Yukgaejang. It's easily one of my Top-3 favorite Korean Stews. And my go-to dish at Incheon International Airport. A few sips of it and the spice reminds me that I'm back in Korea. What I love about this stew is the use of fernbrake and taro stems. When simmered for extended periods, these wild mountainous veggies turns soft and chewy. It reminds me of carnitas. Coupled with shredded beef brisket, the stew is a foodie's dream dish.
The first challenge will be procuring Korean Fernbrake and/or Taro Stems. I would recommend visiting a Korean supermarket for these ingredients. When you're there, ask for Gosari (고사리) or Toran-dae (토란대). Typically, Korean markets will sell them dried or pre-soaked. I would go with the pre-soaked ones if you'll make the stew in the same day. Otherwise, go with the dried kind and soak them overnight. (Note: If you can't find Taro Stems, just skip it - it's optional)
In my YouTube video, I add-in Korean glass noodles (Dangmyeon) at the last step. (As they taste very good with this stew). But I didn't pre-soak the Dangmyeon noodles. Instead, I just tossed them into the stew and let it boil. It took about 4-5 minutes of boiling for the noodles to turn soft. I would recommend doing it a better way: Soak the Dangmyeon noodles in cold water (for about 30 minutes) before adding it to the stew. This way, it cooks much faster (~1 minute)
I was very (very) happy with the result of this stew. In fact, I think it could compete with the best restaurants in Seoul! If you want a more challenging Korean recipe to make this winter, consider making this Yukgaejang at home!
As always, share a few pics with me on IG. Love to see them!
-Alrighty, Dan-yul Out! 🕺
Yukgaejang
Ingredients
Beef Broth
- Beef Brisket - 400 g
- Water - 3L 13 cups
- Dashima - iPhone-sized piece
- Ginger - small piece size of your thumb
Stew Ingredients
- Korean Fernbrake Gosari- 150 g
- Korean Taro Stems Torandae- 150 g
- Oyster mushrooms - 1 handful
- Onion - 1 whole
- Red Chili Pepper non-spicy - 2 peppers
- Cheongyang Chili Pepper spicy - 2 peppers (can substitute with 1 Jalapeno pepper)
- Spring Onion - 3 stalks forearm-length
- Dangmyeon noodles - small handful optional
Fern Brake Marinade
- Soup Soy Sauce - 2 Tablespoons
- Minced Garlic - 1 Tablespoon
- Sesame Oil - 1 Tablespoon
Taro Stem Marinade
- Soup Soy Sauce - 2 Tablespoons
- Minced Garlic - 1 Tablespoon
- Sesame Oil - 1 Tablespoon
Chili oil
- Vegetable oil - ½ cup
- Gochugaru - ⅓ cup
- Minced garlic - 1 Tablespoon
Shredded Beef Marinade
- Soup Soy Sauce - 1 Tablespoon
- Minced Garlic - 1 Tablespoon
- Sesame Oil - 1 Tablespoon
Soup Marinade
- Gochugaru - 2 Tablespoons
- Minced garlic - 1 Tablespoon
- Soup Soy Sauce - 2 Tablespoons
Instructions
- Pre-Soak Fernbrake and Taro Stems
- If you buy the dried fernbrake or taro stems, hydrate them in a bowl of cold water. Soak overnight - bore you start cooking the stew.
Boil beef
- Place the piece of Beef Brisket in a large pot. Add 3L (15 cups) of water. Cut the ginger piece into thin slices and add into pot. Add dashima pieces as well.
- Put on a high heat and it bring up to a boil - without the lid. Once the water comes to boil, pick out the dashima pieces. Use a soup ladle to skim the scum off the top as well.
- Now, reduce the heat to a low and let the pot gently simmer for 1 hour. In the meanwhile, lets prep other ingredients for the stew.
Prep Stew Ingredients
- After soaking the fern and taro stems overnight, drain the water out. Give them a thorough wash. Then use your hands and squeeze the water out of them
- Next, cut the fern and taro stems into small pieces (about the length of your pinky finger - as they will get bigger once they boil).
- Now place each into a separate bowl. Marinate both of them with the following marinade: Soup Soy Sauce (2T), Minced Garlic (1T) and Sesame oil (1T). Mix with your hands and get them thoroughly coated.
- Cut the onion into thin slices. Cut the red and green chili peppers into small pieces. Then chop the spring onion stalks into small pieces (finger-length size). Cut the stem off the oyster mushroom and give them a quick wash.
- Next, make chili oil by mixing: Vegetable oil (½ cup), Gochugaru (⅓ cup) and Minced Garlic (1 Tablespoon). Place in microwave for 2 minutes. Take it out the microwave (be careful) and pour the mixture through a strainer (or cheese cloth). Use a spoon to squeeze out the last bits of oil. It should produce a little less than ⅓ cup. Set aside for use later.
Shred beef
- After 1 hour of gently boiling, turn the heat off. Pick out the ginger pieces. Take out the boiled brisket and let it cool down on a cutting board - for at least 15 minutes.
- Cut the beef chunk in half with a knife. Then use your hands to shred each half into into bite-sized pieces.
- Place all of the shredded beef into a mixing bowl. Then add Soup Soy Sauce (1T), Minced Garlic (1T) and Sesame Oil (1T). Mix and coat together with your hand.
Make stew
- Place your broth back on a high heat. Add the chili oil (⅓ cup) into the broth. Then, add in all of the prepped ingredients: Shredded Beef, Marinated Fern, Marinated Taro Stem, Oyster Mushrooms, Onion, Red & Green Chili Peppers and Spring Onion pieces.
- Season the broth by adding-in: Gochugaru (2T), Minced Garlic (1T), Soup Soy Sauce (2T).
- Once the stew comes to boil, continue to cook on a high-heat for 30 minutes - without the lid.
- After 30 minutes, reduce the heat to a low. Cook for final 20 minutes - with lid on.
Add Dangmyeon noodles to individual servings (optional)
- Soak Dangmyeon noodles in cold water (best to soak for 30 minutes, so start this step in the previous section)
- Pour a few ladles of the finished stew into a smaller pot.
- Add-in the soaked dangmyeon noodles into the small pot.
- Cook for a few minutes until noodles turn soft and translucent.
- Eat straight out of the pot or transfer to a bowl ... and Bon Appetit!
- Remember to eat with a bowl of hot rice
Notes
- I would recommend using fernbrake, but taro stems are optional - may be harder to find
- You can replace soup soy sauce with regular soy sauce.
- If you'd like to add Dangmyeon noodles, remember to soak them for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
- Remember to serve with a bowl of rice (as the stew is spicy)
- See video below for more details
Rina says
It's delicious! I added together some soybean sprouts.
David C says
great!