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I love food. During my time in Korea, I have been collecting recipes and anecdotes about Korean food. I also have been working on survival techniques for westerners living in Korea. In this journal are recipes for cooking Korean food in Korea or abroad and recipes for recreating western food with Korean ingredients. But mostly, it's about enjoying life.
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Sunday, February 26, 2006
(KR #5) ChangGukJang - Ultimate Stinky Ass Soup
One of my favorite aspects of Korean cuisine is the stinky soybean pastes and soups, including Daenjang Jjigae, Ssamjang, and ChangGukJang. I had been wanting to figure out how to make this at home for a long time. I recently purchased some Korean cookbooks and thought I'd take the task of making a stinky soup. Besides, I finally had made my dashi.
Earlier in the week at the store, I had found this package of extra stinky soybean paste in what looked like a yogurt container. The cashier laughed when she rang it up and showed it to her fellow cashier, saying what I'm sure was, "Look what this crazy foreigner is buying."
This is a blurry picture of what the inside looks like.
Since I finally was going to make this soup, I made it special by cooking it directly in the bowl -- another cool whacky Korean idea. I put some dashi in the bowl and set it on medium flame.
I then added some chopped onions.
When it started to boil, I added some kimchi.
Then maybe three tablespoons of ChangGukJang paste. If you can't find this stinky stuff, I'm sure you can do the same thing with Korean soybean paste (Daenjang) or even miso paste. Yet miso is too bland, in my opinion.
After smoothly boiling it for a while, I finished it off with some mushrooms, chopped green onion, and tofu. You can add salt to taste, but the ChangGukJang paste and kimchi add a lot of salt to the soup already.
I carefully placed the boiling soup bowl on my commemorative "Dokdo is Ours" towel on a tray. This soup/stew is so strong, you need a bowl of rice to balance it. It's funny because it has no meat in it (unless you count the anchovy essence in the dashi) yet it tastes like a meaty soup, like a chili or cheese soup. I am far from being a vegetarian, yet it feels wholesome to not need a greasy slab of flesh with every meal.
ADDENDUM: I told my girlfriend about my soup. She suggested to also add a dab of gochujang (red pepper paste), and throw in some thinly sliced hot peppers and garlic at the end.
Labels: Korean Recipe
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