Yukgaejang
Yukgaejang is the Korean soup eaten in summer heat (on the principle that fire fights fire) and in winter for warmth; it is also commonly served to mourners at funeral halls and eaten as a hangover cure. Beef simmered for about two hours, pulled into strands and cooked in the broth with a paste of gochugaru, garlic and sesame oil, with mung bean sprouts and lengths of spring onion. It is very hot but not one-dimensional: under the heat sits a deep, meaty broth. It comes with a bowl of rice, tipped in or eaten alongside.
Your own work in that: 25 min.
- Simmering the beef 130 min
- Shredding 15 min
- Spice paste 10 min
- Finishing the soup 25 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneCover the meat with water
Rinse the brisket and cover it with cold water in a large pot (about 4 litres). Bring to the boil and skim — a clear broth depends on it.
Ingredients: 600 g beef brisket or flank · 1 pcs onion · 4 cloves garlic · 2 pcs spring onion greens for the broth · 8 pcs peppercorns · 2000 ml water
Simmer the broth
Add the onion, garlic, spring onion greens and peppercorns. Simmer covered over low heat for 2 hours, until the meat pulls apart with your fingers. If it still resists, keep simmering and check every 15 minutes.
Ingredients: 600 g beef brisket or flank · 1 pcs onion · 4 cloves garlic · 2 pcs spring onion greens for the broth · 8 pcs peppercorns · 2000 ml water
About two hours — it must shred.Lift out the meat
Take the meat out and rest 10 minutes. Strain the broth and discard the vegetables — they have given all they have.
Ingredients: 600 g beef brisket or flank · 1 pcs onion · 4 cloves garlic · 2 pcs spring onion greens for the broth · 8 pcs peppercorns · 2000 ml water
Shred the meat
Pull the meat along the grain into long strands about 1 cm thick. That texture is the point of this soup — do not dice it.
Ingredients: 600 g beef brisket or flank · 1 pcs onion · 4 cloves garlic · 2 pcs spring onion greens for the broth · 8 pcs peppercorns · 2000 ml water
Along the grain, into long strands.Make the paste
Mix the gochugaru with the sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic and pepper into a thick paste. The oil draws colour and aroma out of the chilli flakes.
Ingredients: 3 tbsp gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes) · 2 tbsp sesame oil · 3 tbsp soy sauce · 4 cloves garlic, crushed · ½ tsp black pepper
Chilli and oil paste — the flavour and the colour.Dress the meat
Toss the shredded meat with the paste and leave 10 minutes to take on the flavour.
Ingredients: 3 tbsp gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes) · 2 tbsp sesame oil · 3 tbsp soy sauce · 4 cloves garlic, crushed · ½ tsp black pepper
Prepare the vegetables
Cut the spring onions into 6 cm lengths, slice the mushrooms thickly and rinse the sprouts in a sieve. The sprouts must be properly cooked here, not just blanched — raw sprouts can carry bacteria, and a few minutes of boiling makes them safe.
Ingredients: 200 g mung bean sprouts · 6 pcs spring onions · 150 g mushrooms or oyster mushrooms · 1 tsp salt
Finish the soup
Bring the broth to the boil, add the dressed meat and cook 15 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook 5 minutes, then the sprouts for another 5 minutes. Finally drop in the spring onions and cook a minute. Season with salt and serve with rice.
Ingredients: 200 g mung bean sprouts · 6 pcs spring onions · 150 g mushrooms or oyster mushrooms · 1 tsp salt
Before you start
Gochugaru
Korean chilli flakes are milder and fruitier than ordinary chilli and give a strong red colour. Asian shops and online sellers stock them. Substitute: 2 tablespoons of sweet paprika with a teaspoon of hot — similar colour, less depth.
Traditional additions
In Korea soaked gosari fern and thinly sliced leek also go in. Korean shops sell gosari; without it the soup is just as good, only less earthy.
Storage
It keeps 3 days in the fridge and gets hotter by the day. It freezes for 2 months — reheat to a boil and add fresh spring onion then.
