Jjigae and Guk
Korean Cookery
Chapter 5 · Jjigae and Guk
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The basics
Guk and tang
The guk article describes guk as a category of Korean soups, a basic part of the meal served with rice and side dishes. It says guk "tends" to be lighter and that tang is often used interchangeably, with tang "sometimes" a little thicker, though lighter vegetable soups usually take the -guk ending and heavier soups with more solids are often called tang. Its types:
| Type | What the article says |
|---|---|
| Malgeun jangguk | Clear soups seasoned with doenjang or soy sauce |
| Gomguk | Long-simmered beef or bone broth, with a "milky color"; seolleongtang is simmered "for more than 10 hours" |
| Tojangguk | Based on doenjang and rice-washing water |
| Naengguk | Cold soups, mainly eaten in summer |
Examples it names: miyeok-guk (wakame seaweed soup), kongnamul-guk (soybean sprout soup) and tteokguk (rice cake soup). The article says guk is "served on the right side of" the rice, which answers the question left open in Chapter 2: with the bowls laid out for one person, the soup goes to the right of the rice. Its health claims are given as beliefs or traditions, and it carries a "needs more citations" tag.
Jjigae
The jjigae article calls jjigae Korean stews, "typically" made with meat, seafood or vegetables in a broth and often served communally. It contrasts them with jeongol: jjigae has less liquid (roughly half solid ingredients) and stronger seasoning. The flavourings it lists are gochujang, doenjang, ganjang and salted fermented shrimp (saeu-jeot). Its named types include kimchi-jjigae, doenjang-jjigae, sundubu-jjigae (uncurdled soft tofu) and budae-jjigae. In Joseon times it was called jochi. It says Korean meals usually include either a jjigae or a guk, while the Chapter 1 sources describe both appearing in a full meal, and I do not reconcile them.
The jjigae article says nothing about the stone pot (ttukbaegi); the kimchi-jjigae article says the stew is usually served boiling hot in a stone pot.
Doenjang-jjigae
The article describes it as a stew built on doenjang, "claimed as a national dish" (a claim, not a fact). Core ingredients: doenjang, dried anchovies, white radish, Korean chilli, garlic, onion, green onion, potato, courgette (zucchini) and medium-firm tofu, with seafood or beef as add-ins. The method is: "The base broth is made by boiling dried anchovies and white radishes", then doenjang and chilli are added and simmered, the anchovies are removed, and the other ingredients are added. It says the stew is thicker than doenjang-guk, a point tagged "citation needed".
Kimchi-jjigae
The article calls it "one of the most common stews in Korean cuisine". It is often made with older kimchi, which "tastes stronger and has more probiotics" per the article, and it says the live bacteria in fresh kimchi do not survive cooking. Typical additions: pork, diced tofu, spring onions, garlic and onions, stewed in water or anchovy stock and seasoned with doenjang or gochujang, served communally with banchan and rice. I make no health claim about probiotics.
Pork: slice thinly and cook until no pink remains and it is steaming hot all the way through (general advice, mine).
Stone pot: a ttukbaegi can crack if heated empty or put from a cold surface onto strong heat; follow the maker's directions or use an ordinary saucepan (general advice, mine).
Allergens: soy (doenjang, soy sauce, tofu), fish (dried anchovies, fish sauce), shellfish (salted shrimp) and sesame.
Chilli: wash your hands after cutting fresh chilli.
Try it
Kongnamul-guk: soybean sprout soup
The guk article names kongnamul-guk but gives no method. This one is mine and is the simplest soup in the course.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 150 g soybean sprouts, rinsed
- 600 ml water
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp soy sauce, plus salt to taste
- 1 spring onion, sliced
- 1 pinch gochugaru (optional)
- Put the sprouts and water in a pot with the lid on and bring to the boil over medium heat. Keep the lid on and simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic and soy sauce, and simmer for 3 minutes more.
- Season with salt, add the spring onion and gochugaru and serve in a bowl on the right of the rice.
Doenjang-jjigae
The order follows the article: anchovy and radish broth, then doenjang and chilli, remove the anchovies, add the rest. The amounts are mine.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 8 dried anchovies, heads and guts removed (mine)
- 100 g mooli (white radish), cut into thin squares
- 500 ml water
- 1.5 tbsp doenjang
- 1 green chilli, sliced (or a pinch of gochugaru)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 onion, sliced
- 1 small potato, cubed
- 1/2 courgette, sliced
- 150 g medium-firm tofu, cubed
- 1 spring onion, sliced
- Put the anchovies, radish and water in a pot, bring to the boil, and simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the doenjang, loosening it in the broth with a spoon (a sieve helps). Add the chilli and simmer 5 minutes.
- Lift out the anchovies.
- Add the garlic, onion and potato; simmer for about 8 minutes until the potato is nearly tender.
- Add the courgette and tofu; simmer 3 to 4 minutes. Taste and add water if too salty.
- Scatter with spring onion and serve in the middle of the table to share, with rice.
Kimchi-jjigae
Use the kimchi from Chapter 4 after it has fermented a while: the article says older kimchi is typical. Amounts and the pork cut are mine.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 200 g sour kimchi, cut into bite-sized pieces, plus 2 tbsp of its juice
- 150 g pork belly or shoulder, thinly sliced
- 400 ml water or anchovy stock
- 150 g medium-firm tofu, cubed
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp gochujang, or 1 tsp doenjang
- 1 spring onion, sliced
- Put the pork, kimchi, kimchi juice and garlic in a pot and fry over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring.
- Add the water or stock and the gochujang. Bring to the boil, then simmer, partly covered, for about 15 minutes.
- Add the tofu and simmer 5 minutes more. Check the pork is cooked all the way through. Taste: add water if too sour or salty.
- Scatter with spring onion and serve in the pot with rice.
Experiments
Challenges
Explain the difference between jjigae and jeongol and how guk and tang are described. Where does the soup go on the table?
Cook the doenjang-jjigae and write down the order of the steps and why the anchovies are removed (use only what the article says, then say what you guess).
Plan a meal for two with rice, one soup, one stew and one banchan from Chapter 3. Write the cooking order and say which dishes you serve in the middle and which to each person.
Quick Reference
- Guk / tang: soups, interchangeable in the article; tang "sometimes" thicker; guk goes to the right of the rice
- Jjigae: stew with about half solids and stronger seasoning; often shared
- Doenjang-jjigae: anchovy and radish broth, then doenjang and chilli, remove anchovies, add the rest
- Kimchi-jjigae: older kimchi, pork, tofu, seasoned with doenjang or gochujang
- Mine, untested: all amounts and times
Next chapter: Grill and Marinade.