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A bowl of red, spicy yukgaejang with shredded beef, scallions, and bean sprouts

Yukgaejang Recipe

A yukgaejang recipe for the version most home cooks abroad can actually finish — real substitutes for gosari and taro stems, plus a faster broth.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Korean
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g / 1 lb beef brisket or shank, in one piece
  • 2 liters / 8 cups water, for boiling the beef
  • 1 onion, halved, plus 1/2 onion sliced separately for later
  • 3 scallions (whites) plus a thumb of ginger, for the boil
  • 4 to 6 dried whole scallions worth of fresh scallions (about 8 to 10 total), cut into 6 cm lengths and lightly smashed
  • 60 g / 1 cup dried gosari (fernbrake), soaked and rehydrated
  • 1 cup sliced fresh or rehydrated shiitake mushrooms
  • 1/2 cup toran-dae, dried taro stems, rehydrated
  • 2 cups bean sprouts, tails trimmed
  • 4 tbsp gochugaru, Korean chili flakes
  • 3 tbsp neutral oil
  • 2 tbsp minced garlic
  • 3 tbsp guk-ganjang, Korean soup soy sauce Substitute: 5 tsp regular soy sauce plus a pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 2 eggs, beaten (optional)
  • salt, to taste

Method
 

  1. Put the beef, halved onion, scallion whites, and ginger in a pot with 2 liters of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer 45 minutes, until the beef is tender enough to shred with two forks.
  2. Lift out the beef and set the broth aside, strained if you like it clear. Once the beef is cool enough to handle, shred it into long, thin strands by hand.
  3. In a dry small pan, mix the gochugaru with the neutral oil off the heat, then warm it over low heat for 1 minute, stirring, until it turns a deep glossy red. This is your yangnyeomjang, the seasoning oil.
  4. Return the strained broth to the pot. Stir in the seasoning oil, garlic, guk-ganjang, and black pepper.
  5. Add the gosari, mushrooms, and taro stems if using. Simmer 15 minutes.
  6. Add the shredded beef, sliced onion, bean sprouts, and smashed scallions. Simmer 10 more minutes, until the sprouts have lost their raw crunch but still have some bite.
  7. Taste and adjust salt. If using egg, drizzle it in a thin stream over the surface of the boiling soup and let it sit 20 seconds before stirring gently, so it forms loose ribbons rather than a cloud.