Gamjatang (Gamja-tang)

Name: Gamjatang
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 150 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: South Korea
Ingredients: 1.5 kg pork neck bones, soaked in cold water; 4 potatoes, peeled and halved; 200 g napa cabbage leaves, blanched; 3 tbsp gochugaru, 2 tbsp doenjang, 1 tbsp fish sauce; 6 garlic cloves and a piece of ginger, crushed; 4 tbsp ground perilla seeds; perilla leaves and spring onion

Overview

Gamjatang is a spicy Korean soup of pork neck and spine bones, potatoes and greens. The bones are soaked, blanched and then simmered for a long time until the meat falls off them and the broth is rich. The soup is seasoned with Korean chilli flakes, garlic, ginger, soybean paste and fish sauce, which turn it a deep red. Potatoes, dried napa cabbage leaves and spring onion are cooked in it, and it is finished with ground perilla seeds and fresh perilla leaves, which give a nutty, herbal flavour. It is shared from a large pot, often late at night, with rice and kimchi.

History

The soup is believed to have spread in the 20th century, when pork bones were cheap and labourers needed a filling meal. Some say it began in the Jeolla region and others link it with railway workers in Incheon. Today gamjatang restaurants are found all over Korea, especially around Seoul, and many stay open around the clock. The leftover broth is often fried with rice at the end of the meal.

Main ingredients

Pork neck bones, potatoes, perilla seeds, perilla leaves, napa cabbage, gochugaru and doenjang. The soup is built on spicy pork bone broth and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; not usually gluten-free.

Explore: Pork soups · Potato soups · Cabbage soups · More soups from South Korea

Recipe

4Serves

2h 30m30 prep · 120 cook

~620kcal / serving

MediumDifficulty

Method

1
10 min
Blanch the bones for 10 minutes, drain and rinse.
2
1.5 h
Simmer the bones in 3 l fresh water with the ginger for 1.5 hours.
3
Mix the chilli, doenjang, fish sauce and garlic and stir into the broth with the cabbage and potatoes.
4
30 min
Simmer for 30 minutes until the potatoes are soft.
5
Stir in the perilla seeds, top with perilla leaves and spring onion and serve.
✓
Serve. About 2h 30m from start to bowl.

Sources

Gamja-tang (Wikipedia)

Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.