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 get visitors for 2 or 3 days before the funeral and they serve food to the guests. This is a common funeral food. I don’t know why, but it is… Of course, we enjoy eating this soup other times as well, especially in cold weather.
Short Korean Lesson: *^^*
- GukMul = Broth
Main Ingredients:
- 8 oz Beef (Brisket)
- 3~4 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
- 1/8 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
Yield: About 6 Servings
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 as already soaked in water, prepare 1½ cups of GoSaRi and 1 cup of ToRanDae. If you can’t get ToRanDae, you can substitute to oyster mushroom, or Enokitake mushrooms since the texture will be the closest to it.
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 part to use for this soup. Unfortunately, I didn’t have that, so I used something else.
Mean while, boil the soaked GoSaRi and ToRanDae until they become soft. (About 30 minutes)
Boil 1½ handful of mung bean sprouts in the boiling water for 5 minutes. If you use bean sprouts (KongNaMul) instead of mung bean sprouts, remove and discard the yellow bean part, and boil for 10 minutes in the boiling water.
Occasionally, remove the foam on the surface of the broth.
After 40 to 50 minutes (until the beef is completely cooked), remove the beef from the broth, and drain the broth. Throw away the other cooked vegetables.
When all the meat and vegetables are ready, tear apart the beef thinly with 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 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 just 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, 1/8 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 all the ingredients will get enough flavor.
- 20 minutes later, fry it for about 5 minutes on high.
- Then, pour the broth in the pan.
Cook for 20 minutes on medium high.
- Break 1 egg, and mix it well.
- After boiling the soup for 20 minutes, reduce the temperature on medium.Slowly pour the egg on the top of the broth, being careful no 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. 
Enjoy!
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