I’m re-introducing the delicious and nutritious yukgaejang to you today: spicy beef and vegetable soup. This soup is smoky, spicy, and rich, with healthy hunks of sliced beef and plenty of vegetables that are soft, but not mushy—they’re full of earthy mountain flavor from gosari (fernbrake). Served with rice, it’s a satisfying, warming meal.
I made a video for this recipe years ago. It was on my first low-def camera, and eventually the music was removed in a copyright claim. Even though the video was rough, the recipe was very good and many people used it to make delicious yukgaejang. I thought the time was right to remake the video in HD and rewrite the recipe.
When Koreans make yukagejang, they always make it in large batches to make it worth the effort. Extra yukagaejang is full of good stuff and never goes to waste: you can bring some to your friend’s house, or a close neighbor may get a knock at the door and find you there with some yukgaejang to share!
It’s also common for Korean moms to make a big pot of yukagaejang to keep their family sustained while goes away for an extended time. That way she can visit her own mom and not worry about her children and husband starving at home. It can keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, or up to 1 week if you reheat it every other day. One of my readers told me he divides it into portions and then freezes them, and then takes out a portion whenever he wants some for a meal. Good tip!
Homemade yukgaejang is always better than yukgaejang at a restaurant, because you can take care to add a lot of the best ingredients, perfectly prepared. Some restaurants might not include gosari, either. It’s an essential ingredient!
Enjoy my updated yukgaejang recipe and let me know how yours turns out!
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 1 pound beef brisket, cut into several pieces along the grain 3 inch long, soaked in cold water for 10 to 20 minutes, washed, and drained
- 4 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1 medium onion, cut in half
- 12 ounces (about 3 cups) mung bean sprouts (you can grow your own!), washed and strained
- 3-4 large green onions (dae-pa) or 14-16 green onions, cut into 2½ inch long pieces
- 6 ounces of soaked (or fresh) gosari (about 2 cups), cut into 2½ inch long pieces
- 8 cloves of garlic, minced
Sauce
- ¼ cup Korean hot pepper flakes (gochugaru)
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 table spoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (or any cooking oil)
On the side
- Extra kosher salt
Directions
Start cooking the beef, mushrooms, and onion:
- In a large pot, bring 3 quarts (12 cups) of water to a boil. Add the beef along with the dried shiitake mushrooms and the onion.
- Cook for 1 hour over medium high heat.
While it boils, make the seasoning sauce and prepare the vegetables:
- Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix it well.
- Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
- Put the mung bean sprouts, green onions, gosari, and garlic in a large bowl.
Make the soup:
- 1 hour later, check the beef. Take a sample chunk and split it with your fingers or fork. If it splits nicely, it’s done. If it’s a little tough to split, let it cook for 10 more minutes. As stock boils off, you want to maintain about 10 cups’ worth, so add some water.
- When it’s done, remove the beef, onion, and mushrooms with a slotted strainer.
- Let the beef and mushrooms cool down and discard the cooked onion.
- Mix the vegetables with the seasoning sauce by hand until well incorporated. Add to the boiling stock.
- Cover and cook 20 minutes over medium high heat until the vegetables are cooked through and tender, but not mushy.
- Slice the mushrooms and pull the beef apart into strips. Add to the boiling soup and cook another 10 minutes.
Serve:
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Hi Maangchi,
I have been having a really nice Bo Yang Jeongol ( Lamb & Vegetable in hot soup) in many restaurants, it seems like a very common soup in Korea.
I absolutely LOVE this dish. Would you please please show me how this dish is cooked?
you don’t need to do a video, I would LOVE just to have the recipe.
you can go to this link to see a photo of the dish
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21148158@N02/4271382866/
Hi Maangchi,
Happy new year 2010!
I was curious what toran looked like. It looked like yam stem. Are you able to source this in New York? I think you may be able to source this from a grocery store that sell Vietnamese produce. The Vietnamese make a sour fish soup using the yam stems. As a kid, I remember cross-sectionalising the stem and dip in colour paint(art) to make imprints of butterfly, may not be the same edible variety though.
I needed to remind myself again on how to make Yukgaejang. Your u-tubes definitely make cooking easier.
regards,
Martha from Hoju.
Thank you Martha,
Yes, I found dried toran stem at a Korean store later. Toran stem is needed for this soup. I found celery stems are good alternative in this recipe.
I made this as a part of Christmas dinner, and oh my goodness it was sooo good =) I didn’t even have all the ingredients (like bean sprout and kosari) but it turned out super delicious =) I followed your advice and added a lot more green onions, and I also increased the amount of kochukaru and added some egg at the end =D
I have one question though, Maangchi. I was wondering if I can just substitute the vegetable oil with extra virgin olive oil or something =)
Thank you so much for the recipe! When I make it again (it will definitely be soon), I shall send you pictures =D And next time, I’ll have the kosari and bean sprouts!
You are genius in cooking! “I followed your advice and added a lot more green onions, and I also increased the amount of kochukaru and added some egg at the end..”
Ironically, I roasted turkey on Christmas day! : ) see? I love all kinds of food!
What a good suggestion for a cold winter day.
Delicious! and everyone in the family loved the soup.
I’m glad you like my suggestion! cool!
i just made this, it was DELICIOUS< thank you!!
Hello!
If I want to use 토란 instead of celery, how much should I put in? Also, is your recipe fairly spicy? I am trying to make it pretty spicy 한국사람이니깐요^^
yes, sure, use toran stem (토란 줄기). The amount depends on your taste.
just an update! I made this tonight without the bean sprouts and the kosari, but it turned out quite good! I think I added a bit too much water, but I fixed it by adding some more soy sauce.
I made this together with rice, kimchi and one of your potato side dish recipe!
wow, it sounds like you had a decent Korean table setting! : Rice, kimchi, potato side dish, and Yukgaejang! Perfect!
Hello, Maangchi –
So far, the best YukGaeJang I’ve had was in a little restaurant on an ROK airbase near Haemi. It was not possible to tell if the heat was due to spice or temperature.
Is brisket what one would use in Korea, or is it the closest thing that’s available outside of Korea?
I will try your recipe in either case, and probably say “thank you” by buying your book!!
I always use beef brisket for yukgaejang.
Next question – can boiled royal fern be used as fernbrake? Or is it an entirely different beast?
totally diffrent!!!!!
Hi!
I randomly had all the ingredients for this recipe (except kosari :P) in my fridge/freezer! Made it for me and my sister tonight and it was really good! My sister isn’t really an adventurous eater, but she said she loved it and ate a big bowl.
I’m so amazed- every recipe of yours that i’ve tried has been super tasty! Thanks and all the best
Thank you for your update! Congratulation on your successful cooking!
Hi Maangchi! I just love your website. thank you so much for sharing your recipes! I tried making yukgaejang at home and it was delicious.
hi maangchi.. i love korean food. but i never cook it b4. I would like to try cooking it. but i bought the red pepper paste. but i noticed that u use red pepper powder in this recipe. is it possible for me to use red pepper paste instead of pepper powder? and does it taste the same?
For yukgaejang recipe, you need hot pepper flakes instead of hot pepper paste. I would not use hot pepper paste because it has its own strong flavor. You will have to get right ingredients to make delicious yukgaejang.
Hi Maangchi,
Your website is so amazing!!! I miss my mom’s cooking and can’t go to see her often enough. Your recipes taste just like hers and has inspired me to continue to cook Korean so that I can someday cook it when I have a family! Question… At the Korean market I could only find either wet royal fern, or dried fernbrakes. I bought the dried fernbrakes… is that the same as Kosari? Thank you!
Regina
Yes, it’s kosari! Do you know how to handle dried kosari?
I’m copying and pasting my answer from my comment section under bibimbap recipe.
Dried kosari
1. Place kosari in cold water in a pot. 1 cup of kosari will need
more than 20 cups of water.
2. Boil it for 30 minutes and don’t drain hot water and let it soak. Wait about 6-8 hours. I usually boil it at night and drain it next morning.
Hi Maangchi,
What other vegetable can I use if I do not have celery, kosari or Bean sprouts on hand for Yak gae jang ?
Thanks.
Lots of green onions and leeks. I sometimes make Yukgaejang with only green onions. It’s still delicious!
Hi Maangchi,
This all sounds, looks and taste fantastic, However, i have tried and failed a million time to make Kalbi Tan Soup( spelling ???), Do you have any suggestions besides go to a restaurant.
I have not posted galbitang recipe yet. I will post it someday in the future. If you like galbitang, I’m sure you will like beef and radish soup. It’s very easy to make. Check this out.
https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/oisobagi-kimchi
Thank you for your interest in my recipes.
Hi Maangchi,
Thank you so much for your recipes and also you nice videos. I have a question about soy sauce, because now I live in Japan, may I use Japanese sauce(we called soyu) instead Korean soy sauce? I am worry the taste will be changed. Thank you before.
Of course! I sometimes use kikoman soy sauce! : )
I have made your yuk-gae-jung a couple of times now and I’m loving it! It’s my favorite soup, but I’ve always had to rely on my mother or aunts to make some for me. Now I eat it on a regular basis because I can make it myself.
One person asked about that smokey flavor. My aunt suggested that you can make pull more flavor out by frying the hot pepper flakes and oil mixture first. You have to be really careful not to burn it. But if you catch it JUST as it’s about to turn brown, the flavor changes and has that nice smokey flavor I think you are looking for.
Anyway, thanks SO MUCH Maangchi for making my life so much more enjoyable! I make it at least once a month now!! YUM!!
hi,maangchi is it ok if i wiil use pork instead of beef?
How about using chicken. I don’t use pork for Yukgaejang. But if you want to use pork, why not.
: )
Hi Maangchi,
I love your website =D
Can i use this broth to act as the broth for the spicy korean shabu shabu?
I am craving it in Singapore for so long and could not find any restaurants selling shabu shabu here =(
so, I am cooking it on saturday!! hehe. I am so excited..
yes, you could use the broth for shabushabu stock.
hi,maangchi what is kosari?
fernbrake https://www.maangchi.com/ingredients/kosari
Angela,
I think the restaurant made the soup base by boiling lamb meat.
Thanks for your response!
the Lamb was stripped and cooked, the soup base was a little milk also..
Angela,
hmm, the lamb hot pot dish sounds delicious especially with sesame leaves (perilla leaves)! It must be invented by the owner of the restaurant. Was the meat cooked and stripped? Korean style hot pot (called “shabu shabu”) is usually made with beef sliced thinly.
Anyway shabu shabu recipe will be posted someday on my websie and YouTube. I’m going to use beef.
Hi Maangchi,
How are you !! I once had a lamb hot pot from a restaurant and it was soooooo delicious. Would you know what it is and maybe show us how it is made ???
It had stripped lamb meat, lots of sesame leaves, chives, mustard seeds, the soup wasn’t spicy. It seems that this dish is not on the menu from many Sydney restaurants.
Can’t wait to hear from you.
Thank you again
kimbrooklyn,
if you want, use some ginger, but I don’t like to use ginger because the flavor is too strong for soup. sure, I am going to post korean style pickle recipe someday. (using radish, cucumber, green chili pepper..’
Love your site. My husband loves this soup and I want to make it but I think I tasted a little ginger in the ones at the restaurants. Can I put ginger in this soup? And if so how much? I also have a request, do you have recipes for pickled sides? like pickle, radish or jalepeno in soy sauce brine.
Wing,
Use the one on the right which is hot pepper flakes.
here is the pics. I forgot to copy the link in the last comment.
http://i383.photobucket.com/albums/oo280/jeffesonm/031409_14091.jpg
Hello Maangchi,
I am in Hawaii, and I went to Korean store in here, I only found 2 kind of hot pepper power. which showed you below.
Which one should I use it to Yuk Gae Jang? Was I bought the Mild hot or very hot?
Thanks
Wing
ahrum,
haha, you added more hot pepper flakes and soy sauce? You did a good job! I always encourage ppl to adjust my recipes to their taste.
Gosari namul is very delicious, too. Check my bibimbap recipe where I show how to make kosari namul. You will love it. https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/bibimbap
Maangchi~ Thank you so much for your videos. My fiance just made yukgaejang today and it was delicious! My fiance and I spent a year in Korea together and we ate Korean food every day. Yukgaejang is one of our favorites but there are no Korean restaurants in NC. You have brought Korean food into our lives again! :-)
One thing we noticed was that we think the yukgaejang we had in Korea was a LOT more spicy than your recipe so we just added more gochugaru and soy sauce. Also, we prepared TOO MUCH gosari than needed so we have a whole plastic bag of gosari in our fridge! The dried gosari really expands a lot! We’re going to make bibimbap tonight to use the rest of the gosari.
Again, we both love your videos and we’ll be making a lot more Korean food because of it. Thank you!
Wing,
You can use either hot pepper flakes or hot pepper powder. I use hot pepper flakes.
Your kimchi is not spicy enough? I think you got mild hot pepper flakes” (덜매운고추가루). https://www.maangchi.com/ingredients/hot-pepper-flakes
Hi
As your recipe, you said we should use hotpepper flakes, but in the video, you said power, which one is right? Since I used flakes to make it, but its too much hotpepper flakes at the end, and I might bougth the wrong one, because it was not spicy! haha!! BTW thanks for your video..it is very good!!!
THanks
wow, maangchi. you are doing a great job. i love love love your website. you are the bomb!
idlehouse,
wow, it looks good! hot and spicy! : )
Hi Maangchi, I used your recipe and made a pot just as big as the one in your video! YUM!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/idlehouse2004/3302576650/