Soups Recipes
434 recipes. Page 14 of 19
Soups and broths are the backbone of a Korean meal, served alongside rice at nearly every table. From clear seaweed soup (miyeokguk) to rich ox-bone broth (gomtang) and spicy beef soup (yukgaejang), the variety is enormous. Each season brings its own favorites - chilled soups in summer and piping-hot stews in winter.
Butterbur Stem Perilla Seed Soup
Butterbur stem perilla soup combines 250 g prepared butterbur stems and 50 g king oyster mushroom with 700 ml kelp broth, then thickens the liquid with perilla powder and glutinous rice flour for two servings. Peel the fibrous outer layer from the butterbur stems, boil them for 7 minutes, and soak them in cold water for 1 hour to draw out their acrid edge. Drain the stems and cut them with the mushroom into thick strips about 5 cm long. Heat 10 ml sesame oil in a pot. At medium heat, stir-fry the butterbur, mushroom, 15 ml soup soy sauce, and 10 g minced garlic for 3 minutes. Add the kelp broth. Once it boils, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, until the butterbur bends easily and feels tender. In a separate bowl, loosen 40 g perilla powder and 10 g glutinous rice flour with a small amount of the hot broth before returning the mixture to the pot. This prevents dry pockets of flour from forming in the soup. Keep the heat low and let the liquid come up to one brief boil. Stop when it lightly coats a spoon instead of continuing to reduce it. Adding the perilla mixture at the end and limiting its time over heat preserves its aroma while the rice flour supplies the final body.
Butterbur Stem Doenjang Soup
Butterbur stem doenjang soup simmers 200 g prepared stems and 100 g tofu in 800 ml anchovy broth seasoned with 40 g soybean paste, making two servings. Peel the tough outer fibers from the stems and blanch them in boiling water for 5 minutes. Move them directly to cold water for at least 1 hour to reduce their acrid taste, then squeeze out excess water and cut them into 4 cm lengths. Dice the tofu into bite-size cubes, and slice the green onion, green chili, and red chili on the diagonal. Bring the anchovy broth to a boil and press the doenjang through a strainer into the liquid so no large soybean clumps remain. When the seasoned broth returns to a boil, add the butterbur and keep it at a medium simmer for 10 minutes. Once a stem bends under light pressure instead of feeling rigid, add the tofu, 10 g minced garlic, 30 g green onion, 10 g green chili, and 10 g red chili. Simmer for 5 more minutes without stirring hard enough to break the tofu. Completing both the 5-minute blanch and the 1-hour cold soak before the stems enter the broth prevents their sharp taste from spreading through the whole pot.
Korean Sea Squirt Soybean Paste Soup
Mideodeok-doenjang-guk is a Korean soybean paste soup made with sea squirt, one of the more unusual and intensely flavored combinations in everyday Korean cooking. Sea squirt, called mideodeok in Korean, belongs to the same class of sea creatures as the better-known meongge. What sets it apart is the small pocket of brine inside its leathery outer skin. When bitten, the skin pops and releases a burst of concentrated ocean liquid that spreads through the surrounding broth. Combined with the fermented earthiness of doenjang, this creates a double layer of umami that lingers well past the last spoonful. The soup is built on anchovy-kelp stock, which reinforces the seafood character and keeps the base clean. Doenjang is stirred in once the stock is fully boiling so it dissolves evenly without losing its fermented depth. Radish and zucchini are added to balance the intensity: both vegetables absorb the strong flavors of the broth while contributing a quiet sweetness. One or two Cheongyang chili peppers provide a clean, building heat that cuts through any richness. Generous sliced green onion added just before serving keeps the finish bright and aromatic. Sea squirt should not be scored or cut before the soup is finished, as breaking the skin early causes the inner liquid to drain away into the pot rather than releasing inside the mouth. Along the southern coast of South Korea, particularly in Tongyeong and Geoje where mideodeok is harvested in large quantities, this soup is ordinary home cooking. Elsewhere it is a deliberate seasonal choice, best in late spring and early summer.
Mimi (Folded Wheat Dumplings in Miso Soup)
Mimi is a regional soup from Jikkoku in Fujikawa, Yamanashi. Wheat dough is rolled thin, cut into 5cm squares, and joined at two corners on one side to form small scoops before being cooked directly in miso broth with daikon, carrot, taro, burdock, and shiitake. The scoop is associated with gathering good fortune, so the dish is offered on New Year's morning and at celebrations. The pasta is not boiled separately; its flour lightly thickens the soup, and the folded seam must cook completely through.
Korean Water Dropwort Tofu Soup
Minari-dubu-guk is a mild, clear Korean soup pairing soft tofu with water dropwort, an herb prized for its bright, celery-like fragrance. The broth is built on a simple anchovy-kelp stock, into which the tofu goes first and simmers gently until warmed through. Water dropwort is added only in the final moments before the heat is turned off, a deliberate timing choice that preserves the herb's volatile aromatic compounds and keeps the hollow stems slightly crisp rather than wilted. Adding it too early strips away the fragrance that makes this soup worth making. Seasoning stays minimal, soup soy sauce, garlic, and perhaps a pinch of salt, because restraint is the entire point: the clean stock, the herb's green perfume, and the pillowy tofu are meant to carry the bowl quietly. Firm tofu holds its shape through simmering and absorbs the broth more evenly than silken varieties, making it the better choice here. Spring is the ideal season, when water dropwort grows most tender and aromatic. Korean cooks often place this soup alongside richer, heavier dishes because the light broth cuts through fat and resets the palate between bites. It rarely draws attention at the table yet is reliably missed when absent.
Korean Dried Pollock & Water Parsley Soup
This soup begins with dried pollock strips - stir-fried in sesame oil until golden and deeply fragrant - then simmered in water to draw out a clear, nutty broth that carries the unmistakable aroma of toasted sesame and cured fish. Water dropwort goes in at the very end, contributing a fresh green lift that counterbalances the richness of the pollock. A beaten egg is swirled into the simmering liquid, forming delicate ribbons that soften the broth's texture. Radish slices, added early, sweeten the stock gently in the background. The seasoning stays simple: soup soy sauce, garlic, and salt if needed, keeping the flavor profile clean and digestible. In Korea, this style of pollock soup is regarded as one of the best remedies for a hangover because the amino acids in dried pollock and the hydrating broth are believed to support liver recovery. Morning vendors near traditional markets sell bowls of it to customers who arrive before the sun is fully up. The addition of minari elevates what is already a restorative soup into something that smells and tastes distinctly of spring.
Korean Beef & Water Parsley Soup
Minari-soegogi-guk is a clear beef soup that relies on a slow-simmered brisket broth for depth and finishes with a handful of water dropwort for aromatic brightness. The brisket cooks low and long until the stock turns golden and rich with dissolved collagen and beef fat, creating a full-bodied foundation. Radish simmers alongside the meat, contributing a quiet sweetness that rounds out the beefy intensity. When the broth is ready, water dropwort - stems and leaves - is added just before serving so it wilts only slightly, keeping its signature fragrance alive. Green onion and garlic provide the aromatic backbone, while seasoning stays lean: salt or soup soy sauce, nothing more. The boiled brisket is typically sliced thin and returned to the bowl, or pulled aside and served with a soy-vinegar dipping sauce. During spring, when water dropwort is young and fragrant, this soup reaches its peak expression. It is a dish that demonstrates how Korean cooking often pairs a slow, patient stock with a single bright ingredient added at the last moment to transform the entire bowl.
Miso Soup
Miso soup, or miso shiru, is a staple of Japanese home cooking, traditionally served alongside daily meals. The soup features a base of dashi stock made from bonito flakes and kelp, which provides a savory umami foundation. Standard additions include cubed silken tofu and rehydrated wakame seaweed, finished with thinly sliced green onions. The preparation requires heating the dashi stock gently without letting it boil rapidly, then warming the tofu. To preserve the delicate aroma of the miso paste, it is dissolved in a ladle with a bit of hot broth before being stirred into the pot, and the heat is turned off immediately. Home cooks can choose between mild, slightly sweet white miso or a more savory, salty red miso to adjust the flavor. It is a light and comforting soup designed to complement other dishes.
Tsugani-jiru Mitten Crab Soup
Tsugani-jiru is a river-basin soup from Kochi made by finely crushing Japanese mitten crab with its shell, diluting and straining it, then heating the liquid until crab proteins gather into soft curds. It was eaten in autumn when crabs moved downstream through the Shimanto, Niyodo, and Monobe rivers, with eggplant and the peeled stalk called ryukyu. Raw freshwater crab can carry parasites and environmental contaminants and can spread microbes through splashes. Use only fresh crab sold for cooking by a licensed food supplier, never self-caught crab. Keep a separate raw-crab work zone, strain without splashing, and immediately bring the liquid to a full boil for at least five minutes before finishing the vegetables.
Korean Sea Mustard Soybean Soup
Miyeok-doenjang-guk merges two foundations of Korean home cooking, seaweed soup and fermented soybean paste soup, into a single bowl that is earthier and more savory than either alone. Dried sea mustard is soaked, drained, and stir-fried briefly in sesame oil to develop a silky texture, then doenjang is dissolved directly into the pot rather than added at the end, which gives the fermented paste time to mellow and integrate with the seaweed's oceanic character. The result is something deeper and more complex than standard beef miyeok-guk, with a slightly funky, umami-saturated broth that reads as distinctly Korean even without meat. Anchovy-kelp stock used as the base amplifies the depth of the umami even further, while garlic and soup soy sauce keep the seasoning anchored. Because the protein and richness come from doenjang rather than beef, the soup leans naturally toward vegetarian territory and pairs well with a cube of soft tofu for added body. The broth thickens slightly from dissolved paste, which makes it cling to rice in a way that clear broths cannot match. Doenjang varies significantly in saltiness from brand to brand, so the final seasoning with soy sauce should be added gradually and tasted throughout.
Miyeok-guk (Seaweed Beef Sesame Soup)
Miyeok-guk is one of the most culturally meaningful soups in Korean cuisine. Dried sea mustard is first rehydrated, then stir-fried in sesame oil until the strands glisten and deepen in color, and finally simmered with thinly sliced beef and water until the broth turns savory and lightly viscous from the seaweed's released gelatin. Seasoning is deliberately sparse: soup soy sauce, minced garlic, and a final touch of sesame oil are almost always sufficient, because the seaweed and beef provide the foundational umami. The soup is traditionally prepared for new mothers during the postpartum recovery period, as miyeok is rich in iodine, calcium, and iron. It also appears on every Korean birthday table as an act of remembrance toward the mother who endured childbirth on that day, making the bowl carry a weight of gratitude that goes far beyond nutrition. Beyond its symbolism, miyeok-guk is practical everyday cooking: it calls for few ingredients, comes together in under thirty minutes, and produces a broth that nourishes without heaviness. Substituting the beef with mussels, clams, or dried shrimp creates a lighter, more oceanic version that is equally rooted in tradition. The soup reheats well and frequently tastes even better the next day, once the seaweed has softened further and the flavors have had time to merge fully.
Korean Chilled Seaweed Soup
Miyeok-naengguk is a Korean chilled seaweed soup designed for the hottest days of summer, when the idea of a boiling pot feels intolerable. Rehydrated sea mustard and thinly sliced cucumber are bathed in a cold broth made from soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, and iced water, producing a tangy, lightly sweet liquid that hits the palate with immediate refreshment. The seaweed contributes a slippery, marine texture while the cucumber provides a sharp crunch, and together they give the soup a satisfying range of mouthfeel in each spoonful. Preparation requires no cooking at all - the ingredients are simply mixed, seasoned, and chilled - making it one of the fastest dishes in the Korean repertoire. A generous sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds adds nuttiness on top, and an optional pinch of gochugaru turns the broth a vivid red while contributing gentle heat. The soup pairs naturally with cold noodle dishes like naengmyeon or bibim-guksu, and it improves after an hour in the refrigerator as the seasoning penetrates the seaweed. In many Korean homes, a bowl of miyeok-naengguk is the unofficial signal that summer has arrived.
Jeju Pork and Gulfweed Soup
Jeju pork and gulfweed soup, called mom-guk, uses a long-simmered pork stock as the base for shredded meat, soaked gulfweed, and a light buckwheat thickening. Begin by soaking the pork backbone in cold water, blanching it, and rinsing away the released residue; this produces a cleaner broth when the bones are simmered again with pork belly, scallion, and ginger. Remove the cooked belly and any usable meat from the bones, then shred or cut it into pieces that can be lifted easily with a spoon. Soaked gulfweed needs a thorough cold-water rinse to reduce astringency and excess salinity before it is cut into short lengths. Strain the pork broth, return the meat and gulfweed, and season with soup soy sauce and minced garlic. Buckwheat flour should never be tipped straight into the hot pot because dry pockets turn into stubborn lumps. First whisk it with cold water, then pour the slurry in gradually while stirring until the broth moves slowly around the spoon. The finished soup has the deep body of pork without hiding the marine aroma and gently resilient texture of the gulfweed. Buckwheat rounds the broth with an earthy flavor and a soft, cohesive consistency. Since the soup continues to thicken as it cools, stop cooking while it is still pourable and serve it hot with plain rice.
Hakata Motsu Nabe (Offal Hot Pot)
Hakata motsu nabe is a traditional Japanese hot pot featuring pork small intestines simmered with cabbage, garlic chives, and tofu. The preparation begins by rinsing and blanching the offal to eliminate gamey odors before slicing it into small pieces. The base broth combines chicken stock, soy sauce, and mirin, brought to a boil before adding the blanched offal, hand-torn cabbage, and firm tofu. Simmering allows the fats from the intestines to melt into the soup, enriching its flavor, while the cabbage absorbs the seasoned liquid and softens. Sliced garlic and red chili are added to infuse the broth with a warm aroma, followed by garlic chives cooked briefly to preserve their green color. This dish is served hot at the table and traditionally finished by adding ramen noodles or rice to the remaining savory broth.
Korean Radish Greens Perilla Soup
Mucheong-deulkkae-guk is a Korean soup that brings together two of the cuisine's most deeply comforting flavors - fermented soybean paste and ground perilla seeds - building them over a base of dried radish greens. The greens are boiled until fully tender, then worked with doenjang until the paste clings to every fiber, allowing the fermented soy flavor to penetrate thoroughly before the soup is even assembled. Simmered in a stock made from dried anchovies and kelp and enriched with a generous scoop of perilla seed powder, the broth shifts from translucent to an opaque, creamy white as the powder disperses. That transformation signals the moment when the soup reaches its characteristic nutty density - a flavor that sits somewhere between roasted sesame and warm earth. Garlic and green onion establish the aromatic structure, while the chewy resistance of the radish greens provides a textural contrast that distinguishes this soup from smoother versions made with tofu or mushrooms. The broth is substantial enough to pour directly over steamed rice, where the perilla richness coats each grain and becomes a natural base for mixing. This is a dish rooted in the practical food culture of Korean rural households, where radish greens harvested in autumn were dried and kept through winter as a pantry staple. The combination of doenjang and perilla creates an umami depth that is quietly compelling - the kind of soup that rarely appears on restaurant menus but occupies a permanent place in the memory of anyone who grew up eating it.
Korean Radish Greens Mussel Soup
Mucheong-honghap-guk is a Korean home-style soup that draws its broth from fresh mussels and its body from doenjang-seasoned dried radish greens. The mussels open during simmering and release a briny, mineral-rich liquor that serves as the soup's stock, eliminating the need for a separate anchovy or beef base. Dried radish greens, previously boiled until tender and dressed with doenjang, are added to the mussel broth, where they absorb the seafood flavor while contributing their own earthy, fermented depth. The textural contrast is a quiet pleasure: chewy mussel meat against the fibrous, slightly toothy greens. Garlic and green onion anchor the aromatics, and an optional Cheongyang chili adds a thread of heat that sharpens the overall flavor without overpowering the shellfish. The soup comes together quickly once the greens are pre-prepared, making it a weeknight-friendly dish in coastal regions where mussels are plentiful. Despite its simplicity, the layering of seafood brine and fermented soybean paste gives the broth a surprising complexity that rewards slow, attentive sipping.
Muguk (Korean Radish Anchovy Broth Soup)
Muguk is the most elemental expression of Korean soup: radish cut generously and simmered in anchovy-kelp stock until the broth runs clear, sweet, and gently savory. The simplicity of the ingredient list is deceptive. As the radish cooks, its starch and natural sugars dissolve into the water, building a broth that tastes mild on the surface but carries real depth underneath. Cutting the radish in thick cubes or wide slabs preserves its shape through the long simmer while allowing the interior to soften completely. Slicing too thin causes the radish to disintegrate and the broth to turn cloudy. Seasoned with nothing more than soup soy sauce, garlic, and sliced green onion, muguk is versatile enough to sit beside any banchan without competing. It serves equally well as a framework: add beef strips and it becomes sogogi-muguk, add dried pollock and it becomes hwangtae-muguk, swap the soup soy for salted shrimp and the character shifts toward briny and refreshing. All that is needed to start a pot are a single radish, a handful of dried anchovies, and a strip of dried kelp, which is why Korean households return to this soup more frequently than almost any other. Reheated the next day, the radish softens further and the broth deepens, making leftovers better than the original.
Mulhoe (Korean Spicy Chilled Raw Fish Soup)
Mulhoe is a cold Korean dish of raw flatfish and thinly cut vegetables served immediately in a slushy broth seasoned with chili paste, vinegar, sugar, and garlic. There is no cooking step for the fish, so use only 200 g flatfish prepared and sold for raw consumption, and keep it at 4 C or below throughout preparation. Cut 50 g cucumber, 50 g pear, and 80 g cabbage into similarly thin matchsticks. Pieces that are too thick are difficult to eat with the fish, while extremely fine shreds soften quickly once the cold broth is added. In a bowl, combine 3 tablespoons chili paste, 4 tablespoons vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, and 400 ml water. Stir until no pockets of chili paste or sugar crystals remain, ensuring the seasoning is uniform rather than concentrated at the bottom. Place the broth in the freezer for about 1 hour. Remove it when small ice crystals form throughout but before it freezes into a solid block. Arrange the cabbage, cucumber, and pear across the bottom of a large serving bowl so no single vegetable is piled in one area. Pat only the surface moisture from the chilled raw fish and distribute the slices evenly over the vegetables. Pour in the slushy broth, add 100 g ice cubes, and serve at once. Freezing the seasoned broth to a slush means the dish relies less on plain melting ice, so its seasoning becomes diluted more slowly during the meal. Do not leave the raw fish at room temperature or hold an assembled bowl for later service.
Refreshing Spicy Mulhoe Broth
Refreshing Spicy Mulhoe Broth is a Korean cold soup base for raw fish dishes. This recipe combines red pepper paste, red pepper powder, vinegar, sugar, plum syrup, and minced garlic. The mixture of six tablespoons of vinegar and two of plum syrup provides a double acidity that blocks fishy notes from seafood. Adding one hundred milliliters of lemon-lime soda introduces carbonation that lifts a bright, airy note in the broth. Alternatively, using pear juice instead of soda offers a sophisticated sweetness. To prepare, mix the paste first to remove dry pockets, stir in water, and add the soda last to preserve carbonation. Chill the broth for at least two hours or ferment it for a day to deepen the flavor. Serving it semi-frozen as a slushy lets the ice dilute the seasoning gradually as sashimi thaws.
Korean Pacific Codlet Soup
Mulmegi-tang is a winter-only Korean fish soup made with the Pacific sailfin sandfish, a gelatinous deep-water species caught along the East Sea coast from December through February. The fish has extraordinarily soft flesh that nearly dissolves into the broth during cooking, releasing natural gelatin that gives the liquid a silky, slightly sticky body unlike any other Korean soup. The broth cools into a jelly-like consistency at room temperature, which reflects just how much collagen the fish contributes to the pot. Bean sprouts add crunch and a clean vegetal note, while water dropwort neutralizes any fishiness and brings its signature herbal fragrance. The soup is made without fermented pastes of any kind - just salt, garlic, and green onion - so the pure, mild flavor of the fish remains at the center. Locals in Gangwon-do and the northern Gyeongsang coast regard this as the finest hangover remedy of the cold months, served boiling in earthenware pots at small harbourside restaurants. Mulmegi-tang is a dish Koreans travel specifically to eat during its short winter window, and the anticipation that comes with its limited availability is part of what makes it worth the trip.
Korean Beef Tripe Hot Pot
Naejang jeongol is a Korean offal hot pot that combines mixed beef innards with rich bone broth, onion, bean sprouts, and green onion in a single pot. The typical cut selection includes small intestine, tripe, and abomasum, each bringing a distinct texture and flavor to the bowl. Thorough preparation is what separates a clean-tasting naejang jeongol from one with an unpleasant odor: the innards are kneaded repeatedly with flour and salt to remove impurities, soaked in cold water to draw out residual blood, then rinsed fully before any heat is applied. A half spoonful of doenjang added to the broth neutralizes remaining gaminess through the fermented paste's enzymes, while gochugaru and generous garlic build a spicy, warming character that defines the dish. The chewy, elastic texture of the offal plays against the milky, collagen-saturated bone broth, and that contrast of texture against rich liquid is the core pleasure of the bowl. Bean sprouts are added at the end to preserve their crunch, and green onion goes in last for its fresh aroma. Naejang jeongol has served for generations as a classic soju pairing and a trusted hangover soup.
Naejang-tang (Spicy Mixed Beef Tripe Soup)
Naejang-tang is a Korean offal soup that simmers a combination of beef innards including large intestine, tripe, abomasum, and omasum together with gochugaru, gochujang or doenjang, generous amounts of garlic, and green onion into a thick, aggressively seasoned broth. Each organ contributes a distinct texture to the bowl: the small intestine is chewy and springy, the large intestine is fatty and yielding, and the stomach linings are firm with a near-crunchy resistance that gradually releases umami as it is chewed. Long cooking renders the intramuscular fat and collagen from the innards directly into the broth, producing a body and richness that cannot be replicated by shorter-cooked, leaner soups. Some versions incorporate seonji, coagulated ox blood, cooked alongside the other organs; it darkens the broth significantly and introduces a mineral, iron-forward depth that distinguishes the blood-enriched variant as a richer, more fortifying bowl. Abundant green onion and garlic form the aromatic backbone, and gochugaru raises the heat to a level that is meant to be felt as much as tasted. The soup is traditionally served in a stone pot or a heavy ceramic vessel that retains heat and keeps the broth at a bubbling simmer through the meal. In Korea, naejang-tang is closely tied to early-morning hangover recovery: restaurants specializing in the dish, often located near traditional markets or late-night drinking districts, begin service well before dawn to catch customers emerging from long nights. The combination of fat, protein, intense heat, and restorative minerals is widely understood to ease alcohol-related discomfort and replenish the body.
Korean Shepherd's Purse Clam Soup
Naengi-bajirak-guk is a Korean spring soup that brings together shepherd's purse and clams in a clear broth. The clams go in first, opening their shells and releasing a briny, savory liquor that forms the backbone of the soup. Cubed tofu simmers alongside, absorbing the surrounding flavor while contributing a soft texture. Shepherd's purse is added only in the final minutes to preserve its distinctive earthy fragrance; overcooking flattens the aroma that defines the herb's character. Soup soy sauce and garlic provide restrained seasoning, letting the natural salinity of the clams and the grassy scent of the naengi carry through. Before cooking, the shepherd's purse requires thorough rinsing since its roots hold grit, and the clams need to be purged in salted water so the broth stays clear and clean. On Korean spring tables, this soup is one of the first signs that the cold season has passed and the mountain greens have returned.
Korean Shepherd's Purse Pollack Soup
Naengi-bugeo-guk is a clear Korean soup that brings together dried pollack strips and fresh shepherd's purse, pairing the hearty depth of a winter pantry staple with the clean, herbaceous fragrance of early spring. Sautéing the pollack strips in sesame oil before adding water is the foundational step, as the dry heat coaxes a toasty, nutty aroma out of the surface proteins and primes the broth to carry deep flavor from the first minute of simmering. As the soup cooks, the concentrated umami locked inside the dried fish slowly dissolves into the liquid, building a broth that feels rich without being heavy. Cubed tofu goes in mid-cook, softening into a silky texture while keeping the overall flavor clean and mild. The shepherd's purse is added at the very end, just long enough to wilt, so that its faintly bitter, earthy spring perfume remains in the finished bowl rather than cooking off. Soup soy sauce and minced garlic season without clouding the broth. This soup is a fixture of Korean spring cooking, prized for being gentle on the stomach while delivering genuine depth.
About Soups
The secret to a great Korean soup lies in building a flavorful stock from anchovies, kelp, or beef bones. This collection covers classic and modern soup recipes you can recreate at home.