Description
Korean Spicy Beef Vegetable Soup is a flavorful and hearty traditional Korean dish featuring tender beef brisket, assorted vegetables, and a spicy chili-infused broth. This recipe involves making a rich beef stock, preparing fresh and rehydrated vegetables, and combining them with Korean chili paste and flakes for an authentic spicy kick. Perfect for warming up on a chilly day, this soup offers a balanced blend of savory, spicy, and umami flavors.
Ingredients
Scale
Dried Vegetables
- 0.8 oz (22g) dried fernbrake
- 1 oz (28g) dried taro stem (optional)
Fresh Vegetables
- 8 oz (225g) mung bean sprouts
- 5 oz (140g) oyster mushrooms (or shiitake), torn into bite-size pieces
- 2 Asian leeks
- 1 large onion, cut in half
- 1 whole garlic, cut in half
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 lb (225g) Korean radish, cut into large chunks
Beef and Broth
- 1 1/4 lb (560g) beef brisket
- 14 cups (about 3 liters) water
Seasonings and Oils
- 1 teaspoon Korean chili paste (gochujang)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons Korean soup soy sauce (gukganjang)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Korean anchovy sauce
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 3-4 tablespoons Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
Instructions
- Rehydrate dried vegetables: Boil the dried fernbrake and dried taro stem separately until they soften. Then soak them for 1 hour. After soaking, drain, rinse, and slice them into manageable pieces.
- Make beef stock: In a large stockpot, combine onion halves, whole garlic halves, Korean radish chunks, and beef brisket with 14 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 45 minutes to extract flavors into the broth. After simmering, discard the vegetables, strain the stock, and shred the beef brisket into bite-size pieces.
- Blanch fresh vegetables: Prepare the Asian leeks by trimming and cleaning them. In boiling salted water, briefly blanch mung bean sprouts, mushrooms, and leeks for just a few seconds until slightly softened. Drain the vegetables, rinse with cold water to stop cooking, and squeeze out excess water.
- Make chili oil: Heat both the oil and sesame oil together in a pot over low heat. Add the Korean chili flakes (gochugaru) and stir continuously for about 30 seconds to infuse the oil with spice without burning the flakes.
- Combine and simmer: Add the blanched vegetables and shredded beef into the chili oil pot. Pour in the reserved beef stock and stir in the Korean chili paste (gochujang). Let the soup simmer gently for 15-20 minutes to marry the flavors.
- Season the soup: Add soy sauce, Korean soup soy sauce (gukganjang), and anchovy sauce to the simmering soup. Adjust salt and pepper to taste to achieve the perfect balance.
Notes
- Soaking and rehydrating dried vegetables adds depth and texture to the soup.
- Using both regular soy sauce and gukganjang creates a complex savory flavor classic to Korean soups.
- Adjust the amount of chili flakes and gochujang to control the spiciness according to your preference.
- Blanching fresh vegetables briefly keeps them crisp and vibrant in the soup.
- This soup reheats well and flavors deepen after a day in the refrigerator.
