Yukgaejang is a classic spicy Korean beef soup that is made from brisket meat, green onions, bean sprouts and gosari (bracken fiddleheads). It is soo good you can't stop at just one bowl. Serve with rice and you have a complete meal.
Prep time: PT10M
Cook time: PT80M
Total time: PT90M
Rating
4.8 stars (5 reviews)
Keywords
comforting, green onions, hearty, winter
Ingredients
2 lb beef brisket, fat trimmed
16 cups water ((1 gallon))
3 bunches green onions
1 fresh mung bean sprouts ((12 oz bag))
1-2 handful gosari, reconstituted ((bracken fiddleheads – optional and omitted in this recipe))
2 Tbsp guk ganjang ((Soy Sauce for Soups))
2 Tbsp Korean chili powder ((Gochukaru, can add more to taste))
3 Tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp sesame seeds ((crushed))
2 tsp Sea Salt (Trader Joe's)
1/2 tsp sugar
4 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
Categories
Soup
Cuisine
Korean
Steps
Rinse your fat trimmed brisket in water and then add to a stock pot big enough to hold 1 gallon of water plus room for boiling.
Turn heat to medium high and bring to boil. Skim off any foam that comes to the top.
Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 1 hour or until a fork goes in easily into the meat. Meat should be tender enough for you to tear off brisket by hand pretty easily. There will still be a little bit of resistance and that’s OK since we will be cooking the meat further.
In the mean time, clean green onions and cut them into thirds. If there are some green onions that are too thick (think about chewing on it), split the white part in half lengthwise first and then cut into pieces about the length of your palm.
When done, the stock should be nice and cloudy. You can actually just stop here and eat the soup and meat like it is. See my post for Hearty Beef Soup (Gogiguk) on how to make the most delicious plain beef soup. Take out the brisket and let it cool.
Once the meat is cool enough to handle, tear the meat into pieces, following the grain. You will have a pile of wonderfully chewy and flavorful brisket meat.
Season the torn brisket pieces with soy sauce, chili powder, sesame oil, sea salt, sugar, garlic, garlic powder, sesame seeds and black pepper.
Mix well with hands (use a plastic glove). And add couple handfuls of green onions and mix again.
Add seasoned meat and green onions and rest of the green onions all back into the soup.
Turn heat on to medium high and bring to boil. Cook for 10 minutes and then add bean sprouts (and gosari).
Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes or more. After about 10 minutes of simmering, taste the soup and adjust seasoning. Add more salt or more chili powder to taste. Simmer remaining 10 minutes.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 159 kcal
Carbohydrates: 2 g
Protein: 16 g
Fat: 9 g
Saturated Fat: 2 g
Cholesterol: 46 mg
Sodium: 529 mg
Reviews
Thi on 2023-11-13 (5 stars): It was really delicious, I love every one of your recipes. They're just so authentic and also very easy to follow. Thank you so much for sharing them with us.
Candice on 2021-12-16 (4 stars): This recipe is great! I also read in another recipe that instead of fernbrake, they use watercress! I will be using your recipe, but adding watercress and omitting fernbrake because I also heard there are now links of fernbrake to cancer? Who really knows though... I'll be back to let you know how it comes out! 😊
Nicole on 2021-01-08 (5 stars): Delicious and easy to do. I added dashi and was great. Thanks for sharing!
Dee on 2020-08-27 (5 stars): Thank you so much for this recipe! I used premade beef bone broth as the soup base, which helped save time and really boosted the flavor. I also added a little extra Korean chili powder. My husband went back for seconds, so you know it's a winner!
Marlena Warren on 2020-06-18 (5 stars): This reciepe is literally one of my favorites to make. I can never find gosari, even in Atlanta, so I would love to know the added dimension that it brings. I make this for myself friends and family. Of course I added additional heat bc spice is amazing lol I love that you can adjust for your taste and you just dont assume everyone can appreciate heat. You have been the cornerstone of my learning Korean traditonal reciepes and now I feel comfortable enough to play around with flavors. I add extra umami by grating up dried mushrooms and making a powder and adding it at the end. It helps to thicken the soup as well as give it an extra punch of umami.
Julie on 2019-12-14 (5 stars): I made this today and I must say just the broth alone is soooo warm and good for winter. I love soups for winter or any time of the heat really and this is at the top of my list 😋
