Sundae-jeongol (순대전골, Blood Sausage Hot Pot)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch wide shallow jeongol pan, low-sided braiser, or electric hot pot
• •Portable butane burner for table cooking
• •Small mixing bowl for seasoning paste
• •Ladle and kitchen scissors

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix the sauce

   In a bowl, stir together the gochugaru, gochujang, doenjang, guk-ganjang, minced saeujeot, rice wine, garlic, ginger, sugar, black pepper, 2 tablespoons of the perilla seed powder, and 1/2 cup of the broth. Let it stand 10 minutes. The rest matters because dry chili flakes and perilla swell; if you throw them straight into the pot, they float in red flecks and gritty clumps instead of seasoning the broth evenly.

   One tablespoon of gochujang is enough. Gochugaru gives color and warmth without turning the pot sweet and muddy.
2. 2

   Prepare the meats

   Keep the sundae cold until you slice it, then cut it into thick 3/4-inch rounds with a lightly oiled knife. Thin slices split. Cut the cooked offal into bite-size pieces. If the offal smells too strong, put it in a colander and pour a kettle of boiling water over it, then drain well. Do not rinse the sundae, and do not boil it alone; the filling will loosen before the hot pot even begins.

3. 3

   Arrange the pan

   Spread the cabbage, onion, and soybean sprouts across the bottom of a wide shallow jeongol pan. Set the soaked dangmyeon at one edge if using, where broth can reach it. Arrange the mushrooms, offal, sundae, scallions, and sliced chilies in separate sections by color, then place the seasoning paste in the center. Hold back the minari, perilla leaves, and remaining 2 tablespoons perilla seed powder. This is not vanity. Hard vegetables under the broth sweeten it, mushrooms and offal season it, and the fragile greens stay alive until the end.

4. 4

   Add the broth

   Pour 5 cups of the remaining broth around the edge of the pan, not directly onto the sundae. Reserve the last 1/2 cup for loosening the pot later. Bring the pan to a steady simmer over a portable burner or medium heat, then spoon hot broth over the seasoning paste until it dissolves. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, just until the cabbage softens, the mushrooms relax, and the sundae is hot through. Keep the boil gentle. Sundae splits from impatience more often than from bad sausage.

5. 5

   Finish the greens

   Scatter the minari and perilla leaves over the top, then sprinkle in the remaining 2 tablespoons perilla seed powder. Simmer 1 to 2 minutes more, only until the greens bend. Taste the broth now. If it is flat, add 1/2 teaspoon saeujeot brine; taste again, and add the second 1/2 teaspoon only if the broth still needs salt. Stop there. The sausage and offal keep giving seasoning as they sit.

6. 6

   Serve from the burner

   Lower the burner so the broth stays lively at the edge without thrashing the sausage. Let everyone take pieces of sundae, offal, vegetables, and broth into small bowls. Add the reserved 1/2 cup broth if the dangmyeon or perilla thickens the pot too much. A good sundae-jeongol stays spoonable, not pasty.

7. 7

   Fry the rice

   When the hot pot is nearly gone, leave about 3/4 cup broth and the small bits in the pan. Add the cooked rice and minced kimchi, then stir until every grain is red and glossy. Press the rice into a thin layer and let it cook 2 to 3 minutes so the bottom catches. Drizzle with sesame oil, crumble the gim over the top, and scatter sesame seeds. This last pan is why people pretend they are full too early.

Chef Tips

• •Buy sundae from a Korean market the day you cook if you can. Ask for sundae-guk gogi, the mixed cooked pork parts sold for blood sausage soup. That gives you liver, stomach, heart, ear, and sometimes head meat in the right cuts without making you prepare offal from raw.
• •Perilla seed powder is deulkkae-garu, not sesame seed powder. Buy the coarse pale powder, smell it before you use it, and keep the rest in the freezer. Old perilla turns dull and oily, and this pot has nowhere to hide it.
• •A packaged unsalted pork bone broth is a proper modern shortcut. If you make anchovy-kelp broth instead, simmer 7 cups water with 12 cleaned dried anchovies, one 5-inch square dasima, and 2 dried shiitakes. Pull the kelp as soon as the water simmers, then cook the anchovies 12 minutes and strain to 6 cups, because kelp left too long turns the broth bitter and slick.
• •Minari is brightest in spring. In winter, use only crisp stems and let cabbage carry more of the sweetness. If the minari at your market is limp, leave it out and use extra scallion and perilla leaves. Cook the month you're standing in.
• •Sundae and cooked offal are already cooked, but they are perishable. Keep them refrigerated under 4 C / 40 F, reheat until hot through, and do not leave the pot sitting out beyond 2 hours.

Advance Preparation

• •The broth can be made 3 days ahead and refrigerated, or frozen up to 2 months. Chill it first and lift off any hardened fat if the broth is heavy.
• •The seasoning paste can be mixed 2 days ahead if you leave out the perilla seed powder. Stir the perilla in on cooking day so it stays nutty and does not thicken into paste in the refrigerator.
• •Vegetables can be washed and cut up to 1 day ahead. Keep minari and perilla leaves wrapped separately in a barely damp towel so they do not blacken at the edges.
• •Slice the sundae the day you cook. If you must slice it ahead, cover it tightly and refrigerate no longer than 1 day, then handle it gently when arranging the pan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 900g)