Chef Jeong-sun
Aehobak-guk (애호박국, Korean Zucchini Soup)
A clean summer soup of Korean zucchini and salted shrimp, built on quick anchovy-kelp broth and finished before the half-moons lose their shape on a weeknight table.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Sogogi-muguk (Korean Beef and Radish Soup)
Created by
The clear home soup that asks for sweet Korean radish, a little beef, and patience; the mu turns translucent and gives the broth its quiet strength.
Soups & Stews
Korean
Weeknight
Comfort Food
Budget Friendly
20 min
Active Time
55 min cook•1 hr 15 min total
Yield4 servings
Cook the month you're standing in. Sogogi-muguk is best when Korean radish, mu, is heavy for its size and sweet from cold weather, because this soup belongs more to the radish than to the beef. People look for meat first. My mother's pot taught me otherwise: a small piece of beef can season the water, but the radish makes it taste like home.
This is weeknight soup, the kind that sits beside rice and kimchi without asking for attention. It is also the soup a tired person can eat when heavier stews feel like too much. The broth should be clear and gentle, with squares of radish softened until their edges go translucent. If the radish is chalky or bitter, no amount of beef will repair it. Buy a good one, peel it lightly, and cut the pieces evenly so they finish together.
The method is plain. Bloom the beef and radish in a little sesame oil, add water, skim carefully, and season in two steps: guk-ganjang (Korean soup soy sauce) for depth, salt for the final measure. Do not turn it dark with regular soy sauce. Do not boil it angrily until the radish breaks apart. Let it taste like itself. 손맛 is real; I measure it anyway, because the cook who comes after you deserves the same bowl.
Sogogi-muguk is an everyday Korean clear soup built from the old home-kitchen logic of stretching a small amount of beef with seasonal radish and rice. The pale Seoul and Gyeonggi style is the version most often served as a mild family soup, while Gyeongsang-do is known for a red, sharper beef radish soup seasoned with gochugaru and often soybean sprouts. The dish became especially practical in modern home cooking because inexpensive cuts like brisket, flank, and shank give broth enough body without making meat the center of the meal.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
beef brisket, flank, or shank
Quantity
300g
sliced thinly against the grain
Korean radish (mu)
Quantity
600g
peeled and cut into 1/2-inch thick squares
toasted sesame oil
Quantity
1 tablespoon
water
Quantity
8 cups
garlic
Quantity
4 cloves
minced
guk-ganjang (Korean soup soy sauce)
Quantity
2 tablespoons
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon, plus more as needed
black pepper
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
freshly ground
scallions
Quantity
3
cut into 2-inch lengths
toasted sesame seeds (optional)
Quantity
1 teaspoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| beef brisket, flank, or shanksliced thinly against the grain | 300g |
| Korean radish (mu)peeled and cut into 1/2-inch thick squares | 600g |
| toasted sesame oil | 1 tablespoon |
| water | 8 cups |
| garlicminced | 4 cloves |
| guk-ganjang (Korean soup soy sauce) | 2 tablespoons |
| fine sea salt | 1 teaspoon, plus more as needed |
| black pepperfreshly ground | 1/4 teaspoon |
| scallionscut into 2-inch lengths | 3 |
| toasted sesame seeds (optional) | 1 teaspoon |
Equipment Needed
- •4-quart heavy soup pot
- •Ladle or fine skimmer
- •Sharp knife for radish
Instructions
- 1
Cut the radish
Peel the radish lightly and cut it into squares about 1 1/2 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick. Keep the pieces even. Thin scraps turn soft before the center pieces are ready, and then the broth clouds. Taste a raw piece. It should be juicy and faintly sweet, not woody.
- 2
Prepare the beef
Slice the beef thinly against the grain, then pat it dry. If the slices are long, cut them into spoon-size pieces. This is not a meat soup pretending to be rich. The beef seasons the broth and gives you a few tender bites, so thin, clean cuts matter more than a large amount.
- 3
Bloom in oil
Set a heavy pot over medium heat and add the sesame oil. Add the beef and stir for 1 minute, just until it loses its raw red color. Add the radish and stir 2 minutes more, coating every piece lightly. This first cooking wakes up the beef and radish before the water goes in, but do not brown them hard or the soup loses its clean taste.
If your beef is very lean, add 1 teaspoon neutral oil with the sesame oil so the sesame does not scorch before the meat releases its fat. - 4
Simmer and skim
Pour in 8 cups water and bring it just to a boil. Lower the heat to a steady simmer and skim off the gray foam for the first 10 minutes. Skimming is not vanity. It keeps the broth clear and clean, which is the whole character of this soup.
- 5
Season the broth
Add the minced garlic, 2 tablespoons guk-ganjang, 1 teaspoon salt, and the black pepper. Simmer uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes, until the radish is translucent at the edges and a chopstick slides through without force. Regular soy sauce will darken the broth and make it taste flat, so use guk-ganjang for savor and salt for the final correction.
- 6
Finish gently
Taste the broth. If it is dull, add salt 1/8 teaspoon at a time, waiting half a minute between additions. If it is too strong, add 1/2 cup water and simmer 3 minutes. Add the scallions and cook 1 minute, just until they soften and stay green. Scatter sesame seeds if you like them, then serve with rice and kimchi.
Chef Tips
- •Choose radish by weight and skin. A good mu feels heavy, has smooth pale skin, and shows a little green near the top. Winter radish is sweetest. In warm months, taste before you commit; if the radish is bitter, cook a different guk that day.
- •Guk-ganjang is not the same as regular soy sauce. It is lighter in color and saltier, made for soups. If you cannot find it, use 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce and increase salt carefully, but know the broth will be darker.
- •Do not hurry the radish. The sign is not the clock alone. Look for pieces that have turned slightly glassy at the edges while still holding their shape. That is when the radish has given itself to the broth.
- •For a busier table, add soaked dangmyeon (sweet potato starch noodles) in the last 6 minutes, but measure them: 40g dried noodles is enough for this pot. More than that turns soup into noodles with broth.
Advance Preparation
- •The beef can be sliced and refrigerated up to 1 day ahead. Keep it covered and cold, then pat it dry before cooking.
- •The soup keeps well for 3 days refrigerated. Reheat it gently and add scallions fresh at the end, because old scallions turn dull and sweet in the broth.
- •For a clearer make-ahead soup, cook through the radish, chill overnight, lift off any solidified fat, then reheat and finish with scallions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 650g)
Calories
205 calories
Total Fat
11 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
7 g
Cholesterol
50 mg
Sodium
1150 mg
Total Carbohydrates
9 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
4 g
Protein
17 g
Where cooking meets culture.
Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.
Discover Culinary ExplorerMore from Guk: Everyday & Cold Soups
Browse the full collection
Chef Jeong-sun
Auk-guk (Mallow Soup)
Late-summer mallow leaves rubbed with salt until the bitter green water runs off, then simmered in a clean doenjang broth with dried shrimp, the quiet soup a Korean weeknight deserves.
Chef Jeong-sun
Bugeo-guk (Dried Pollock Soup)
The pale morning soup Koreans trust after a hard night, dried pollock sweated in sesame oil, then simmered in rice water until the broth turns milky and clean.
Chef Jeong-sun
Daseulgi-guk (Freshwater Snail Soup)
Tiny freshwater snails boiled, picked, and returned to a pale green broth with tender greens, the Chungcheong soup that asks for patience before it gives comfort.