Korean Spicy Beef and Vegetable Soup (Yukgaejang)

I stumbled across this delicious recipe while browsing Maangchi (an incredible collection of Korean recipes). It is a hearty, spicy beef and vegetable stew/soup that is very satisfying in cold weather. It makes a large batch that tastes even better reheated the next day, as stews typically do. 

The ingredients are the usual suspects for Korean cooking, but there is one ingredient that was new to me: gosari, a Korean mountain vegetable. You can find it at any well-stocked Korean market, or just do what I did and order it from Amazon. It has an earthy taste, adding to the unique taste and texture of this dish.

Ingredients

• 1 pound beef brisket
• 4 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 1/2 a medium onion
• 12 ounces (about 3 cups) mung bean sprouts
• 14-16 green onions, cut into 2½ inch long pieces
• 6 ounces of soaked or fresh gosari (about 2 cups), cut into 2½ inch long pieces
• 8 cloves of garlic, minced

Sauce

• ¼ cup Korean hot pepper flakes (gochugaru)
• 1 Tb kosher salt
• 1 Tb soy sauce
• 1 Tb toasted sesame oil
• 1 Tb neutral cooking oil

Instructions

Make the soup

1. Cut the brisket into several 3-inch pieces along the grain. Soak in cold water for 10 to 20 minutes, then wash and drain.
2. In a large pot, bring 3 quarts (12 cups) of water to a boil. Add the beef along with the dried shiitake mushrooms and the onions. 
3. Cook for 1 hour over medium high heat. As stock boils off, you want to maintain about 10 cups’ worth, so add some water.

Make the seasoning sauce and prepare the vegetables

1. Combine the sauce ingredients in a very large bowl and mix it well. 
2. Add the mung bean sprouts, green onions, gosari, and garlic and mix very well by hand to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

Combine

1. When the soup is done, remove the beef, onions, and mushrooms with a slotted strainer. Let the beef and mushrooms cool down and discard the cooked onion.
2. Add the vegetable/sauce mixture to the boiling stock.
3. Cover and cook 20 minutes over medium high heat until the vegetables are cooked through and tender, but not mushy.
4. Slice the mushrooms and pull the beef apart into strips. Add to the boiling soup and cook another 10 minutes.
5. Remove from the heat, ladle and serve. Serve with rice or noodles. 

Serves 6-8