Korean Soups

Korean Soups

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Top 10 Authentic Korean Soups

Kimchi Jjigae – Kimchi Soup

Korean Soups

Kimchi-Jjigae, also known as kimchi stew, is a Korean broth cooked using kimchi and additional elements including chicken, pork or shellfish, scallions, onions, and cubed tofu. It’s among the top renowned soups in South Korea. 

The world-famous Kimchi originated as a not-so-spicy vegan delicacy long before the Joseon dynasty. Hot chilies came to the Korean peninsula during the middle of the Joseon era. And that eventually caused the born of the type of kimchi that has become a culinary norm today. Around the same period, Kimchi-Jjigae is claimed to have emerged. Aged, longer cured, and sourer kimchi is commonly used in Kimchi-Jjigae, which promotes a stronger taste that carries extra probiotics. Because the frying kills active bacterium in kimchi uncooked.

Other additions in Kimchi-Jjigae are down to individual liking while kimchi is the main element. Chopped kimchi is combined with the preferred meats and various traditional ingredients including eggs, minced scallions, and ginger and garlic in a saucepan. Freshwater, fish stock, (especially anchovies’), or meat stock is used to cook them. Doenjang, known as fermented bean puree or fermented red pepper puree is used to spice up the dish. When there are more than three persons at the table, Kimchi-Jjigae, like various Korean meals, is offered collectively at the middle of the table. It comes with noodles, rice, and banchan, which are classic side dishes. Inside a ceramic skillet or pot, it is traditionally given and eaten hot.

Doenjang-Jjigae – Korean Bean Paste Soup

Korean Soups

Doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew) is a classic Korean jjigae (stew-type cuisine) cooked with doenjang, (commonly known as soybean paste), along with Greens, fish, and meat. It is among Korea’s most famous and beloved classical foods. Doenjang-jjigae was originally cooked with handcrafted Doenjang.  Doenjang, the paste made from Beans, became one of the most widely used jangs in traditional and present Korean cuisine.

Doenjang-jjigae is frequently confused with Doenjag-guk (soybean paste soup). The biggest distinction between a Korean stew and a soup is the preparation and presentation technique. Jjigae is thicker, has more ingredients, and is typically served as a side dish. Guk is most commonly served as a side dish to accompany rice.

Doenjang-jjigae can be traced all the way back to the Korean Three Kingdoms dynasty. Korea was a farming country with large croplands but unreliable and poor in meat supplies. During times of drought, peasants looked for easy-to-prepare protein replacements.

Originally, doenjang was made by harvesting jang (Puree) from different crops and grains. when fermented soybean paste has been discovered to be a great source of isoflavone, which aids in the prevention of cardiac illnesses and provides the system with daily nutrients.

It contains nutrients that can help prevent conditions of the heart and bones, as well as boost brain activities.

Simmering of the soup and the later mixing of seasonings, veggies, and other ingredients are the two steps of doenjang-jjigae cooking. Koreans put dried anchovies and white radishes into a skillet of boiling water and stir constantly for about 15 minutes to make the soup base.

Doenjang-jjigae is similar to doenjang guk, but rather than meat or veggies, it is usually served with sticky rice and other banchan (sides). It’s generally eaten as a shared meal in the middle of the table.

Sundubu-Jjigae – Soft Tofu Soup

Korean Soups

Soft tofu stew, also known as Sundubu-Jjigae, is a Jjigae in Korean cuisine. The dish is produced with brand new soft tofu, veggies, occasionally shiitake mushroom, shallots, additional seafood, such as shellfish, mussels, squids, and prawns, types of meat, such as beef or chicken, and gochujang (chili paste) or gochu garu (chili paste or chili powder). Extra soft tofu, also known as Sundubu in Korean, is smoother than other varieties of tofu and is marketed in tubes.

The cuisine is built and prepared in the bowl, which is often made of dense, durable ceramic but can instead be made of hard granite. A little before eating, an uncooked egg can be thrown into the Jjigae, and the meal is chowed down while it is still hot and boiling.

It’s usually served with a cup of white rice and banchan (side dishes).
Although the origins of tofu in Korean cuisine are unknown, texts from the Joseon period documents and scholars suggest that an ancient type of Sundubu Jjigae was eaten during that time.  After the Korean War, American army personnel returning home from South Korea brought Jjigae (particularly tofu jjigae) recipes back with them. Monica Lee founded Beverly Soon Tofu in Los Angeles’ Koreatown in 1986, and it was America’s first Sundubu Jjigae restaurant.

Gamjatang – Pork back-bone Stew

Korean Soups

Pork back-bone stew, also known as Gamja-tang, is a fiery Korean soup cooked with a pig’s spine or neck bones. Potatoes, cellophane noodles, dehydrated radish leaves, perilla stems, scallions, chilies, and crushed sesame seeds are all common ingredients in this dish.

Meat fragments attach to the vertebrae, which are normally separated. To loosen the flesh, the vertebrae (Back Bone) are cooked at high heat. A bamboo skewer, for example, is required to extract the meats. The dish is typically paired with kimchi and rice. This cuisine is offered and eaten at any time of the day.

Because of the red-hot peppers, the broth is in rich red and top flavor. Outside of Korea, notably in western and Canadian countries, the soup is now widely available at Korean restaurants.

Gamja-tang is a Korean peasant dish that developed in the Jeolla region in the south. Agriculture was the province’s main source of income, and piglets were extensively grown and consumed. Gamja-tang’s origin story can be dated directly to the Three Kingdoms period. Go Yujeong is supposed to be the originator of Gamja-tang, however, there is no evidence to support this theory.

Galbi-tang – Beef Short Rib Soup

Short rib soup, also known as Galbi-tang, is a kind of guk (Korean soup) prepared mostly using beef short ribs, as well as simmered meat, radishes, scallions, and other seasonings. The term tang is yet an alternative term for guk. Short ribs, or “Galbi,” sometimes hint at barbecued short ribs in a Korean grill. As a result, the Korean word Garitang, or Galitang, translates “short ribs soup.”

Galbi is gradually simmered in the heat for a considerable time to make this rich and substantial soup, which is then served as a dish. It’s comparable to Seolleongtang, which is a soup prepared from cow leg bones.

Dining settings at Korean royal court feasts conducted in the late 1800s have chronological documents on galbitang.

Galbi, on the other hand, was said to have been consumed after the collapse of the Goryeo Dynasty.

The entire meal takes around six hours to prepare. Before cutting the ribs, incisions are carved in the surface of the internal bones with a sharpened knife to allow the flesh to readily detach from the cooked beef rib. The ribs are cut into 6–7 cm sections, and a raw radish is first placed in a kettle with water and cooked over high heat.

Yukgaejang – Spicy Beef Soup

Yukgae-jang, or hot beef soup, is a spicy South Korean soup prepared with shredded beef, scallions, and other ingredients that have been cooked for an extended period.

It’s a type of Gom-guk (thick soup) that was once popular in Korean royal court food. It is famous for its hot and spicy flavor, and it is regarded to be extremely healthy. Also, those who were tired of the summer-time heat ate Yukgae-jang to take care of themselves. The dish includes sprouts, bracken fern, taro root, sliced shallots, sweet potato noodles, chili powder, garlic, wild sesame seeds, soy sauce, vegetable oil, black pepper, and salt, in addition to thinly sliced beef, green onions, and water.

It’s also possible to use chili oil. Yukgae-jang is traditionally eaten with buckwheat, rice, or noodles.

Samgye-Tang – Korean Chicken Soup

Korean Soups

Samgye-tang, also known as Ginseng Chicken soup, is a Korean dish that comprises mostly of a whole young chicken packed with garlic, rice, jujube, and ginseng. Samgye-tang is a traditional Korean soup that promotes the overall wellness of the body. Samgye-tang is a typical summertime snack.

People loved a variety of chicken soup dishes comparable to Samgye-tang throughout the Joseon Dynasty, notably Yeongye-tang, Chonggye-tang, and Hwanggye-tang.

During King Injo’s era, cooks made the soup using young chicken and served it to the senior officers in the castle, during the summer.

The chicken simmered with milkvetch shoots and its broth accompanying Samgye-tang offered to the sick queen because it was healthy.

The stomach of a gutted chicken is filled with glutinous rice, garlic, and jujube enveloped in cotton cloth, which is then boiled in a kettle with lots of water until the flesh is thoroughly cooked. During scorching summer days in Korea, it is customary to eat Samgye-tang to restore the nutrients lost via body movement and sweat.

Jjamppong – Spicy Seafood Soup

Jjamppong is a Korean Chinese noodle soup made with a hot red broth made with shrimp or pig and seasoned with gochugaru (chili powder). Shallots, garlic, Korean squash, radishes, cabbages, calamari, oysters, and meat are all popular features.

It is a traditional meal available at Chinese restaurants in South Korea, along with Jajangmyeon (a Korean noodle dish served with a heavy gravy consisting of chunjang, chopped pork, and veggies).

Despite the meal being based on the Chinese Shandong-style chommiàn, the food’s name comes from chanpon, a Japanese Chinese cuisine dish based on the Fujian-style mènmiàn. Following the Japanese colonization of Korea, the Japanese saw chommiàn in Korean Chinese restaurants and labeled it chanpon because the creamy white soup base resembled chanpon.

That Japanese term was then grammatically converted into Korean as jjamppong.

Samsun jjamppong speaks to a costlier alternative with additional seafood kinds in certain restaurants. Pork back-bone jjamppong is made with pork bone broth, stir-fried seafood, chile oil, and veggies, and is influenced by Gamja-tang (Pork back Bone Stew). Gul jjampong, also known as Sacheon Tangmyeon, is an oyster stew eaten atop a hot white soup. Gochu jjamppong is a spicier version of jjamppong made from Cheongyang chilies. Some places also provide a pan-fried version of jjamppong. Rice is used instead of noodles in jjampong bap.

Sundaeguk – Blood Sausage Soup

For this delicious Korean soup, the major feature is sundae, or Korean blood sausage. The dish is made with a delicious stock that contains chopped pork, other sorts of pluck or organ meats, and veggies. Noodles or rice could be included in the dish or eaten separately.

Sundaeguk is a popular hangover cure that is typically served with kimchi, kkakdugi also known as diced radish kimchi, or additional Korean side dishes (banchan).

The sausage has a subtle flavor that is enhanced by the addition of spices, sesame seeds, and dehydrated and crushed shrimp. and when cooking the blood flavor comes off brilliantly. It is also black due to the blood, but the consistency is lightened with rice noodles plus sticky rice. It is tasteless, spongy, and quite sticky on its own without any culinary addition.

Haemul Doenjang Jjigae – Bean Paste Stew

A stew cooked with fermented soybean paste is known as Doenjang Jjigae. This version uses a variety of shellfish for a light and tasty stew. You may use any sort of seafood. Because the flavor of the broth and stew is greatly altered by these additional seafood components, this Doenjang Jjigae is frequently referred to by a somewhat different term. All Doenjang Jjigae are named differently depending on the ingredient used. Prawns or tiny clams are the most regularly used seafood elements in Doenjang Jjigae, and beef is the most popular and widely available meat.

Just like Western and European soups, Korean soups, differ in the thickness of the broth. Korean soups, anyhow, are left plain until someone chooses to season the soup base with salt and other spices before eating. Many Western soups are pre-flavored, hence once eaten, they can be rather salty.

Soups from Korea go well with rice and noodles, whilst soups from the western part of the globe go well with flatbread, toast, and crackers. Eating Korean soups, possess its distinct advantages. Because they are primarily focused on rehydrating the eater upon a tough day at work. It’s also the ideal choice to get rid of a hangover following a party night.

Korean Soups come in a variety of flavors and types

Locally as well as Globally Korean soups are without a question one of the most well-known delicacies. Because beef was a limited commodity throughout the historical era, soups and broth played a significant role in the Korean menu. Considering soups involve fewer elements and are trouble-free to prepare, they were routinely offered every day.

  • Jjigae– It is a Korean soup that is made using a variety of vegetables and spices and is prepared fast. It’s usually incorporated with a half-boiled egg and contains any chicken, fish, tofu, or veggies. it is also a huge mouth opener during Korean BBQ situations, which is best served with noodles and pork. Because they’re made in tiny portions, they’re considered to be a little saltier.
  • Tang– The Tang Soups are watery soups and might take hours to prepare. guess it depends on how long they’ve been simmering. Soups are typically prepared without salt or with only a little amount of salt so that the saltiness can be adjusted afterward. The broth is particularly healthy since the broth and the meat (or vegetables) are normally cooked at the same time, in the same pot.
  • Guk– Guk is a type of soup, which is bundled together with other dishes. Tang is runnier than guk, yet both go so well with noodles, rice, and banchan (commonly known as Korean side dishes). Each time, Guk is presented, it is in a form of personalized small portions with a bowl of noodles or rice. After it’s been prepared, no extra seasoning or condiments are required.
  • Jeongol– Kimchi and dumplings are the most renowned Jeongol appetizers. Jeongol is better tasting than Jjigae, but less watery than guk. One may also have a heavy plate of rice, which goes well with Jeongol along with banchan.