Making Spicy and Rich Korean-Style Yukgaejang
Yukgaejang is a Korean-style spicy beef soup made by boiling beef broth with green onions, bracken, bean sprouts, and mushrooms and seasoning it with red pepper powder. If galbitang is a clear and light soup, Yukgaejang is a hearty bowl of red, rich soup, long slices of beef, and fragrant vegetables. For foreigners, it is easy to understand if you explain it as “Korean spicy beef soup.”
If you search for yukgaejang in 10,000 Recipes, you will see various recipes such as beef yukgaejang, green onion yukgaejang, fern yukgaejang, and 20-minute yukgaejang. What is important in common is to gently tear the beef, season ingredients such as green onions and ferns well, and boil them sufficiently to dissolve the flavor in the soup. In this article, we have summarized the basic beef stew that is easy to make at home.
Yukgaejang ingredients
For 3-4 servings, prepare 500g of brisket or salmon, 3 green onions, 150g of boiled bracken, 150g of bean sprouts, 3 shiitake mushrooms, 1-2 eggs, and 2L of water. The basic seasoning is 3 tablespoons of red pepper powder, 2 tablespoons of soup soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, a little pepper, and a little salt. If you want more spiciness, you can add a little chili oil.
It is convenient to use ferns that are boiled and soft. If you use dried ferns, make sure they are sufficiently soaked and boiled to prevent them from becoming tough. Green onions are an ingredient that determines the flavor of yukgaejang, so it is best to add a generous amount. They should be cut lengthwise to bring out the texture in the soup.
Boiling and trimming beef
Soak the beef in cold water for 20 to 30 minutes to remove blood, then put it in a pot with water and boil it. When it boils, skim off the foam and boil over medium heat for about 50 minutes. When the meat is soft enough to tear with chopsticks, take it out, let it cool, and tear it along the grain. Do not throw away the boiled broth, but use it as beef stew.
Cut the green onions in half lengthwise and slice into finger-length pieces, and cut the bracken and mushrooms into bite-sized pieces. Wash the bean sprouts and drain the water. The cooking process is faster if you prepare the ingredients and make the seasoning first. Make a basic seasoning by mixing red pepper powder, soy sauce, minced garlic, and pepper.
Red pepper oil and boiling order
Put sesame oil and cooking oil in a pot and lightly fry the red pepper powder over low heat. If the red pepper powder burns, it will taste bitter, so keep the heat low. When the red oil comes up, add the shredded beef, bracken, and green onions and fry until the seasoning is absorbed. This process is the key to creating the deep flavor of Yukgaejang.
Once the ingredients are seasoned, pour in the beef broth and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add mushrooms and bean sprouts, boil for 5 more minutes and check seasoning. If it's too bland, adjust it with soy sauce or salt, and add the beaten egg at the end to make the soup a little softer. After adding the eggs, don't stir too much to keep it clean.
Tips for eating deliciously
Yukgaejang is most filling when eaten with rice. Cool side dishes like kimchi or radish radish go well with the spicy soup. You can enjoy it like Yukgaejang Kalguksu by adding kalguksu or glass noodles, and if you reheat the leftover soup the next day, the flavor of the ingredients will be more deeply absorbed, giving it another charm.
If the spiciness is too much for you, reduce the amount of red pepper powder and add more green onions to enhance the sweetness. On the other hand, if you like spicy soup, you can add a little Cheongyang pepper or red pepper oil. Yukgaejang is a dish that shows off Korea's warm soup culture and spicy flavor at the same time, so it is a good menu item recommended to people who like soup or hangover soup while traveling in Korea.
