Hearty and Flavorful! Homemade Gamjatang with Pork Back Ribs and Dried Greens (Golden Recipe)
Indulge in a Rich and Delicious Pork Bone Soup (Gamjatang) Loaded with Nutritious Dried Greens!
It’s hard to talk about Korean cuisine without mentioning its soul-warming broths and soups, don’t you think? For generations, gathering around a table to share a hot bowl of soup has been a cherished tradition, making stews and soups incredibly familiar and comforting to us. Today, I’m delighted to share a recipe for Gamjatang (pork back-rib soup) featuring dried greens, boasting a deep, savory, and wonderfully comforting flavor. Dried greens, known for their satisfying texture and rich taste, are so good that you’ll often find yourself asking for refills at restaurants! The beauty of homemade cooking is that you can be generous with your ingredients. We’ll add plenty of dried greens and use a pressure cooker to speed up the cooking of the pork back ribs, ensuring a quick yet deeply flavorful broth. Let’s get started on this golden recipe for homemade Gamjatang!
Ingredients- Please refer to the detailed instructions in the main text for precise ingredient quantities. (Pork back ribs, potatoes, dried greens, scallions, enoki mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms, etc.)
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
Estimated cooking time: Approximately 45 minutes.
Step 2
Begin by thoroughly washing your hands and preparing all the necessary ingredients before you start cooking.
Step 3
To ensure a clean taste free from any gamey odors, soak the pork back ribs in cold water for about 30 minutes to remove any blood.
Step 4
Today, we’ll use a pressure cooker to shorten the cooking time and extract the rich flavor from the ribs. Place 400g of pork back ribs into the pressure cooker along with 750ml of water. Add a dash of ginseng extract (or a bay leaf) and one whole scallion. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once the pressure cooker starts to whistle, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 15 minutes. This method will result in incredibly tender meat.
Step 5
Potatoes take a bit longer to cook, so for convenience and to ensure they are perfectly tender, parboil them in boiling water for 5 minutes before adding them to the soup.
Step 6
Take the remaining scallion used for boiling the ribs and cut it in half lengthwise, then into 5cm segments. These will add a refreshing aroma and flavor to the broth.
Step 7
For the mushrooms, gently separate the enoki mushrooms by hand, and thinly slice the king oyster mushrooms on a bias. Mushrooms add a wonderful umami depth to the soup.
Step 8
The dried greens are key to the flavor of our Gamjatang! Cut them into manageable pieces, about 4cm in length. Cutting the longer strands makes them easier to mix with the seasoning and eat.
Step 9
Now, let’s make the seasoning paste for the Gamjatang. In a bowl, combine 3 Tbsp gochugaru (Korean chili flakes), 1 Tbsp doenjang (fermented soybean paste), 1/2 Tbsp gochujang (Korean chili paste), 1/2 Tbsp maesilcheong (plum extract), 1 Tbsp cooking wine (like mirin or sake), 1 Tbsp minced garlic, 1/3 tsp black pepper, and 1 tsp Dasida (or MSG/flavor enhancer). Mix everything well, then add the cut dried greens and gently massage the seasoning into them until well coated. This pre-seasoning ensures the greens are packed with flavor.
Step 10
Layer the seasoned dried greens at the bottom of your pot. Then, add the tender pork back ribs cooked in the pressure cooker and pour in enough of the rich broth to cover them generously. Simmering it this way will create a Gamjatang that rivals any restaurant’s offering!
Step 11
By now, the pork ribs should be perfectly tender. Skim off any excess fat that has risen to the surface of the broth. This clean, concentrated broth is the secret to the deep, savory flavor of your Gamjatang.
Step 12
Now, add all the prepared ingredients to the simmering soup: the parboiled potatoes, cut scallions, prepared mushrooms, and the cooked pork back ribs. Pour in plenty of the rich broth. Get ready to enjoy!
Step 13
Once the soup comes to a rolling boil, generously sprinkle in ground perilla seeds (deulkkae-garu) and let it simmer for a little longer. The nutty aroma and flavor of the perilla seeds will further enhance the richness of the Gamjatang.
Step 14
Congratulations! Your hearty and flavorful homemade Gamjatang, a golden recipe the whole family will love, is now complete. Enjoy every delicious spoonful!
