Gopchang-jeongol (Beef Intestine and Tripe Hot Pot)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide shallow jeongol pan, 12 inch skillet, or shallow hot pot
• •Portable tabletop burner
• •Large bowl for washing innards
• •Fine strainer or slotted spoon
• •Kitchen scissors for serving

Instructions

1. 1

   Scrub the innards

   Put the gopchang and tripe, if using, in a large bowl. Rub with the coarse salt and flour for 3 full minutes, working the flour into the folds, then rinse under cold running water until the water runs clear. Add the soju or rice wine, rub once more, and rinse again. Flour grabs the slick surface and odor; salt gives your hand enough friction to clean without tearing the intestine.

   Buy innards that are already professionally cleaned. Home washing finishes the job; it should not be the first cleaning.
2. 2

   Parboil cleanly

   Bring 4 cups water to a boil with the radish slices, halved onion, 2 garlic cloves, and ginger. Add the cleaned innards and boil 12 minutes, uncovered. Drain, discard the boiling liquid and aromatics, then rinse the innards briefly in warm water. This first boil is not broth. It pulls away what would muddy the jeongol.

3. 3

   Make the broth

   In a clean pot, combine 4 cups water, the kelp, and the dried anchovies. Bring just to a simmer over medium heat, then pull the kelp out as soon as the water trembles, before it turns the broth slick and bitter. Simmer the anchovies 8 more minutes, then strain. You should have about 3 1/2 cups clean broth.

   For a richer party pot, replace 1 cup of this broth with unsalted beef bone broth. Do not use all bone broth, or the pot gets heavy before the vegetables can speak.
4. 4

   Mix the seasoning

   Mince the remaining 4 garlic cloves. Stir them with the gochugaru, gochujang, doenjang, soup soy sauce, fish sauce, rice wine, sugar, black pepper, and sesame oil to make a thick red paste. Use only 1 tablespoon gochujang. This pot needs chili depth, not sweetness and starch taking over the broth.

5. 5

   Cut for chew

   Cut the parboiled gopchang into 1 1/2 inch pieces and the tripe into thin bite-size strips. Keep the pieces large enough to chew. Too small and they toughen quickly; too large and the table has to fight them with chopsticks.

6. 6

   Arrange the pot

   Use a wide shallow jeongol pan or a 12 inch skillet set on a portable burner. Lay the cabbage across the bottom so it protects the pot and sweetens the broth. Arrange the onion, zucchini, soybean sprouts, mushrooms, tofu, and cut innards in separate sections by color. Spoon the seasoning paste into the center. This is how a jeongol announces itself before it cooks.

7. 7

   Simmer at table

   Pour 3 cups of the broth around the edge of the pan, not directly onto the seasoning paste, so the arrangement holds for a moment. Bring to a lively simmer at the table, then stir the paste into the broth once the cabbage begins to soften. Simmer 18 to 22 minutes, turning the innards once or twice, until the gopchang is tender with a springy bite and the vegetables have given their sweetness to the broth.

8. 8

   Finish with greens

   Add the minari, perilla leaves, scallions, and sliced chilies. Cook 2 minutes only. Minari should bend and stay green; perilla should perfume the pot without disappearing. Taste the broth now. If it needs salt, add 1 teaspoon soup soy sauce at a time. If it is too strong, add the remaining 1/2 cup broth.

9. 9

   Add noodles

   If using soaked glass noodles, tuck them into the bubbling edge for the last 4 to 5 minutes, moving them once so they do not clump. They are a guest in this pot, not the main dish, so 100g is enough. Scatter toasted sesame seeds over the top and eat from the center with rice and banchan.

Chef Tips

• •Gopchang means beef small intestine, not tripe. Some markets sell mixed packs labeled for hot pot, and that is fine, but know what you bought. Intestine gives rich chew; tripe gives cleaner crunch.
• •Smell the innards before you buy. They should smell clean and faintly mineral, never sour or strong. My teacher would have sent them back without a word, and for this dish she would have been right.
• •Do not bury the pot under gochujang. Gochugaru brings color and clean heat; a little doenjang steadies the offal; gochujang is there only to round the broth.
• •Minari is best in cool seasons, from late winter into spring, when the stems are crisp and fragrant. If your market's minari is tired, use crown daisy (ssukgat) or extra scallion greens and cook them just as briefly.
• •The last broth in the pan is valuable. When the solids are gone, add a bowl of rice, chopped kimchi, a little gim, and sesame oil, then fry it down into bokkeumbap. That is not an afterthought. That is the table refusing to waste flavor.

Advance Preparation

• •The innards can be scrubbed, parboiled, cooled, and refrigerated up to 1 day ahead. Keep them covered and cold, and cut them just before arranging the pot so the edges stay neat.
• •The anchovy-kelp broth can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Pull the kelp early and strain the broth clean before storing.
• •The seasoning paste can be mixed 1 day ahead. It will deepen as it sits, so taste the final broth before adding any extra soy sauce.
• •Soak the glass noodles 30 minutes before dinner, then drain. Do not boil them ahead for this pot, or they turn soft before the table gets to them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 800g)