Bowl of Bean Sprout Soup with Beef
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Bean Sprout Soup with Beef


Korea   -   Kongnamul-guk
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 8 cups
**
1 hrs
Yes		 A quick and simple soup, one of many Korean bean sprout soups. This recipe is based on one published in Korea in 1974, but I've increased the beef from 4 ounces to 6. This soup is served with rice (medium grain).

6
12
2
6
3
1
1
6
2
1/3
oz
oz


T
t
c
c
t
t
Beef, lean
Bean Sprouts (1)
Eggs
Scallions
Soy Sauce (2)
Sesame Oil dark
Water
Water
Sesame Salt (3)  
Pepper, black
Prep   -   (15 min - but possibly 1 hr (see Note-1)
  1. Slice BEEF thin and cut into strips about 3/8 inch wide and 1 to 1-1/2 inches long.
  2. Prepare BEAN SPROUTS, (see Note-1).
  3. Beat EGGS moderately.
  4. Cut SCALLIONS into 1 inch lengths. Mix with Eggs.
Run   -   (45 min)
  1. In a wok or large sauce pan, place Beef, Soy Sauce, and Sesame Oil. Cook over fairly high heat until Beef has completely lost its raw color.
  2. Stir in Bean Sprouts and 1 Cup Water. Simmer for 4 minutes.
  3. Stir in 6 cups Water and the Crushed Sesame. Bring to a boil and simmer slowly about 20 minutes.
  4. Stir up Egg mix and drizzle it into the soup, stirring gently.
  5. Stir in Pepper and take off heat.
  6. Serve hot with rice (medium grain), and maybe a banchan (tiny side dish) or two. I don't know how the Koreans do it, but I place a bowl of rice on the table that can be spooned into the soup as desired.
NOTES:

  1. Bean Sprouts:

      These are the common mung bean sprouts. In a Korean household, the thread-like roots would always be pinched off, which is rather tedious (45 minutes for this recipe) - but that's what kids are for. We barbarians are free to ignore this requirement (unless we have Korean guests).

  2. Soy Sauce:

      The Koreans have two kinds of soy sauce, regular (Gan-Jang), similar to Japanese, and Soy Sauce for Soup (Guk-Gan-Jang), which is saltier and lighter in color. Soy Sauce for Soup would be used for this recipe in Korea. Korean cooking maven Maangchi recommends Thai fish sauce to maintain the light color if you don't have Soy Sauce for Soup. A bit less regular Kikoman and a touch of salt could also work. For details see our Soy Sauce page.

  3. Sesame Salt:

      This important seasoning is just white Sesame Seeds dry pan roasted until light golden in color, then cooled and crushed with Salt. For details see our recipe Sesame Salt.
  4. 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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