenjang-jjigae is the most basic stew of Korean home cooking and comes with almost every meal. Doenjang is salty, so don't add salt until you've tasted it. If you have no dried anchovies, water simmered with a piece of kombu makes a good base too.