Savory Korean Beef Hot Pot (Sogogi Jeongol) Recipe
Easy and Delicious Korean Beef Hot Pot
A classic Korean dish, Sogogi Jeongol, is often featured in culinary skill tests! It’s simple yet incredibly flavorful, making it a perfect choice for home cooking. This detailed guide will make it easy for even beginners to master.
Main Ingredients- Beef (for bulgogi or stewing) – about 1/2 palm size
- Onion – 1/2 medium
- Radish – about 1/2 palm size
- Carrot – 1/4 piece
- Scallions – 3-4 stalks
- Bean Sprouts – 1 handful
- Dried Shiitake Mushrooms – 2 pieces
- Egg – 1
- Water for broth – 3 cups
Seasoning & Aromatics- Soy Sauce – 1 Tbsp (for beef marinade)
- Sugar or Oligosaccharide – 1/2 Tbsp (for beef marinade)
- Sesame Seeds (for marinade and garnish)
- Sesame Oil (for marinade and bean sprout seasoning)
- Minced Scallion (for beef marinade, a little)
- Minced Garlic (for beef marinade, a little)
- Black Pepper (for beef marinade, a little)
- Soup Soy Sauce – 1 tsp (for broth seasoning)
- Salt – 1/2 tsp (for broth seasoning)
- Beef scraps (for broth, optional, for enhanced flavor)
- Minced Garlic (for broth) – 1 clove (optional, for enhanced flavor)
- Scallion (for broth) – a little white part (optional, for enhanced flavor)
- Pine Nuts – 3 (for garnish, optional)
- Soy Sauce – 1 Tbsp (for beef marinade)
- Sugar or Oligosaccharide – 1/2 Tbsp (for beef marinade)
- Sesame Seeds (for marinade and garnish)
- Sesame Oil (for marinade and bean sprout seasoning)
- Minced Scallion (for beef marinade, a little)
- Minced Garlic (for beef marinade, a little)
- Black Pepper (for beef marinade, a little)
- Soup Soy Sauce – 1 tsp (for broth seasoning)
- Salt – 1/2 tsp (for broth seasoning)
- Beef scraps (for broth, optional, for enhanced flavor)
- Minced Garlic (for broth) – 1 clove (optional, for enhanced flavor)
- Scallion (for broth) – a little white part (optional, for enhanced flavor)
- Pine Nuts – 3 (for garnish, optional)
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
First, thinly slice the beef into strips about 0.5 cm thick and 5 cm long, similar to bulgogi. Place the beef in a bowl and add 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 Tbsp sugar (or oligosaccharide), a little minced garlic, a little minced scallion, a pinch of sesame seeds, a pinch of black pepper, and a little sesame oil. Mix well by gently kneading to marinate the beef. Reserve any very small pieces or scraps of beef for making the broth.
Step 2
Let the marinated beef sit for a while. (While this step can be skipped, marinating allows for a deeper flavor.)
Step 3
Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in lukewarm water for about 15-20 minutes until softened. Gently rinse the rehydrated mushrooms under running water to remove any debris.
Step 4
Wash the bean sprouts thoroughly under running water. Blanch them in boiling water for about 1 minute. For a neater presentation, you can trim off the root ends and any stringy tails of the bean sprouts beforehand.
Step 5
Immediately rinse the blanched bean sprouts in cold water to cool them down. Squeeze out any excess water, then season with a pinch of salt and a little sesame oil. Mix well. This step helps maintain the crisp texture and flavor of the bean sprouts.
Step 6
In a deep pot, add 3 cups of water for the broth. Add the reserved beef scraps, 1 clove of minced garlic, and a piece of the white part of a scallion cut into large sections. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes to extract the beef flavor, creating a delicious broth.
Step 7
Once the broth is ready, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth to remove solids, resulting in a clear broth. (A clear broth contributes to the clean taste of the hot pot.)
Step 8
Add about 1 tsp of soup soy sauce to the clear broth to give it a light, barley-tea-like color. Adjust seasoning with about 1/2 tsp of salt. You can adjust the saltiness to your preference.
Step 9
Gently squeeze the water out of the rehydrated shiitake mushrooms by hand. Slice them into strips about 0.5 cm thick and 5 cm long. Remove the tough stems from the mushrooms.
Step 10
Slice the radish, scallions, carrot, and onion into strips of similar size (about 0.5 cm thick and 5 cm long) as the beef. Arrange these vegetables attractively around the edges of your hot pot dish, ensuring colors are distributed evenly and do not overlap too much. Place the marinated beef in the center.
Step 11
Carefully pour the prepared clear broth over the ingredients in the hot pot, ensuring they are mostly submerged. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium heat once the ingredients start cooking, and simmer until everything is tender.
Step 12
When all the ingredients are cooked, crack the egg into the center of the hot pot. As the broth simmers, ladle some hot broth over the egg yolk to cook it to a soft-set consistency. (You can cook it to a harder yolk if preferred.) Finally, garnish with about 3 pine nuts, roughly chopped. The pine nuts are optional but add a nice touch.
