Yukgaejang (spicy beef and leek soup)

Yukgaejang is a spicy soup made by boiling beef with vegetables such as green onions, bracken, mung bean sprouts and taro stalks. It is a good soup for the summer to stimulate appetite and recoup physical strength with its high protein content.

Ingredients

● Broth: 400 g beef (brisket), 20 cups water fragrant seasoning: 100 g green onion, 6 cloves garlic

● seasoning sauce ① :

- 1 tbsp clear soy sauce, 2 tbsp minced green onion

- 1 tbsp minced garlic, 2 tbsp red pepper oil, 1/2 tbsp sesame oil

- 100 g soaked bracken, 100 g soaked taro stalks

- 200 g mung bean sprouts, 100 g green onion, 3 cups water, 1/2 tsp salt

● seasoning sauce ② :

- 1 tbsp clear soy sauce, 2 tbsp ground red pepper

- 2 tbsp minced green onion, 1 tbsp minced garlic, 1/2 tbsp sesame oil

- 2 tsp salt

1. Soak the beef in water for 1 hour to draw out the blood. Trim and wash fragrant seasoning. Put the beef and water in the pot and heat it for 17 minutes on high. When it boils, lower the heat to medium and simmer for 1 hour. Add fragrant seasoning and continue to simmer for another 30 min.

2. When the beef is well-done, take the beef out and filter the broth through cotton cloths.

3. Wash soaked bracken and taro stalks, cut them to 7 cm pieces. Rip up the taro stalks into 0.5 cm-wide pieces.

4. Remove the tails of mung been sprouts and wash.

5. Cut the green onions in half, then shred into 7 cm pieces.

6. Blend seasoning sauce ①, ②.

7. Rip up the beef into 6-cm long and 0.5 cm-wide/thick pieces along with the texture, mix seasoning sauce ① together.

8. Pour water into the pot, heat it up for 3 min. on high heat. When it boils, scald the mung bean sprouts with salt for 2 min. Scald the green onion for 1min.

9. Mix the soaked bracken, soaked taro stalks, mung bean sprouts and green onion with seasoning sauce ② together.

10. Pour the broth into the pot, heat it up for 10 min. on high heat. When it boils, add the seasoned stuffs, lower the heat to medium, boil for another 40 min. When the broth is cooked tastefully, season with salt, bring it to a boil.

Tips:

Because raw taro stalk is acrid, it should be boiled and soaked in water sufficiently before cooking.

Putting more ground red pepper in the soup is an option.

When green onion added later, it may show better color.

To blend red pepper oil, heat up 3 tbsp of edible oil in a pot, add 1 tbsp of ground red pepper and 1/2 tsp of minced garlic into the oil. Then turn off the heat, wait for 2 min. with stirring. Filter it through fine sieve.

(Adapted from the Institute of Traditional Korean Food)