If you go to a Korean restaurant, you might have tried this spicy Korean soup or at least saw it on the menu. It is a popular Korean soup for people who like spicy food. Cooking different kinds of vegetables in homemade beef broth, along with a spicy sauce, will give you great soup flavor. In Korea, if somebody dies, we visit the funeral house to morn the dead person and comfort the family. They usually start getting visitors for 2 or 3 days before the funeral and they serve food to the guests. Nowadays, this is one of Korea’s funeral foods. I don’t know why, but it is… Of course, we enjoy eating this soup other times as well, especially in cold weather.
Yield: 6 Servings
Short Korean Lesson
- GukMul (국물) = Broth
- YaChae (야채) = Vegetable
Video Instructions
Main Ingredients
- 8 oz Beef Brisket
- 4 Green Onions
- 1½ Handfuls Mung Bean Sprouts
- 1 Handful Dried Fernbrake (1½ Cups Soaked Fernbrake)
- 1 Handful Dried Taro Stems (1 Cup Soaked Taro Stems)
- ½ Onion
- 1 Egg
Beef Broth Ingredients
- 10½ Cups Water (2½ Liter)
- 5 Garlic Cloves
- 2 Green Onions
- ½ Onion
- 7 Black Pepper Corns
Sauce Ingredients
- 3½ Tbsp Red Pepper Powder
- 3 Tbsp Hot Pepper Oil
- 3 Tbsp Soup Soy Sauce
- 1½ Tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1½ Tbsp Minced Garlic
- ⅛ tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
Directions
To make the beef broth, add about 10½ cups of water, ½ onion, 2 green onions chopped in half, 5 garlic cloves, and 7 black pepper corns. Boil for 40 to 50 minutes on medium-high. Beef brisket is the best cut to use for this soup.
If you buy dried vegetables like, GoSaRi (Fernbrake) and ToRanDae (Taro Stems), soak 1 handful of each in water at least one night. If you buy them already soaked in water, prepare 1½ cups of GoSaRi and 1 cup of ToRanDae. Boil the soaked GoSaRi and ToRanDae until they become soft. (About 30 minutes)
If you can’t get ToRanDae, you can substitute to oyster mushrooms, or Enokitake mushrooms since the texture will be similar.
Boil 1½ handful of mung bean sprouts in boiling water for 5 minutes. If you use soy bean sprouts (KongNaMul) instead of mung bean sprouts, you can remove and discard the yellow part of the bean sprout, and then boil for 10 minutes in boiling water.
Occasionally, remove the foam from the surface of the broth. After 40 to 50 minutes, or when the beef is completely cooked, remove the beef from the broth.
Drain the broth. Throw away the other cooked vegetables.
When all of the meat and vegetables are ready, tear apart the beef thinly with your fingers. (Boiled brisket is easy to pull apart.) Since I used a different cut of beef, I had to cut it with a knife.
Cut the green onions, GoSaRi, and ToRanDae into 2-inch pieces. Cut the onion into ½-inch pieces. You don’t have to cut the mung bean sprouts. If you like mushrooms, you can add some mushrooms in it.
In a bowl, combine 3½ Tbsp of red pepper powder, 3 Tbsp of hot pepper oil, 3 Tbsp of soup soy sauce, 1½ Tbsp of sesame oil, 1½ Tbsp of minced garlic, ⅛ tsp of black pepper, 1 tsp of sea salt. I highly recommend using soup soy sauce instead of normal soy sauce for better flavor.
In a large pan, add all of the meat, vegetables, and sauce.
Mix it all together, and set it aside for 20 minutes so that all the ingredients will get enough flavor. 20 minutes later, fry it for about 5 minutes on high.
Pour the broth in the pan. Cook for 20 minutes on medium high.
Break 1 egg, and beat it. After boiling the soup for 20 minutes, reduce the temperature on medium. Slowly pour the egg on the top of the broth, being careful not to distribute it all in one spot. Don’t stir too much, or your broth will not be clear.
Boil for several minutes, until the egg is cooked. Then turn off the heat.
It was a little complex and took time to make, and some ingredients might be not familiar to you or easy to find; however, it is definitely worth a try. Aha, one last thing, this soup tastes even better the next day. 😉 If you have Dashida (Korean beef stock powder), you can add some. It will make your soup tastier. Enjoy!
Hi, i have tried this receipe at Korea restaurant and i love it. I want to make this soup but how can i do if i dont have soy sauce for soup. Any thing can subtitle
hi Annie,
You can also use normal soy sauce instead. ^ ^ Thanks.. I hope you like this recipe. ^^
Hi Aeri..thanks for the recipe. I will try it one day. I love your blog
hi ainimsuju,
You are welcome. Thank you. ^^
This was SO good. Husband and I ate it all up in 2 days!!
HI Heejin,
That’s awesome..hehe good job.and thanks 🙂
Hi Aeri,
I LOVE your website, and I am excited to try this recipe. I have 2 questions:
1. If I use the mushrooms, do I need to soak those before I cook them? They are fresh, not dried.
2. I found the dry fernbrake but it was $10 for the bag, so I tried finding it packaged in water and found “boiled royal fern in water”…can I use that instead?
I really do appreciate all of your hard work!
hi Yvette,
Thanks for your comment. About your questions, here are my answers.
1. If they are fresh, you don’t have to soak them.
2. Yes.. it will be easier to use that fern in water since you don’t have to soak and boil them before cooking.
Hi Aeri,
I made this for the first time today and it was awesome!!! My husband loved it and ate three bowls of it.
Thank you. One of my goals for this year is to practice cooking Korean dishes and I have a feeling I’ll be visiting your website frequently. I also watch your YT videos.
Hi, Aeri! 🙂
I’m half-Korean, my mom is full Korean, and this is definitely one of our favorite soups! I had a question about this recipe.
I know that some Korean restaurants serve chap-jae noodles in this dish as well, and my mom and I both like the soup with these noodles. How would I adjust the recipe in order to have the noodles in it?
Thanks! 🙂
hi Nicole J.,
Nice to meet you. 🙂 About your question.. you can soak or boil the japchae noodles seperately .. (to make it softer)..and add it to the soup at the end of cooking step..and finish cooking and eat.
or… You can also just add the hard noodles in the soup and cook with the soup too.. it will take more than 10 minutes to cook the noodles.. so consider that. 🙂
that looks soooo good! 🙂 i will have to make this recipe. i have tried a couple different recipes, as it’s one of my favorite korean soups. 😀 thanks, Aeri! <3
hi Aeri,
can I replace the beef with chicken so that it becomes chicken’s broth?
thanks!
hi azee,
Yes you can ^^
Aeri! Please help!!!
I soaked the dried gosari for a day but most of them looked really dark still and thin! So I thought it would go away once I cooked them but they have been boiling for 40 minuted and they still look super dark and tough! How is this possible! Is this okay? Thanks in advance :DD
hi cobugi,
Depending on.. how long it’s been dried.. it takes longer to boil to them soft.. some gosari it can easily take more than hour to make them soft.. so keep boil until they become soft.. thanks
Hi Aeri,
I’ve had yookgaejang with the clear noodles in it. Is it the same noodles used in japchae? And if i do put it in, when is the best time to put it?
Thank you!
hi heejo,
Yes, you are right. It is the same noodles you use for japchae. When your soup is almost done cooking (about 5 minutes left), add the noodles and cook several minutes until the noodles become soft. Soak the noodles in hot or warm water ahead that helps to cook the noodles faster. 🙂
How much Dashida should be added if you have it?
hi Cody,
Start from about 1/2 tsp..and add more if you want.. 🙂 thanks..
Hello Aeri,
I made a batch with 24 oz of beef, and I was wondering of a few options.
1. freeze the beef and the broth, and use them in the future and add the other vegetables in it.
2. To add the vegetables now, and freeze them.
Which method would you recommend? And do you happen to know how long they’ll last in the freezer? Thank you so much . 😛
I LOVE your recipes!!!!!!
hi Millie,
I usually make enough to freeze… what I do is.. make the soup.. and freeze… which will be second one you mentioned.. it will last months.. unless you eat often since it’s very delicious. hehe
It’s very convenience to eat for your meal. 🙂 Enjoy ~~~