This is one of my favorite Korean dishes: it’s spicy and hearty but not too heavy. I’m drooling just thinking about it! Turns out, this isn’t so hard to make - but you do need to be home for a 2-3 hour stretch because it takes at least 2 hours of total cooking time (even though the prep is not too bad).

I would classify the recipe below as “medium spicy.” Adjust spice accordingly and enjoy!

Ingredients

Main Ingredient

• Beef Brisket — 1.5 lb

For meat seasoning

• Korean red pepper paste — 4 tb
• Red pepper powder — 4 tb (can also use crushed red peppers)
• Sesame oil — 2 tb
• Sesame seeds — 3 tb
• Garlic — 4 tb (minced)
• Soy Sauce or Gook Ganjang — 4 tb
• Black pepper — 1 tsp

Veggies in soup

• Scallions — 2 bunches (cut in half, julienne; reserve and chopped some for garnish)
• Mushroom — oyster or shiitake, 1 pack

Optional ingredients

• optional veggies for the soup: Korean peppers, spicy peppers (eg jalapeno), bean sprouts, enoki mushroom, fern brake / gosari (available at Asian markets)
• optional add-in for the soup: Dak Myun (soak in water)
• optional garnish: egg (fried and sliced thinly)

Note on fern brake: dried fern brake contains compounds that need to be neutralized through soaking and boiling, so don’t skip the prep step. Soak in cold water overnight (or at least 4-6 hours), then boil for 15-20 minutes until tender. Drain, rinse, and squeeze out excess water before adding to the soup. If using pre-cooked fern brake from vacuum packs, the prep is already done — just rinse and add.

Best serve with rice.

Instructions

1. Drain blood in brisket by letting it sit in water before cooking. Boil brisket briefly in water and drain. Replace water in pot and cook meat for 1 hour.
2. Remove meat from beef broth, reserve the broth, cool and shred/peel/cut meat into small pieces.
3. In a large bowl, mix meat with meat seasonings: red pepper paste, red pepper, sesame oil, sesame seed, garlic, soy sauce/gook gangjang, and black pepper.
4. Re-boil the beef broth. Add back seasoned brisket pieces to pot.
5. After it comes to a boil, add additional veggies: scallions and mushrooms (and other optional ingredients such as Korean peppers and bean sprouts). Add more water as appropriate. Boil for at least 1 hour*.
6. If including dak myun, add into soup towards the last 5 minutes of cooking.
7. Turn off heat. Taste and season with salt or soy sauce.
8. Garnish with chopped scallions (optional: and eggs). Serve with a bowl of rice on the side.

• This is what it looks like about 30 minutes into cooking. It looks tasty and is edible but not to its full potential. I find that the soup actually tastes best the next day.