Deulgaetang (Perilla Seed Soup)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Medium heavy pot, 3 to 4 quart size
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Small mixing bowl and whisk
• •Ladle

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the broth

   Put the water, kelp, anchovies, and dried shiitake mushrooms in a medium pot. Bring it slowly to a simmer over medium heat. Pull the kelp out as soon as the water trembles, before it turns the broth slick and bitter. Simmer the anchovies and shiitakes for 10 minutes more, then lift them out. Keep the shiitakes, discard the anchovies, and strain the broth if you see bits floating.

   Remove the dark guts from the anchovies before cooking. That small pinch is the difference between clean savoriness and a broth people call fishy.
2. 2

   Cut the vegetables

   Slice the rehydrated shiitakes thinly. Keep the potato in 1/4-inch half-moons and the zucchini a little thicker, about 1/2 inch, because potato needs more time and zucchini collapses faster. Tear oyster mushrooms by hand along their grain; cut dense mushrooms with a knife. Even cutting is not decoration. It is how everything finishes together.

3. 3

   Start the pot

   Wipe the pot clean and set it over medium heat. Add the perilla oil, onion, potato, and sliced shiitakes. Stir for 3 minutes, just until the onion softens and the potato edges look a little glossy. Do not brown them. This soup should taste nutty and gentle, not roasted.

4. 4

   Simmer the vegetables

   Pour in the broth. Add the garlic, soup soy sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, then simmer for 8 minutes, until the potato is almost tender. Add the mixed mushrooms and zucchini and simmer 5 minutes more. The mushrooms should soften and release their flavor, while the zucchini still keeps its shape.

5. 5

   Whisk the perilla

   Ladle 1 cup of hot broth into a bowl. Whisk in the perilla seed powder and the sweet rice flour, if using, until smooth. Pour this slurry back into the pot in a slow stream while stirring. This is the step people rush. A slurry gives you a creamy broth; dry powder gives you lumps that no amount of regret will fix.

   If your perilla powder is coarse or unskinned, let the slurry sit 2 minutes, then press it through a fine sieve for a smoother soup. Leave it coarse if your table likes the rustic texture.
6. 6

   Thicken gently

   Lower the heat and simmer gently for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often, until the broth thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Do not boil it hard now. Perilla seed has oil and fine meal in it, and rough boiling makes the soup separate and feel sandy.

7. 7

   Finish and taste

   Stir in the greens, scallions, black pepper, and sliced perilla leaves if using. Cook 1 minute for spinach or minari, 2 minutes for young napa leaves. Taste after the greens wilt, because perilla softens salt. Add more salt in 1/8-teaspoon pinches only if the soup tastes flat. The bowl should be nutty first, savory second, and never salty.

8. 8

   Serve with rice

   Turn off the heat and let the soup stand 3 minutes so the broth settles. Ladle it into bowls with mushrooms and vegetables in every serving. Eat it with plain rice, baechu-kimchi, and one clean namul. This is comfort food, so let it comfort instead of crowding the table.

Chef Tips

• •Buy deulkkae-garu from a Korean market with good turnover, preferably from a refrigerated or frozen case. It should smell nutty and clean. If it smells like old oil or paint, send it back without ceremony.
• •Skinned perilla seed powder makes a smoother, paler soup. Unskinned powder is darker and more rustic, with a little grit. Both are Korean, but they do not behave the same, so write down which one you used.
• •For a temple-style version, leave out the anchovies and use 4 dried shiitakes with the kelp instead. If you are cooking in the stricter temple habit, omit the garlic and onion too, then add an extra 100g mushrooms for depth.
• •The safe shortcut is making the broth ahead. The corner you do not cut is the slurry. Perilla powder needs to be whisked smooth before it meets the pot, or the soup will tell on you.

Advance Preparation

• •The anchovy-kelp-shiitake broth can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Keep the rehydrated shiitakes in the broth so they do not dry out.
• •The vegetables can be cut up to 1 day ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Cut potato should sit in cold water, then be drained well before cooking.
• •Do not mix the perilla slurry ahead. Ground perilla thickens and settles as it stands, so whisk it only when the pot is ready for it.
• •Leftovers keep 2 days refrigerated. Reheat gently over low heat and loosen with a splash of water or broth, because the perilla will thicken as it sits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 470g)