Bowl of Beef & Fern Soup
(click to enlarge)

Beef & Fern Soup


Korea
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 2
**
45 min
Yes		 A quick and simple soup but surprisingly robust and flavorful with a distinctly Korean character. Wter packed fernbrake is easiest, but dried can be used, see Note-3. See Note-5 for variation.

12
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1
3
1
1
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3
5
6
6
1/2
1/4
oz
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T
cl
T
T
---
oz

c
oz
t
t
Beef
-- Marinade
Sesame Oil (1)
Garlic
Korean Chili (2)
Soy Sauce
---------
Fernbrake (3)
Scallions
Water
Soy Sprouts (4)
Salt
Pepper black
Do-Ahead   -   (12 hrs - 10 min work)
  1. IF using dried FERNBRAKE see our Fernbrake page. Water packed Fernbrake needs no prep.
Prep   -   (1 hr - 40 minutes work, mostly for cutting beef)
  1. Slice BEEF about 1/8 inch thick and cut into strips about 1/4 inch wide by 2 inches long.
  2. Crush GARLIC and chop small. Mix all Marinade items and massage into Beef. Let marinade for about 30 minutes.
  3. Drain Fernbrake. Trim water packed fronds 9 inches long to remove hard fibrous ends (dried are usually shorter). Cut into 1-1/2 inch lengths.
  4. Slice SCALLIONS diagonally starting 1/2" at the white end going to 1" in the green end.
  5. Rinse SOY SPROUTS - and see Note-4.
Run
  1. Place Beef and Marinade in a spacious sauté pan. Fry stirring over moderate heat until all liquid has evaporated and the Beef is frying - but not long enough to burn the chili powder.
  2. Stir in the Water, cover tightly and simmer covered for about 20 minutes or until beef is nearly tender.
  3. Stir in Fernbrake, Soy Sprouts (if regular bean sprouts - see Note-4), Salt and Pepper. Bring back to a simmer and let simmer for about 15 min more.
  4. Stir in Scallions, give it another minute of simmer, then serve hot.
NOTES:

  1. Sesame Oil:

      Use the dark Japanese kind. Frying temperatures will be low enough it won't be harmed starting with it.

  2. Korean Chili Powder:

      This powder, available in any market that serves a Korean community, is flavorful and only moderately hot. The amount given will not be excessively hot by Southern California standards, but use your own best judgement. For details see our Chili Powder / Flake page.

  3. Fernbrake:

      [Bracken Fern]   Weight is for water packed fronds, or fully soaked dried Fernbrake. Both dried and water packed (refrigerated) can be found in most Korean markets. Dried will need a 30 minute boil, rinsing, and an 8 hour soak in changes of water. For details see our Bracken Fern page.

  4. Soy Sprouts:

      If possible use soy sprouts. If all you have is regular mung bean sprouts, put them in just for the last 5 minutes or so. The flavor and texture will be less robust but acceptable. Please note that no Korean cook would add bean sprouts to a recipe without all the thread-like roots removed - but they have obedient children to pinch them off. Yours would probably call Children's Services if you insisted they do this job. Taking the roots off soybeans for this recipe takes about 20 minutes - but don't despair - Korean children here have been learning disobedience too. Some Korean markets now stock soy sprouts with the roots cut off at the factory, hopefully without violating child labor laws. Of course, we Barbarians are free to ignore this requirement entirely.

  5. Variation:

      This soup can easily accommodate some bean starch noodles for a little more substance. Soak them, then boil them separately until done - this may be as little as 3 minutes depending on chosen size. Drain. I usually make two or three cuts through the batch to make them more manageable. Add to the soup with the scallions.
  6. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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