The soup’s name, “yukgaejang,” is made up of the words “yuk” meaning beef and “gaejang” meaning “dog meat soup.” That means that the soup is similar to gaejangguk. In the past when beef was rare, people consumed gaejangguk to restore their lost appetites and regain energy. As recorded in various ancient documents about the cooking method of gaejangguk, it was a common dish locals enjoyed in the olden days. But eating dog meat received mixed reactions the aristocrats during the Joseon era. Therefore, yukgaejang was an native soup cooked with beef instead of dog meat. Choi Nam-seon wrote that people who didn’t like eating dog meat had beef instead and the soup was called yukgaejang. In North Korea, the soup is called “sodangogiguk”, or “sweet beef soup” and is also a popular dish.

Main Ingredients :

300g brisket, 7 cups brisket stock, 150g mung bean sprouts, 100 gbracken, 100 goyster mushrooms, 2 thick green onions, 50g onion, 1 green pepper, 1 red pepper

Spices :

Seasoning spices: 1 tbsp chili powder, 2 tbsp red pepper oil, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp refined rice wine, 30g garlic, 1/2 tsp ground pepper

Condiments for the soup: 3 tbsp chili powder, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp minced garlic, 1 tsp red pepper paste, 1/2 tsp ground pepper

Flavor-adjusting spices: 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp salt

☑ Before cooking the beef, soak it in cold water for about an hour to draw out the blood.

☑ When cooking the beef, first cook over high heat for about 10 minutes; 20 minutes on medium high; and 10 minutes on low gas.

☑ The brisket broth will be used as the base soup of yukgaejang. So sieve and aside.

☑ Bracken can be replaced with various mushrooms.

☑ When using dried bracken, soak in cold water for 20-30 minutes and cook thoroughly.

☑ Blanching time differs based on each vegetable – green onion strips for one minute, oyster mushrooms for 30 seconds, parboiled bracken for one minute, and mung bean sprouts for 20 seconds.

☑ If you don’t have red pepper oil, stir-fry with chili powder in edible oil.

☑ Adding onion strips in the soup the beginning will sweeten the soup, so put them in after the soup simmers for about 5 minutes.

Seon Dong-ju: Head Chef of the Menu Development & Consulting Division of CJ Freshway

Head Chef of the Menu Development & Consulting Division of CJ Freshway

Head Instructor of CJ Cooks / Host of Hansik Cooking Class