Ever since we started boiling stuff for long periods of time in order to make Naengmyon, I started building up the courage to try making this dish I’d had in Busan a few years ago.
It’s a milky looking soup in a big bowl with rice at the bottom and slices of boiled pork floating around in it, it’s really amazing.
Funny thing is it tastes really British and considering my previous meal included live sea worms and sea cucumber, this was a welcome taste.
Turns out it’s quite a simple recipe, but just takes ages to make the broth. It then all comes together quickly at the end for a grandstand finish.
The Broth™
Ingredients
- a few pork bones
- 1kg of pork shank/hock
- a piece of fresh peeled ginger
- an onion
- some garlic cloves (like 5 or 6)
Method
This is a three stage boil: -
- Boil the hell out of the meat and bones for 30 minutes
- Boil the meat and bones gently with the ginger, onion and garlic for about 2 hours
- Boil just the bones for another 10 (TEN) hours.
- TEN HOURS.
Things to bear in mind
The first stage of boiling is all about boiling out impurities I think. You boil it hard and then chuck the water away. Wash the meat and clean the pot before starting the second stage.
For the second stage, the hock should be soft without being like a pulled pork soft, it needs a little firmness. Once it has that, you can take it out.
The third stage is all about time, the longer you boil it the better it tastes. (APPARENTLY anyway. I’ve only been alive long enough to cook this twice)
The Sauce
Ingredients
- Korean chilli paste (gochujang)
- Korean miso paste (dwaenjang)
- Salted shrimp
- Couple of cloves of chopped garlic
This is the sauce you dollop into your bowl when you’re eating The method is simple, you just mix the above together in a little bowl ready for when everything is ready.
OR excitedly scoff all the meat down with it whilst downing soju by the bucket as we did. up to you.
Serving it
Ingredients
- The Broth™
- The meat™
- The Sauce
- Some boiled plain rice
- Spring onions
- Some chives
- A teaspoon of salted shrimp
Method
Simply put some rice in the bottom of your bowl, add a couple of thin slices of the meat, sprinkle in the spring onions and chives and finally pour in the broth.
You then season it how you want with the salted shrimps, the chilli sauce and lots of black pepper.
Don’t forget to eat with kimchi!
Info on Ingredients
Salted Shrimp / 새우 젓
If you go into a Korean store and ask for salted shrimp then they should know what you’re on about. They should be in the freezer section in like instant coffee shaped jars and the shrimps themselves are pink.
References
- This american guy’s youtube video is fab :D - only problem is he uses Imperial measurements, I have no idea what they are
- Korean dwaeji gukbab recipe article - as you can see from the photos in this article, you pay for pork bones in Korea! we throw them away in this country :D
- My holiday snaps of Busan! (only if you’re really bored)