Korean Gangwon-Style Loach Soup
Quick answer
Gangwon-style chueotang is a thick, hearty loach soup in which the entire fish is boiled, blended smooth, and returned to the pot with ground perilla seeds and dried radish greens.
What makes this special
- Gangwon-style chueotang incorporates whole pulverized loach and perilla seeds into a thick soup.
- Whole loach ground up dissolves bones and flesh together into the broth
- Adding perilla powder after boiling begins preserves its nutty fragrance
Key ingredients
Core cooking flow
- 1 Sprinkle salt over 700 g mudfish to remove slime, rinse clean, and repeat 2-3 times to reduce fishiness.
- 2 Boil mudfish in water for 10 minutes, then drain through a sieve, reserving the cooking liquid.
- 3 Blend the cooked mudfish until smooth, then stir back into the reserved cooking liquid.
Gangwon-style chueotang is a thick, hearty loach soup in which the entire fish is boiled, blended smooth, and returned to the pot with ground perilla seeds and dried radish greens. Pulverizing the loach whole dissolves its small bones into the broth, creating a calcium-rich liquid with a distinctive earthy depth. Perilla seed powder transforms the soup into something creamy and nutty, far removed from a typical clear broth. Dried radish greens, rehydrated and chopped, provide a pleasantly chewy counterpoint to the thick liquid. Doenjang and gochugaru add fermented savoriness and gentle heat that deepen the overall flavor. Before blending, the loach should be soaked in salted water to purge any muddy taste, and the perilla powder is best stirred in after the soup reaches a boil so the nutty aroma does not cook off too quickly. The finished soup is dense and substantial, closer to a stew than a broth, and is traditionally eaten in autumn and winter as a stamina food. In the mountainous Gangwon province, chueotang holds a near-legendary status as a warming, restorative meal on the coldest days.
Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Control
Sprinkle salt over 700 g mudfish to remove slime, rinse clean, and repeat 2-3 times to reduce fishiness.
- 2Heat
Boil mudfish in water for 10 minutes, then drain through a sieve, reserving the cooking liquid.
- 3Finish
Blend the cooked mudfish until smooth, then stir back into the reserved cooking liquid.
- 4Control
Add 1.5 tbsp doenjang, 1 tbsp gochugaru, and minced garlic; simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes until broth is thick and deeply flavored.
- 5Control
Add 220 g pre-cooked dried radish greens and simmer over medium-low heat for 15 more minutes until they release a nutty aroma.
- 6Control
Dissolve 4 tbsp perilla powder in 3 tbsp broth until lump-free, add to the pot, and simmer on low for 5 minutes until the broth turns glossy and cloudy.
- 7Finish
Add green onion and chili; boil 2 more minutes and serve immediately.
Top with sancho powder or extra perilla powder as desired.
After the steps
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Continue with shared ingredients, meal pairings, or a similar method.
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