323 recipes. Page 14 of 14
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Doenjang stirred into rice-rinsing water gives this soup a softer, rounder broth. The tough outer napa leaves (ugeoji) simmer until they hang limp from a spoon, and a little cheongyang chili at the end leaves a sharp kick.
Napa outer leaves (ugeoji) tossed with doenjang go into the broth from boiled beef brisket along with soybean sprouts, and the brisket itself is torn along the grain and returned to the pot. A little chili flake brings mild heat over the doenjang, and the heat goes off while the sprouts still crunch.
The broth is a ruddy brown, nutty from doenjang and spicy from chili flakes. The outer cabbage leaves (ugeoji) soak it up the longer they simmer, so each soft spoonful of greens comes up full of seasoned broth.
Simmering the whole rockfish, bones and all, gives the broth a body that fillets alone cannot. Its many fine bones call for care at the table, but they are also where the broth gets its flavor.
Meatballs of ground beef and tofu simmer in anchovy broth, and when they fail, it is usually the mixture's fault. Tofu that still holds water, or a ball with a cracked surface, tends to fall apart in the pot. The tofu gets squeezed hard, and each ball is pressed smooth wherever it splits.
No stock is made for this soup. Sliced Korean radish simmers in plain water for six minutes, then the clams go in, and the salty juice they release as their shells open is what flavors the broth. The young radish greens (yeolmu) get only the last three minutes and reach the bowl with their stems still crisp.
Simmered in doenjang broth, summer young radish greens (yeolmu) see their stems lose the raw, grassy taste and turn tender. Rice-rinsing water makes the broth smoother than plain water would, and a small amount of chili flakes adds a mild warmth under the soybean paste.
Instead of being cut, the soft tofu is scooped in with a spoon, and it floats among the shrimp in large, tender pieces. Soup soy sauce is held back to keep the anchovy-kelp broth pale, and salt makes up the rest of the seasoning.
Thin slices of lotus root turn faintly translucent at the edges in anchovy broth while their centers stay crisp. Some of the root's starch slips into the liquid and gives the soup the slightest body. Garlic, soup soy sauce, salt, and black pepper season it lightly, leaving the lotus root's mild sweetness at the front.
Octopus and flat slices of tofu share the pot with anchovy broth seasoned with soup soy sauce and garlic, no chili, and water dropwort and green onion are laid on top. It stays on a low flame at the table for everyone to serve themselves. The octopus is most tender right when the legs curl and turn opaque, and toughens the longer it simmers.
Instead of stirring chili straight into the broth, this spicy beef soup seasons each strand of shredded brisket with chili flakes, garlic, soy sauce, and sesame oil, so the heat clings to the meat itself. The clear brisket broth turns red as the seasoned beef simmers in it, with fernbrake (gosari, a chewy dried fern), bean sprouts, and plenty of long-cut green onion filling the bowl.