Gomtang (Slow-Simmered Ox Bone Beef Soup)
Gomtang is a quintessential Korean bone soup made by simmering beef leg bones and brisket in water for five to six hours or longer until the broth turns opaque and milky white. The prolonged cooking extracts collagen, marrow, and fat from the bones, giving the liquid a luxuriously creamy texture and a deep beefy flavor that needs only salt and pepper to taste complete. The brisket is removed partway through, sliced thin against the grain, and placed back atop the steaming broth for serving. Green onion and a generous shake of black pepper cut through the richness. The most common way to eat gomtang is with a bowl of rice submerged directly into the soup, letting the grains soak up the milky broth. This is slow food in the truest sense - the hours of effort yield a pot that can feed a family for two days - and remains one of the dishes Koreans crave most when the temperature drops.
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Instructions
- 1
Soak 1kg ox bones in cold water 2 hours to remove blood, then blanch 10 minutes to clean.
- 2
Place bones, 400g brisket, 4L water, 1 green onion, garlic, and ginger in a large pot. Bring to a boil.
- 3
Skim foam, reduce to medium-low, and simmer 5-6 hours. Top up water as it evaporates.
- 4
Remove brisket after 3 hours, let cool slightly, and slice thinly against the grain.
- 5
Strain broth, skim fat, and bring back to a boil for a clean milky finish.
- 6
Serve rice in a bowl with hot broth, top with sliced brisket and green onion. Season individually with salt.
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