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Korea, Asia

Jeonju-Style Kongnamul Gukbap (Soybean Sprout Rice Soup)

Jeonju's famous comfort soup: crunchy soybean sprouts in anchovy-kelp broth over warmed rice, with a soft poached egg and toasted seaweed.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time32 min
DifficultyEasy
About servingsThe poached eggs have runny yolks. For young children, pregnant women and older or vulnerable people, cook them 2 minutes longer until firm.

Method

  1. Put the water, the anchovies (with heads and dark guts pulled off) and the kelp in a 20 cm pot and bring to the boil over high heat. As soon as it boils, lift out the kelp; left in, it makes the broth slimy and bitter. Turn down to medium-low heat, simmer for , then scoop out the anchovies.

    Add in this stepWater 1,300 mlLarge dried anchovies for stock (heads and guts removed) 15 gDried kelp (dashima) 8 g

    high heat→medium-low heat

  2. Rinse the sprouts in cold water, swishing them to float off loose husks. Add them to the boiling broth, put the lid on and cook over high heat for . Do not lift the lid halfway through, or the sprouts take on a raw, beany smell. They are done when the stems look translucent and smell nutty.

    Add in this stepSoybean sprouts 300 g

    high heat

  3. Lift the sprouts out with tongs and spread them on a plate so they stop cooking and stay crunchy. Season the broth with the salted shrimp and soup soy sauce, taste, and add salt if needed. Keep the broth bubbling gently over medium-low heat.

    Add in this stepSalted shrimp (saeujeot), chopped 1½ tspKorean soup soy sauce 1½ tspSalt to taste

    medium-low heat

  4. Make the soft eggs. Fill a 16 cm pan with 5 cm of water and bring it to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Crack each egg into a small cup, slide it into the water and cook for , until the white is set and the yolk still soft. Lift out with a slotted spoon into small bowls.

    Add in this stepEggs 2

    medium-low heat

  5. Finely chop the kimchi, thinly slice the spring onions and mince the garlic. Put rice in each bowl, ladle hot broth over it and pour it back into the pot; repeat 2 or 3 times to heat the rice through (this is called toryeom). Top with the sprouts, kimchi, garlic, spring onions, chilli flakes and sesame, then fill the bowl with boiling broth.

    Add in this stepWarm cooked short-grain rice 300 gWell-fermented cabbage kimchi 60 gGarlic cloves, minced 2Spring onions 30 gKorean chilli flakes (gochugaru) 1 tspToasted sesame seeds 1 tsp

  6. Spoon 3 or 4 tablespoons of hot broth over each soft egg and crumble the seaweed on top. In Jeonju you eat the egg first, or tip it into the soup and stir it through. Cubed radish kimchi is the classic side.

    Add in this stepToasted seaweed sheets (gim) 1

Cook's tip

Use thick soybean sprouts with yellow bean heads, not thin mung bean sprouts. No salted shrimp? Use salt plus a few drops of fish sauce. Warm the bowls with hot water first so the soup stays piping hot to the last spoonful.

Cooking it at camp

Make the broth at home, chill it and carry it in a bottle in the cooler, and one burner is enough. Use ready-cooked rice pouches and crack the eggs straight into the pot after the sprouts come out to save washing up.