Gomtang (곰탕, Beef and Offal Soup)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •8 to 10 quart heavy stockpot with lid
• •Large soaking bowl
• •Skimmer or shallow ladle
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Sharp knife and sturdy cutting board

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak and clean

   Put the brisket and shank in a large bowl of cold water for 1 hour, changing the water once if it turns deep red. This draws out blood that would muddy a clear broth. Rub the cleaned honeycomb tripe with the flour and coarse salt for 3 minutes, then rinse under cold running water until it no longer feels slippery.

   Buy tripe already cleaned by the butcher. If it smells harsh or sour even after rinsing, cook something else from your market that day.
2. 2

   Blanch hard

   Put the beef and tripe in a stockpot and cover with fresh cold water by 2 inches. Bring to a boil and cook hard for 8 minutes. Drain everything, rinse the meat and tripe under warm water, and wash the pot. Throw this water away without regret. It has done its work by carrying off scum and strong smells.

3. 3

   Start the simmer

   Return the beef and tripe to the clean pot with 18 cups water, the onion, garlic, and 4 cut scallions. Bring it just to a boil, then lower the heat until the surface only trembles with small bubbles. Skim often for the first 20 minutes. A rolling boil makes a cloudy broth, and that belongs to another soup.

   If the liquid drops below the meat, add boiling water, not cold water. Keep the simmer steady and the broth will stay cleaner.
4. 4

   Time each ingredient

   After 1 hour 45 minutes of gentle simmering, start checking the tripe. Pull it out when a chopstick pierces it with a little resistance, usually between 1 hour 45 minutes and 2 hours. At 2 hours 30 minutes, add the radish chunks. Start checking the beef at 3 hours 30 minutes; the brisket should yield but still slice cleanly, and the shank should be tender. Total simmering time is usually 3 hours 45 minutes to 4 hours.

   Each piece has its own clock. If you cook the tripe until the brisket is done, it can lose its spring. If you cook the radish all day, it disappears.
5. 5

   Strain and season

   Lift out the beef, tripe, and radish and rest them in a bowl with a ladle of broth so they do not dry out. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer and discard the onion, garlic, and cooked scallions. You should have about 11 to 12 cups broth. If you have more, simmer it uncovered until it tastes deep; if you have less, add a little boiling water. Skim the fat from the surface, then stir in 2 teaspoons fine sea salt and, if using, 1 teaspoon soup soy sauce. The broth should taste deliberately underseasoned because each bowl will be finished at the table.

6. 6

   Slice the meats

   Slice the brisket across the grain into 1/4-inch pieces. Cut the shank into bite-size pieces. Slice the tripe into short strips, following the honeycomb so each piece has some chew. Cut the radish into 1/3-inch half-moons. Put everything back into the strained broth. Knife work matters here; a long-simmered soup still eats badly if the meat is cut carelessly.

7. 7

   Serve at the table

   Bring the broth, meat, tripe, and radish back to a steady simmer for 5 to 8 minutes. For gukbap style, put 3/4 cup hot rice in each bowl before ladling in the soup; otherwise serve the rice alongside. Add about 1 1/2 cups broth to each bowl with a fair share of meat, tripe, and radish. Scatter sliced scallion and black pepper over the top. Set salt on the table and let each person add it 1/8 teaspoon at a time. A salty pot cannot be pulled back.

Chef Tips

• •Brisket gives clean beef flavor, shank gives body, and tripe gives the bowl its particular chew. Do not replace all of it with bones unless you mean to move toward seolleongtang.
• •The safe modern shortcut is the vessel, not the cleaning. After blanching, you can cook the beef, tripe, water, and aromatics in a pressure cooker for 55 minutes with natural release, then simmer uncovered with the radish for 25 to 30 minutes. The broth will be a little less clear, but the dish will still be honest.
• •Seasoning belongs partly at the table. Two teaspoons of salt in the pot keeps the broth gentle; diners can add another 1/8 teaspoon per bowl. This is restraint, not timidity. Let the beef and radish taste like themselves.
• •Kkakdugi is not decoration beside gomtang. The radish kimchi cuts the richness of the beef broth and wakes up the next spoonful. If you made the soup a day ahead, serve it with the sharpest kkakdugi you have.

Advance Preparation

• •Gomtang is better made a day ahead. Chill the strained broth in shallow containers within 2 hours, refrigerate the meat and tripe covered with a little broth, and lift off the fat cap the next day.
• •The finished soup keeps 4 days in the refrigerator. Reheat only what you need to a steady simmer, then add scallion fresh in the bowl.
• •For batch cooking, freeze the broth and sliced meat together in 2-serving containers for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and season again after reheating, because cold storage dulls salt.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 850g)