Forget About Instant Ramen And Make This Instead l Chadol Jjamppong (Spicy Beef Noodle Soup)

Hello from Seoul! There's nothing inherently wrong with just eating instant ramen. But if you want to try the real taste of Korean spicy noodle soup, you gotta try this. This is one of the most popular Korean dishes, and in my opinion, one of the greatest noodle soups of all time. Like many others, I also really enjoy this instant ramen. And I think this is one of the greatest noodle soups in Korea. But I dare say, this is not the best. If I have to pick only one noodle soup to recommend for you guys to try in Korea, I would definitely pick this jjamppong. Normally, jjamppong is made with seafood, so some of you might not like it even though it doesn't taste fishy at all. But since today's version is gonna be made with beef brisket, I think nobody can say no to this. Super cool, right? For this, you will need some beef, onion, napa cabbage, baby bok choy, green onions, garlic, and noodles. What? Too many ingredients? No way! I've actually simplified them down. But you still think there are too many ingredients? Then you can skip the napa cabbage and baby bok choy. But since they add a nice sweetness and refreshing flavor to the broth, I highly recommend using them. Alright, let's talk about our beef first. For today's recipe, I'm gonna be using this chadolbagi, thinly sliced beef brisket. With this bad boy, you can't cut down your prep time. Also, since it's got nice layers of fat, it adds so much flavor to the broth. But if it's difficult to get this, you can use any meat that you'd use for hot pot from Asian grocery stores. What? Still can't get that either? Then get yourself some steak and just thinly slice it. But I highly recommend using a nice fatty cut. Don't worry about it. Everything will be fantastic. Alright, let's prep the vegetables. First, let's slice one onion. Not too thin, not too thick. Next, take two cabbage leaves and cut them into nice bite-sized pieces. If it's difficult to get this napa cabbage, you can use just regular cabbage. Or add a little bit more baby bok choy. No problem at all. This time, take one or two baby bok choy, trim off the end and just cut it into quarters. If your baby bok choy is way bigger than mine, you're welcome to cut it more. Now, take two green onions and cut them into long strips. And then, thinly slice some white parts just like we always do. We're gonna make a beautiful aromatic oil with these bad boys. And lastly, smash four cloves of garlic and finely chop them. That's it. Nothing complicated, right? Whenever I make Korean-Chinese dishes, I always say this, but I'm gonna repeat it. If you make this kind of dish, it's always better to take out and measure all the seasonings before you start cooking. Because this way, you can finish cooking gracefully. And you won't have to feel discouraged looking at one seasoning still waiting for you after you finish cooking. So let's bring some small bowls here and prepare our seasonings. Alright, to each bowl, add one tablespoon of soy sauce, two and a half tablespoons of Korean chili pepper flakes, one tablespoon of oyster sauce, one tablespoon of chicken bouillon powder, and half a teaspoon of white pepper or black pepper. We have all the instructions and a list of ingredients on our blog, aranandclaire.com, so please visit here if you need a written recipe. For information, for a spicy soup like this, it's better to use this kind of fine gochugaru. Of course, you could just use regular Korean chili pepper flakes, but this will give you a more vibrant red color. What? You don't wanna buy this, but you don't wanna compromise either? Don't worry about it. Your don't-worry-about-it guide always has a solution. You can't just blend it up. That's it. What? You wanna know this kind of tip more and more? I'm so glad you brought that up, because everything you need is in this one book. Trust me, with this one book, you can cook more than 100 Korean dishes like a pro. So don't forget to check it out. The link is in the description. Finally, it's cooking time. Get yourself a wok or pot. Add 2 tablespoons of oil and heat it over medium-high heat. Once it's heated, add 250 grams of beef brisket and cook for about 2 minutes. Once you've got some fat from the beef, strain the white parts of the green onions, garlic, and give them a good stir and infuse our oil. And if you wanna add an extra spicy kick, add 1 or 2 dried chilies here. After about 1 minute, add soy sauce and stir it around for about 30 seconds. This is not only gonna season your beef, but it's also gonna add a nice smoky umami flavor. Trust me. This little detail will make a huge difference in taste. Now, throw in your onions, cabbage, baby bok choy, and give it a few stirs. And then to that, add the Korean chili pepper flakes, oyster sauce, chicken bouillon powder, and stir-fry them all together for about 2 minutes. During this step, the beautiful chili oil will be made. And that's gonna add a nice fragrant spicy kick to your jjamppong. All right. Once you can see some beautiful chili oil here and there, increase the heat to high, add 2 cups of water, and bring it to a boil. Today, we're gonna be adding 4 1⁄2 cups of water in total, but we're not gonna add all at once because that way, we can get a deeper taste more quickly and effectively. Compared to restaurants, our stuff is much weaker. If you add the water all at once, it takes a long time to extract all the flavors from the ingredients. And while that's going, the vegetables in the soup will lose their beautiful texture. So please follow my lead. You won't regret it. Once it starts to boil, let it simmer for about 1 minute, and then add the rest of the water and bring it to a boil. Once it comes up to boil again, add the green onions, white pepper, and continue to boil for about 3 minutes. That's it. Super simple, right? While that's going, let's prep our noodles. Add your noodles in boiling water and cook according to the package instructions. Today, I'm using wheat noodles called Joonghwamyeon or Jjajangmyeon noodles, but you can use almost any Asian wheat noodles here. No problem at all. Or you can even serve it with some rice. So feel free to experiment with your favorite. Everything will be fantastic. When the noodles are cooked, give them a quick rinse. This is gonna make the noodles more chewy. But since we can't serve them cold, let's put the noodles back into the cooking water and then shake off the excess water and divide them into serving bowls. All right, let's get back to our soup. Before pouring it over the noodles, make sure to give it a quick taste and add some salt to to taste. And this is totally optional, but if you wanna get that restaurant taste, bring that bad boy over here. And just add a pinch. All right, the soup is done. Let's ladle this beautiful soup over the noodles. And then, just for a prettier presentation, add some shredded green onions like this. Trust me. This way, you'll feel like you're eating at a restaurant. See, it looks fantastic, right? You wanna know how it tastes? All right, let's go to our taste tester. Claire. It's gonna be super delicious. Let's give it a try. But before we start, let me tell you one pro tip. If you are wearing expensive t-shirt or something, then put on your apron. Then you don't have to worry about this soup splashing all over. You're welcome. Look at the soup. Love this vibrant red color. I'm gonna start with the soup. Cheers. Look at this. It looks crazy, right? Cheers. It's so addictive. That refreshing taste at the end. Super addicting. You gotta try this. So good. Today, I showed you how to make chadol jjamppong, one of my all-time favorite noodle soups. How was it? It's not that difficult, right? If you're a big fan of Korean instant ramen, you really can't go wrong with this. Seriously, this is super delicious. So I really want you to give this a try. If you do, I'm sure you're not gonna look for ramen for a while. All right, this is it for today. And I'll see you next time.