Korean cuisine #3 Yukgaejang

  Yukgaejang  

Yukgaejang is a type of spicy soup made by boiling beef, bracken, bean sprouts, and other vegetables. It originated from Gaejangguk. Season with red pepper powder, and add pepper, salt, sugar, sesame oil, and soy sauce as seasoning. In some cases, chicken is used instead of beef, and such yukgaejang is called'chicken gaejang'.

 

 

One of Korea's representative home-cooked meals and health food. Spicy soup made with beef and various herbs. The beef is boiled and softened, and the finely cut beef is boiled with red pepper powder, so the flavor of the red pepper soup with the flavor of beef mixed with oil makes rice spontaneously. If the meat is cooked with chicken, it becomes dalg-gaejang, and if you add dog meat, it becomes Gaejangguk. In modern times, it is a dish that is eaten much more popularly than spicy soybean soup in which other meat is put on the table of Koreans.

 

  Origin  

'Gaejang' in'Yukgaejang' is also called'gaejangguk'. 'Guk' added to'gaejang'. 'Gaejangguk' is regarded as a newly created word to more clearly indicate that'gaejang' is'tang'. 'Gaejang' or'gaejangguk' is a food that Korean people have enjoyed since ancient times. In particular, during the Sambok, it is said that they enjoyed this “Gaejangguk” specially in order to see the body, but the custom has not changed so far. Since dog meat could be obtained more easily than any animal's meat, he would have eaten a lot of soup made with it, so the meaning of'jang' or'tang' is emphasized rather than'dog' of'gaejang', so'gaejang' is'tang' It seems to have been used like a pronoun of. As a result, it is believed that the general meaning of'tang' was given as a bonus to'Gaejang'. Just as'boshintang' can be called'tang' these days, it is assumed that in the past,'tang' meant'opening'. When'gaejang' came to take the universal meaning of'tang', other names such as'boshintang' and'sacheoltang' appeared to mean'tang with boiled dog meat'. It seems to have been newly created based on the word'.

 

 

'Yukgaejang' and'chickengaejang' are newly created names. If'Yukgaejang' is a new word to show that it is'yuktang' boiled using'beef' rather than'dog meat','chickengaejang' is a new word to show that it is'yuktang' boiled using'chicken meat' rather than'dog meat'. This is the word that appeared. In principle,'Yukgaejang' should be called'sotang' or'wootang', and'chickengaejang' should be called'daktang' or'gyetang'. You cannot throw away the words'Yukgaejang' or'Dakgaejang' newly created using'.

 

However, you must be careful not to make the mistake of incorrectly writing'Yukgaejang' as'Yukgejang' or and 'Dakgaejang' as'Chicken-Gyejang'. Also, ‘gaejang’, ‘yukgaejang’, and ‘chickengaejang’ must be used correctly. ‘Gaejang’ is ‘tang with dog meat’, ‘Yukgaejang’ is ‘beef stew’, and ‘chicken gaejang’ is ‘chicken soup.’

 

In general, yukgaejang is made by adding herbs and beef such as bracken, bean sprouts, taro, and so on, and seasoning them with a large amount of red pepper powder and pepper powder in a boiled broth.

In some Korean restaurants, rayu is added to enhance the spicy taste, but even at home-style yukgaejang, where rayu is not added, the oily taste of red pepper powder and beef is mixed, giving a slightly similar taste and aroma. In the case of Seoul's style, some houses cook only green onions, beef, red pepper powder, and salt in the broth made from beef bone. Or, there is a case where the soup is a little thick by making leek and other vegetables with minced seasoning and dissolving it in a soup. It is sometimes called green onions, but in the case of Seoul style, it is said that the original form is mainly green onions rather than other vegetables. 

 

 Preparing and cooking ingredients  

Bean sprouts, brisket, bracken, taro, radish, beef tallow (beef oil), leek, minced garlic, fine red pepper powder,

red pepper oil, black pepper, soup soy sauce, sesame oil

 

1. Boil beef with plenty of water, but when it boils, reduce the heat and simmer softly for 3-4 hours. When the water boils down, add boiling water.  Remove the foam from time to time, and leave the oil alone. 

 

2. Soak the vermicelli in lukewarm water for at least 1 hour.

 

3. Add twice the amount of chopped green onion (white part) to the crushed garlic, add red pepper powder and soup soy sauce, and mix well.

 

4. Put half a cup (100ml) of water in a pan, add the beef tallow cut into 5mm pieces, and stir-fry to dissolve. When the water boils down and the oil is almost dissolved, add the torn meat and radish and fry over medium heat. You can also add more oil from the broth. When the radish becomes translucent, add the bracken and the seasoning of 2, mix well and fry for another 2-3 minutes.

 

5. Add the stock and boil for another 10 minutes, then add Chili oil. Add the vermicelli, miwon (sodium glutamate), green onion, and green pepper. Season with soy sauce. (If you mix it with only soy sauce, the color of the soup becomes too dark and thick, so season only 70%.) Add shiitake and bean sprouts.

 

6. Add the vermicelli and boil more until cooked, turn off the heat, loosen the egg, and pour thinly. After adding the egg, the broth must be left without stirring to prevent it from becoming cloudy. If you like the crispy texture, turn off the heat and add the bean sprouts.

 

※ Depending on your taste, you can substitute pork, chicken, or duck meat instead of beef, or you can add various seasonings such as sesame oil and pepper.