Haejangguk (Korean Pork Bone Hangover Soup)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 140 min
- Level
- Medium
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 8
About this dish
Haejangguk is Korea's iconic hangover soup, a thick and fiery bowl built to restore the body after a long night of drinking.
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The base is a pork spine broth simmered for several hours until it turns milky, opaque, and deeply savory, carrying a weight that sits in the stomach rather than passing through it. Outer napa cabbage leaves called ugeoji are seasoned with doenjang and garlic before being added to the broth, contributing fibrous, chewy texture alongside the soup's fermented depth. Congealed blood, known as seonji, is a traditional inclusion cut into thick blocks: iron-dense and high in protein, it provides serious nutritional restoration and a visually striking dark contrast in the stone pot. Gochugaru delivers heat strong enough to draw sweat to the forehead, and Koreans have long held that this intensity helps flush toxins from the body and clear the mind after a night of drinking. The finished soup arrives still bubbling in its dolsot, and the first few spoonfuls tend to produce an involuntary exhale of relief. Dedicated haejangguk restaurants open before dawn to serve construction workers and late-night revelers, and the dish has occupied a fixed position in Korean culinary and drinking culture for centuries.
Ingredients
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Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Heat
Soak 600 g pork spine in cold water for 30 minutes to draw out blood.
Blanch in boiling water for 5 minutes, then rinse under cold water, cleaning between the bones so the broth stays clear and clean-tasting.
- 2Control
Put the cleaned bones in a large pot with 2.5 L water and bring it to a strong boil.
Skim off foam as it rises, then lower to medium-low and simmer for 2 hours until the broth turns cloudy and rich.
- 3Season
Lightly squeeze 200 g cooked ugeoji so it is moist but not dripping.
Add 1 tbsp doenjang, 1 tbsp gochugaru, and 5 minced garlic cloves, then rub the seasoning into the leaves so the thick stems absorb it.
- 4Control
Add the seasoned ugeoji to the broth and simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes.
Stir occasionally so the doenjang does not stick to the bottom, and cook until the stems soften and the broth turns red.
- 5Prep
Cut 150 g seonji into bite-size pieces and add it for the final 10 minutes.
Do not stir hard; spoon hot broth over the pieces instead, warming them through without breaking their shape.
- 6Finish
Season with 1 tsp soup soy sauce, checking both color and saltiness, then finish with salt only if needed.
Top with 2 sliced green onion stalks and serve very hot, while the broth is still bubbling.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- Long-simmered pork spine broth meets fermented doenjang and spicy chili flakes.
- Finish cue
- Season with 1 tsp soup soy sauce, checking both color and saltiness, then finish with salt only if needed.
- Avoid this
- Stir occasionally so the doenjang does not stick to the bottom, and cook until the stems soften and the broth turns red.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official cooking and food safety guidance.
This recipe
140min, 8 ingredients
Category median
45min, 8 ingredients
Based on 310 recipes
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