Yook Ke Jang Korean Spicy Beef and Scallion soup

Cold days and warm, spicy soup are a great combination. A good question to ask yourself when you first encounter a bowl of soup sporting an orange/red colored liquid: where did that color come from. If the answer is red chili peppers, the experience may be a good bit different, than if it is, say, from tomatoes.

On my way to class recently, I stopped at a favorite Korean restaurant - Arisu, in Georgetown, DC. I was wet and cold, so naturally I thought soup. I settled on a traditional spicy beef and scallion soup - Yook Ke Jang (in researching the soup after the fact, I found at least one other spelling Yukgaejang - but the recipe appears to be basically the same - boiled brisket (water and onion), vegetables including scallions, a Korean mountain fern (gossari) and bean sprouts, garlic and a boatload of chili powder. The soup I had, also had shiitake mushrooms and glass noodles.

The color is rich, and aroma of spice hits you well before being rounded out by the beef and vegetables. The meat was tender if a little bland - I'm not sure that isn't how it should be, however I did find a recipe that marinated the beef with a chili paste:

http://www.chow.com/recipes/11335

so, of course, I will try it and report back. I also found this wonderful step by step video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ViCgcNEYLQ

It is about eight minutes long but will get the soup in your bowls if you follow along.

One interesting ingredient - gossari - is a mountain fern - apparently available in Korean markets. I'll report back on my findings there too. We have a local Korean market here in Rockville, MD - Kam Sam so I am hoping to find all necessary ingredients. The soup was served with rice, kim che and a pickled carrot and sprout salad - a deep spoon and chopsticks were necessary to get through this meal!