Gamjatang is pork bone soup that eats like a meal
It’s called pork bone soup but it’s more of a stew. Spicy, rich and delicious. Tender pork. Potatoes. Pork stock. Korean flavours. Tons of umami. Crazy good. It’s really no different than making stew. There’s meat and potatoes and stock. Where it’s different is the seasonings. That is pure Korean.
Gochujang is like spicy miso
It’s a long list of ingredients. And they aren’t easy to find. Gochujang, gochugaru and doenjang you should be able to find pretty easily. Gochujang is worth seeking out on it’s own. It’s used in a lot of Korean cooking. It’s like miso. Sort of. But with kick. Miso with Korean chili. You can use it any time you want to add a little heat and Korean taste to a dish. Have you tried gochujang mayo yet? Perilla leaves and perilla powder are tougher. But you can leave them out. Use chicken stock instead of making pork stock. I’m not saying it will be the same I you don’t make make pork stock though. Gamjatang is a pork soup. Pork. More pork flavour is better pork flavour.
If you can’t find pork neck bones shoulder works too
Pork neck bones aren’t the easiest to find. Probably easiest at an Asian butcher. You could talk to your butcher. A little notice and a good butcher can do just about anything. I’m almost always pleasantly surprised. Look for meaty pork bones. These aren’t bare bones. Think bone in stewing meat. That’s what you are looking for. Chunks of pork on the bone. Or you could swap that out for pork shoulder or pork belly. Or both. Mmm… Both. That would be nice. Easier to eat. Better for company as well. Unless the company are your very best friends. Then go for the bones. Dig in. Enjoy. These changes make gamjatang easier to make. Different. But still very, very good. How can you go wrong with pork belly and a bit of spice after all? It’s a long recipe as well. But it’s mostly unattended. Make stock. Then make stew. That’s exactly what this is. A couple extra steps along the way maybe. But not more than that. And there’s no reason you can’t make the stock one day and the stew another. You could even freeze the stock. This Korean pork bone soup is pretty authentic if you leave out the drizzling sauce. Probably the green onions shouldn’t be there either. But both really add something special. Korean gamjatang with a glebekitchen twist. Seriously epic.
