[Korean Recipe] Warm up with non-spicy Korean Bugogeok.

For those who think they can't eat Korean food because it's too spicy,
I highly recommend this delicious soup,
and I will introduce how to make Buk-eo-guk.

Buk-eo refers to dried pollack. In Korea, the name changes depending on how the pollack is processed.

Among the same dried pollack,
the one that is dried by repeatedly freezing it in the cold winter wind and then thawing it indoors to release moisture is called
Hwangtae.

Technically, they are the same fish made with different processing methods, but when making Buk-eo-guk at home,
people generally use Hwangtae.
Hwangtae-chae is Hwangtae cut into thin strips. It is easily available at Korean supermarkets.

Using this Hwangtae-chae,
I will make non-spicy Korean Buk-eo-guk!

Buk-eo-guk

Ingredients (for 2 servings)

Hwangtae-chae: about 20-30g?
About a handful?
Green onion: 1 stalk
Daikon radish: about 200g?
Egg: 1
Tofu: 1/4 block
Green chili pepper: 1-2
Minced garlic: 1 tablespoon
Soy sauce: 1 tablespoon
Salt: to taste
Perilla oil: 1/2 tablespoon
Dashi pack: 1
(If you can prepare anchovy stock, about 1 liter)

Instructions

1. Briefly rinse the Hwangtae-chae with water, then soak it to rehydrate. It rehydrates quickly, so cut it with scissors and squeeze out the water lightly. Do not throw away the soaking liquid at this time!

2. Slice the green onion diagonally.
Slice the daikon radish into 3-5mm thin pieces.
Cut the tofu into bite-sized pieces.
Slice the green chili pepper into rounds.

3. Heat a pot, add perilla oil (or regular oil if you don't have it), and lightly sauté the Hwangtae and daikon radish. Once coated in oil, add the Hwangtae soaking liquid and water to make about 1 liter, and add the dashi pack.
(If you can prepare it, using anchovy stock is best, but water and a dashi pack are sufficient.)

4. Once it boils, add the minced garlic,
season with salt and soy sauce, add the green onion, cover with a lid, add the tofu, and simmer slowly over medium-low heat.

5. At first, it may seem like there is a lot of water, but it will gradually reduce. When the balance with the ingredients is good, add the beaten egg, and finally add the green chili pepper to finish!

Kitchen Notes

⭐︎ You can also enjoy it without adding eggs.

⭐︎ In Korea, it is said that eating this soup on a day when you have a hangover will help sober you up.
For the preparation, after adding the tofu in step 4, it is also delicious to add a handful of soybean sprouts and simmer for about 10 minutes. It is perfect for relieving a hangover. (In that case, I think it tastes cleaner and better without the eggs.)

⭐︎ This is a soup you'll want to eat for breakfast or when you're feeling low on energy. It's not spicy, but if you don't like green chili peppers, please leave them out. If you can't find green chili peppers, you can make it without them and just sprinkle a little bit of red chili powder on top when you eat it. 😄