How To Make Easy Korean Spicy Beef Soup, Yukgaejang

This is one of my favorite breakfast/brunch meals and it is easy to make

You love this Korean spicy beef soup!

This Korean spicy beef soup is the bomb! I always like a savory breakfast. I rarely eat breakfast but on the weekends it is a special treat. Bacon, eggs, sausage, grits, hash browns, and toast or any combination is the perfect Sunday morning hangover treat. BUT!! it is heavy and it leaves me tired and with indigestion.

Soup Is For Breakfast

My favorite and healthy alternative is soup. It was two Vietnamese soups/noodles Pho and Bun Bo Hue (spicy beef) until I came across this Korean soup at a mini food court at the back of a huge Korean/Asian market in Northern Virginia.

The Stall

There were four or five little food vendors at the back of the market and a common eating court. Most of the people were going to the vendor serving Yukgaejang so I tried it. It was so good, hearty, spicy, packed with meat and vegetables and it came with rice, rice tea, and the best kimchi I’ve ever had.

I put the stall in my weekend rotation.

No Soup For You! The Incident!

One fine Sunday morning me and my wife at the time went for some Yukgaejang. We ordered and were pumped up for a great breakfast. So me with my kitchen curiosity wanted to watch the master make our soup. It was a tiny stall with an open kitchen so I shifted to get a good view and I wish I didn’t!

There was an old Korean women scooping out the broth from a huge stock pot into a smaller pan and adding the noodles, green onion, royal fern and seasoning.

I thought it was great that they made it a bowl or two at a time but then she grabbed a spoon and tasted, then put the same spoon into the chili paste to add more. Then she tasted again with the same spoon and back to a spice mixture. Two more tastes with the same spoon I thought I was sharing my soup with her.

I alerted the owner who was manning the cash register. He got mad and said I didn’t understand restaurants and it was common. I laughed because I am a chef and the week before I was written up in the Washington Post he had right in front of him.

I opened the paper and showed him. He kicked me out. NO SOUP FOR ME!

Yes Soup For Me! I’ll Make My Own Korean spicy beef soup! and better. Here we go…

First, this soup is easier than I thought although you need to do some shopping at a Korean grocer or order online. Plus the tasting is important when finishing the soup to adjust the seasoning. So Kudos to the old Korean woman but I didn’t want to share my soup with you. (get a bunch of plastic spoons like I do). OK back to the recipe.

Most recipes call for brisket which is great because when it is tender you can shred is into long strings of meat. Shank, flank steak and mock tender would also be great. I used beef neck because I also wanted the richness that the bones add. Most recipes don’t use bones.

The recipe I used as a base was from Korean Bapsang (my favorite for Korean food) and I made a few small changes.

First if your using dried gosari (fernbrake/fidlle head) boil it until it is tender. I used presoaked but next time I will use dried. They are cheaper and store better

The Stock for Korean spicy beef soup.

• I used 1.75 pounds of beef neck but if you use a meat without bones (brisket, flank, shank etc…) use about a pound
• 1/2 medium to large onion
• 2-3 large cloves of garlic crushed
• 4 inch piece of daikon radish sliced in half lengthwise (optional)
• 16 cups of water (4 quarts, 1 gallon)

The stock is quite simple, just gently boil the stock ingredients until the meat is tender. Skim off the scum and add water as needed. I used beef neck because I wanted bones and it was on sale. You don’t need the bones but I like the extra richness

My Trick For Clearer Broth With Almost No Skimming of Scum

I make a lot of Pho so I used a trick from the Pho recipe. I blanched the beef in boiling water for a couple minute. Put the bone in a pot and barely cove with cold water. Bring to a boil and let it boil about 2 minutes. Drain and wash the bones. This will remove most of the impurities.

After the meat is tender, strain the broth and throw out the vegetables. Let the meat cool then shred it.

Get The Vegetables Ready

• Soy bean sprouts- 8 ounces (2 cups) of Soy bean spouts, sukju. Most Korean cooking uses the more hearty and stronger tasting soy bean sprouts (pictured above) not the more delicate mung bean sprouts.
• Gosari- 1 cup cut into 4 inch lengths. Gosari is the young stem of certain fern (fernbrake/fiddlehead). They can be found in Korean markets and large Asian markets. They can also be bought online. (see the curled up stem in the photo it came from the bag on the right). They are sold dried, presoaked (in the refrigerated section) and rarely fresh. If your using dried boil 1 ounce 20-30 minutes until soft. I will use dry next time because they store better.
• Dried or fresh shitake mushrooms sliced. Use about 4 or 5 mushrooms. If using dried soak them until soft.
• 2 bunches of scallion cut in 3 inch pieces.

Seasoning

Gochugaru (Korean red chili flake) and gochujang (red chili paste) can be found at most Asian markets and all Korean markets or online. These should be a staple. See photo above and once the paste is opened refrigerate it.

Step One

• Heat 4 tbsp of sesame oil in a pan on low heat
• add three tbsp of gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper flake)
• stir for a few second and then stir in the meat, fernbrakes (gosari), and mushrooms. Don’t let the chili flakes burn
• This give the red colored oil that floats on top of the broth

Step Two

• add the meat mixture to the stock and bring to a gentle boil
• add 2 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp gochujang (chili paste)
• cover and gently boil 5 minutes
• add the scallion and sprouts and boil 5 more minutes
• adjust the salt or use the following step. It is much better!
• optional but add 1 tsp msg or use the vegetable seasoning instead of salt. This seasoning should also be a staple and used in place of salt when you want more umami.

The Finishing Touch

• 2 ounces of dangmyeon noodles (sweet potato starch noodle, same noodle for Japchae) boiled or soaked to al dente (chewy)
• 1 poached egg per bowl (optional)
• rice
• kimchi

You will love this Korean spicy beef soup.

Try this other soup recipes

• 30 Vegan Pho
• Conch Chowder
• Minestrone soup