Bowl of Beef & Royal Fern Soup
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Beef & Royal Fern Soup


Korea   -   Yukgaejang
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 11 cups
***
45 min
Yes		 A substantial, flavorful soup, good for colder weather. It has good Korean character and is not real spicy by Southern California standards. We have a simpler version with bracken fern at Beef & Fern Soup.

1
1
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2
1
2-1/2
1
1
1/3
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8
5
5
1-1/2
3
ar
2
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#
#
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cl
T
T
T
t
t
---
oz

oz
T
c

oz
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Beef (1)
pkg Royal Fern (2)  
-- Flavorings
Garlic
Chili Powder (3)
Chili Paste (4)
Soy Sauce
Salt
Pepper black
---------
Onions
Scallions
Soy Sprouts (5)
Sesame Oil (6)
Beef Broth
Water
Starch Noodles (7)
-- Garnish
Scallions

Yes, 11 cups is a lot of soup, because I sized it to use a whole 1 pound package of Royal Fern. Feel free to make a half recipe.

Prep
  1. Slice BEEF about 1/4 inch thick and cut into soup sized pieces.
  2. Drain ROYAL FERN, rinse and cut into pieces about 1-1/2 inches long.
  3. Crush GARLIC and chop fine. Mix all Flavorings items.
  4. Quarter ONION lengthwise and slice thin crosswise.
  5. Slice SCALLIONS diagonally starting 1/2" at the white end going to 1" in the green end.
  6. For Garnish, slice SCALLIONS very thin crosswise.
Run   -   (1 hr)
  1. In a coverable wok or large pot heat Sesame Oil and fry Beef over high heat until ligtly browned all over.
  2. Stir in Flavorings mix, Royal Fern, Onion, Beef Broth and enough Water to make it look like soup. Bring to a boil, cover tightly and simmer until Beef is tender, about 40 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile:   Bring some salted water to a boil and cook Starch Noodles until just done. This may take as little as 3 minutes depending on size. Drain. I usually lay the bundle out on the cutting board and make two cuts through it so the noodles are more manageable.
  4. Stir in Bean Sprouts, Noodles and Scallions. Simmer another 10 minutes.
  5. Serve hot, garnished with chopped Scallions.
NOTES:

  1. Beef:

      Chuck is a good choice for this recipe. Weight is boneless with all excess fat removed.

  2. Royal Fern

      This will be immature fern fronds, boiled and vacuum packed with water in clear plastic bags. They can be found in the refrigerated section of well stocked Korean markets, as they are a popular vegetable in Korea. If unavailable the smaller Bracken Ferns could be used. For details see our Ferns page.

  3. Korean Chili Powder:

      This powder available in any market that serves a Korean community, is flavorful and only moderately hot. For details see our Chili Powder / Flake page.

  4. Chili Paste:

    [Gochujang] This is a dark red, fermented paste available in all Korean markets in jars and plastic tubs. It may be made with chilis and rice flour or with chilis and wheat flour. For details see our Gochujang page.

  5. 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 threadlike 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 15 minutes - but don't dispair - 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.

  6. Sesame Oil:

      Use the dark Japanese kind. Korea is the only country that does much frying in dark sesame oil.

  7. Starch Noodles:

      These can be the common mung bean starch noodles known as "celophane noodles" and under various other names. Sweet potato starch noodles may also be used, but those can be found only in Asian markets. Use whatever size you like.

  8. Options:

      Sometimes small cubes of Tofu are stirred in along with the Bean Sprouts.
  9. 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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