Jang KalGukSuK

Cold weather is here, so I thought that it is the perfect time to share another Korean noodle soup dish with you – KalGukSu. This time it will be spicy Jang KalGukSu, which particularly famous as a regional food in GangReung, Korea. The Korean word “Jang (장)” refers to a seasoning made by fermenting soybeans, which is a main ingredient. Representative types of jang include soy sauce (GanJang,간장), soybean paste (DoenJang,된장), and hot pepper paste (GoChuJang,고추장). See? All those Korean foods have “Jang” in it. Therefore, this Jang KalGukSu name came from its uniqueness of using all 3 of those different Jang ingredients together. Let’s get started.is

Yield: 1-2 Servings

Short Korean Lesson

BalHyo (발효) = Fermentation
YuSanGyun (유산균) = Lactobacillus

Video Instructions

Broth Ingredients:

5 Large Dried Anchovies
3 Pieces Dried Kelp (2 x 2 inch)
7 Cups Water

Main Ingredients:

½ lb Fresh Noodles for KalGukSu
1 Cup Zucchini
1 Cup Potato
½ Cup Onion
½ Cup Green Onions
1 Tbsp Red Hot Pepper (Optional)
¼ Cup Seasoned and Roasted Dried Laver (Optional)
1 tsp Crushed Toasted Sesame Seeds (Optional)

Seasoning Ingredients:

1½ Tbsp Hot Pepper Paste
1 Tbsp Soybean Paste
½ Tbsp Hot Pepper Powder
½ Tbsp Soup Soy Sauce
½ Tbsp Fish Sauce
1 tsp Garlic, Minced

Directions

First, let’s make the savory broth with 5 large dried anchovies and 3 (2 x 2 inch) pieces of dried kelp. Dried anchovies are called “MyeolChi (멸치)”, but these particular types of anchovies for making broth are called “DaShiMyeolChi (다시멸치)” in Korean.

My husband got me this cute tea infuser set from Amazon. He thought I could use this tea infuser for my Korean cooking and he was absolutely right about it. I used this big one for making broth, and I love it. I will add a link for this in the description box below this video.

Simply put the anchovies and kelp in the container like this and close it.

Then put the container in 7 cups of water.

Once the water starts to boil, cook it for about 20 minutes on medium-high. If you are a vegetarian, please check out my homemade vegetable broth recipe to replace this.

Occasionally, remove the foam from the surface of the broth to reduce the bad fishy flavor.

Meanwhile, prepare the vegetable ingredients such as 1 cup zucchini, 1 cup potato, ½ cup onion, ½ cup green onions and an optional 1 Tbsp red hot pepper. Most of those are common vegetable ingredients that should be easy to get.

Cut the zucchini and potato into about ½ inch thick and 2 inch long sticks. Cut the onion and green onion into ½ inch thick pieces. Finally, finely cut the red hot pepper.

After 20 minutes, discard the dried anchovies and kelp. You will get about 5–5½ cups of greenish and brownish savory broth like this. This recipe made about 51⁄2 cups of broth, so you make sure you use enough broth for this recipe.

Mix together most of the seasoning ingredients: 1½ Tbsp hot pepper paste, 1 Tbsp soybean paste, ½ Tbsp soup soy sauce, ½ Tbsp Fish Sauce, and ½ Tbsp hot pepper powder.

When the soup starts to boil, add the potato and cook it for about 5 minutes on medium.

Prepare about ½ pound of fresh or frozen KalGukSu noodles. You can use my homemade KalGukSu noodle recipe, or if you don’t have enough time to make homemade noodles, you can also buy kalguksu noodles in a Korean or Asian grocery store.

If you want a thick starchy broth, you can directly add the noodles into the broth when you add the potato. If you want a clear broth, boil your noodles separately for about 5 minutes in water on medium-high.

After 5 minutes, drain and rinse the noodles in cold water gently to remove the extra starch on the noodles.

Add the zucchini and onion into the soup.

Then add the cooked noodles. When the soup starts to boil again, cook it for 5 minutes on medium-high.

After 5 minutes, season the soup with 1 tsp of minced garlic.

Then, add the green onion and red hot pepper.

Cook for 2 more minutes and then it is done.

Crush some seasoned and roasted dried laver in a zipper bag like this.

We also need about 1 Tbsp of crushed toasted sesame seeds. Both of the dried laver and sesame seeds are optional, but if you like those ingredients, I highly recommend adding them.