Pork bone soup (Gamjatang)

Ingredients

2½ to 3 pounds of pork neck bones (or spine bones)

1 ounce ginger, sliced

2 tablespoons doenjang (Korean fermented bean paste)

2 dried Shiitake mushrooms

1 medium onion, sliced

1 large dried red chili pepper (or a few red chili peppers)

1 pound of napa cabbage, cut off the core

2 or 3 medium potatoes, peeled

8 ounces soybean sprouts, washed and strained

4 green onions, washed and cut into 2 inch long

1 green onion, chopped for garnish

8 to 12 perilla leaves, washed

6 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons gochugaru (Korean hot pepper flakes)

1 tablespoon gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)

3 tablespoons fish sauce

¼ cup deulkkae-garu (perilla seeds powder)

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

½ cup water

Directions

Pork neck bones are found in the freezer section at a Korean grocery store. Try to choose bones with a lot of meat.My recipe is for 2 to 3 servings. If you want to make it for 4-6 servings, double the recipe and cook longer.Blanching and washing the bones is a very important step because it will remove the unpleasant smell from the bones and make a clear soup.You can replace perilla leaves with basil leaves and perilla seeds powder with sesame seeds powder.

Pork neck bones are found in the freezer section at a Korean grocery store. Try to choose bones with a lot of meat.

My recipe is for 2 to 3 servings. If you want to make it for 4-6 servings, double the recipe and cook longer.

Blanching and washing the bones is a very important step because it will remove the unpleasant smell from the bones and make a clear soup.

You can replace perilla leaves with basil leaves and perilla seeds powder with sesame seeds powder.

Pork neck bones are found in the freezer section at a Korean grocery store. Try to choose bones with a lot of meat.

My recipe is for 2 to 3 servings. If you want to make it for 4-6 servings, double the recipe and cook longer.

Blanching and washing the bones is a very important step because it will remove the unpleasant smell from the bones and make a clear soup.

You can replace perilla leaves with basil leaves and perilla seeds powder with sesame seeds powder.

Rinse the pork bones a couple of times and soak in cold water for at least 30 minutes.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Blanch the cabbage for 1 minute and then take it out with tongs.

Keep the hot water boiling, we’ll use it later for blanching pork bones.

Rinse the cabbage in cold water and strain. Tear the leaves in lengthwise once or twice to make it long bite sized pieces.

Put the bones into the boiling water and cover. Let them cook for 7 minutes over medium high heat. The water will turn dark and some foam will come to the surface.

Strain the bones and wash each one in cold running water to remove any extra fat, dark foamy stuff, and bone fragments. Put the cleaned bones into a large pot.

Add ginger, soy bean paste, dried shiitake mushrooms, onion, dried red pepper, and 11 cups of water. Cover and cook for 90 minutes over medium high heat.

90 minutes later, open the pot. Take out the 2 shiitake mushrooms and put them on your cutting board. Add the cabbage, soy bean sprouts, 3 green onions, and the peeled potatoes.

Slice the mushrooms thinly and put them back to the pot. Add the seasoning paste. Add ¼ cup water and cover.

Cook for 30 to 40 minutes over medium high heat until the potatoes are fully cooked. Test them by poking one with a chopstick or a bamboo skewer. If the chopstick goes through easily, it’s fully cooked.

Add the perilla leaves and stir. You can serve right away with rice and a few more side dishes.