Sweet Gestures: Korean Soup (yukgaejang) from Cy

Happy Monday! 

Cy was very sweet this weekend and made one of his favorite Korean soups for me...or maybe he just wanted to eat it ;)  It's called Yukgaejang (pronounced Yu'ke jan) and it's a little bit on the spicy side...but apparently I am a wimp when it comes to spicy food so perhaps I'm not the best judge. Either way it was great because it was a little bit on the chilly side out here in Los Angeles yesterday - definitely perfect soup weather.

*I apologize for the quality of the picture - my place is on the darkside in the evenings and this was shot with virtually no light


I think Cy pretty much made up the recipe as he went along, but I will post the directions anyway.

Yukgaejang

(serves 4)

Ingredients:

5cups ....Water

2cloves...smashed garlic

4cloves...minced garlic

1tbsp.......ginger

300g.......Brisket

200g.......Bean Sprouts

A bunch of Green onions

1cup........Fernbrakes if you can find them (optional)

1package..Enoki Mushrooms

1Tbsp.......Gochujang (Korean spicy Miso)

1Tbsp.......soysauce

1tsp..........Red Chili pepper powder
A handful of rice noodles (optional)

1 egg (mixed)

1-2tbsp sesame oil

Directions:

1) In a big pot, add beef brisket, garlic and ginger with water. Boil it for 40-50 minutes over high heat.

2) While it boils, cut the green onions and fernbrake into pieces about 7 cm in length.  Put them all into a big bowl with the bean sprouts, enoki and minced garlic.

3)  In a small bowl, mix together the gochujang, soysauce, and red chili powder.  Add this spice mix to the bowl with the vegetables and mix well.

4)  When the beef is well cooked, take it out and set it aside to cool down.

5)  Add the mixture of vegetables and hot pepper oil sauce into the boiling beef stock. Boil it for 20-30 minutes.

6)  Shred the beef thinly and add it into the boiling soup along with the rice noodles. Cook it about 5-10 minutes more. Adjust flavor with salt and pepper. And adjust for spiciness with either water or spices.

7)  While the soup is still on heat, drop the already mixed egg gently into the soup, stir gently as to not break up the egg too much.

8)  Finish with a sprinkle of sesame oil.