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Korea, Asia

Jjamppong (Korean Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup)

Korea's other Chinese-style classic beside jjajangmyeon: a fiery, smoky red broth built on chili oil and loaded with squid, shrimp, mussels and vegetables.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time40 min
DifficultyMedium
About servingsUse very fresh seafood and cook shellfish until they open fully. Take care if anyone is allergic to crustaceans or shellfish.

Method

  1. Slice the pork into thin 0.5 cm strips. Score the inside of the squid body and cut it into 1 cm strips, and the tentacles into 5 cm lengths. Devein the shrimp with a toothpick. Pull the beards off the mussels and scrub the shells; discard any that are open and don't close when tapped. Cut the onion, cabbage, carrot and zucchini into 0.5 cm strips, slice the green onion and mince the garlic and ginger.

  2. Heat the oil in a 26 cm wok or deep pot, add the green onion, garlic and ginger and fry over medium-low heat for , until the green onion sizzles and smells fragrant. Burnt brown garlic tastes bitter, so don't let the heat get too high.

    Add in this stepNeutral vegetable oil 3 tbspLarge green onion (daepa) 40 gGarlic cloves 4Fresh ginger 5 g

    medium-low heat

  3. Add the pork and stir-fry over medium-high heat for until no pink remains, then pour the soy sauce around the edge of the pot so it sizzles and caramelises. This step gives jjamppong its signature smoky flavour.

    Add in this stepPork shoulder, thinly sliced 100 gSoy sauce 4 tsp

    medium-high heat

  4. Turn the heat down to low heat, add the gochugaru and stir constantly for to make a chili oil. As soon as the oil turns red, add the onion, cabbage, carrot and zucchini, turn up to high heat and stir-fry for . Chili flakes can burn in seconds, so add the vegetables before you smell anything scorching.

    Add in this stepGochugaru (Korean chili flakes) 3 tbspOnion 140 gGreen cabbage 120 gCarrot 40 gZucchini (courgette) 80 g

    low heat→high heat

  5. Pour in the chicken stock and add the squid, shrimp, mussels and oyster sauce, then bring to a boil over high heat. Turn down to medium heat and simmer for more; once the mussels have opened and the shrimp have turned pink, season with salt and pepper. Throw away any mussels that stay shut. If your wok looks too small, transfer everything to a large pot before adding the stock.

    Add in this stepChicken stock 850 mlSquid, cleaned 120 gShrimp (medium) 6Mussels 12Oyster sauce 2 tspSalt to tasteBlack pepper to taste

    high heat→medium heat

  6. Meanwhile, bring 2.5 L of water to a rolling boil over high heat and cook the noodles for (follow the packet if it differs). Drain, rinse quickly under cold water to remove surface starch, then pour hot water over them to rewarm and divide between bowls.

    Add in this stepFresh wheat noodles (thick) 300 g

    high heat

  7. Ladle plenty of hot broth over the noodles, arrange the seafood and vegetables on top and serve straight away.

Cook's tip

For more heat without a gritty broth, add a sliced fresh hot chili rather than extra chili flakes. Squid toughens if boiled for long, so you can add it at the very end. Clams work beautifully instead of mussels. Add rice to leftover broth and you have jjamppongbap.

Cooking it at camp

A deep wok and a pot for the noodles are all you need. Cut the vegetables and meat at home; clean the seafood and freeze it, then pack it in the cooler so it thaws on the way and stays fresh. Bring the stock in a bottle, or use water and a stock cube. On a weak burner, stir-fry the vegetables in two batches.