You can use a variety of ingredients in Korean soups. I wanted to highlight the important ingredients that are used and how to use them properly for the best outcome in your dish.
Soup Soy Sauce (국간장)
Soup soy sauce is saltier and less sweet than other soy sauces. It doesn’t change the color of soups and gives a clean flavor. If you don’t have any soup soy sauce then use salt or a mix of dark soy sauce (진간장) and fish sauce (액젓). When adding soy sauce to your soup, it can be added right to the broth or added to the pan while stir-frying ingredients; this enhances the flavor of the soy sauce.
Sea Salt (꽃소금)
The reason salt is used for seasoning soups is to season without changing the main flavor or color of the soup and to give a clean, light flavor. Always use salt when seasoning white beef broth.
Red Pepper Flakes (고추가루)
Red pepper flakes come in coarse and fine versions. The coarse version adds a peppered look, while the fine version can make your broth look redder and give a deeper color. Do not add too much fine red pepper flakes, or it can throw off the texture.
When you add red pepper flakes to soup, stir fry them shortly to remove the raw, gritty texture and enhance the flavor. If you plan to stir fry them then add the red pepper flakes when you are finished with stir-frying the other ingredients right before you add the liquid. Be careful not to burn the red pepper flakes; if you are unsure, take the pot off the heat, add the red pepper flakes mix them quickly, then add the liquid and put the pot back on the heat.
Soybean Paste (된장)
Different brands and households make different kinds of soybean paste; some are saltier, and some are sweeter. You need to keep in mind when you use soybean paste, you may need to add more salt or sugar depending on the flavor you want. Soybean paste has a savory flavor and can be used to remove the natural strong smell of pork or fish. When you use soybean paste, you sauté it with the ingredients because it can remove any strong aroma from the soybean paste. If you over boil soybean paste, it can have a stronger smell.
Red Pepper Paste (고추장)
Red pepper paste is sweet and spicy. It can be used to remove the natural strong smell of pork. When you use red pepper paste, some recipes will call for you to stir fry the red pepper paste. This will provide a unique taste and make the flavor of the red pepper paste more savory, rich, and enhanced.
Dried Sea Mustard (미역)
Dried sea mustard aka 미역 should be soaked before it is used. Soak the seaweed for 30 minutes until it expands, and then cut it into smaller pieces. Ideally, cut the seaweed with scissors into small enough pieces that would fit comfortably on a spoon.
After soaking, drain the seaweed and then stir fry the seaweed to improve the texture, remove any aroma, and make the soup taste more savory. Finally, simmer the seaweed until tender. The texture gets better and the dish is more savory the longer you simmer the dried seaweed.
Fish Sauce (액젓)
Fish sauce can be added into soups when you want a deeper flavor and to season with salt. It pairs well with soup soy sauce as a seasoning combo.
Sour Kimchi (신김치)
When making Kimchi soup, you need to use sour kimchi. Sour kimchi is kimchi that was left at room temp for a minimum of 3 days. The temporary rise in temperature is what gives the kimchi that sour flavor. If you do not use sour kimchi, your kimchi soups will not taste deep.
When you use kimchi in soup, you need to stir fry the kimchi in either sesame oil or the fat from the protein. This makes the kimchi texture better and makes the flavor more deep and savory. You only need to stir fry it until it’s a little soft but still retains its structure. A hack for prepping kimchi is to put it in a bowl and cut it with scissors. This will prevent your cutting board from getting stained.
Dried Shrimp (마른 새우)
Dried shrimp can be added whole to soups like dumpling soup or kimchi soup as a protein and to add flavor.
Salted Shrimp (새우젓)
Salted shrimp adds a unique seasoned salt flavor. Salted shrimp and soy sauce pair well as a seasoning combo. It also pairs well with fish and pork soups.
Meat Bones
When using cuts of protein that have bones in them, you need to wash, soak, blanch, and wash the bones again before using them. Wash the cuts of meat to remove any bone fragments and clean, then soak the protein with bones in cold water for a minimum of 30 minutes to 2 hours. (It can be longer too, up to 5 hours.) This removes the blood from the bones. If you do not do this, it can affect the taste of the soup and the clarity of the soup. After soaking, dump the water and blanch the protein in hot boiling water for 10-15 minutes. This will make any remaining blood coagulate so it doesn’t leak out of the bones. Then finally, take the bones out of the hot water and wash them to remove any foam or debris. Now your proteins are ready to be used.
Fresh/Frozen Fish
When you use fish, always use defrosted or fresh fish. Fresh fish tastes better than fish that has been frozen but frozen, and defrosted fish has its own unique flavor. When you prep fish for soup, you need to remove the gills and guts or you will add a bitter flavor to the soup. After breaking down the fish, run the inside of the fish under cold water to remove excess blood that can make your soup less clear. If you use ginger, cooking wine, or soybean paste in fish soup, it removes any fishy smell.
Sweet Potato Noodle (당면)
If you want to use sweet potato noodles in soup, soak them for 1 hour in hot water. If you do not soak them and just add them, the noodle will absorb all the broth. If you don’t want to soak, boil them in water on the side and then drain and add them to the soup.
Green onion/Pepper
Adding green onion (파), green pepper (풋고추), or red pepper (홍고추) at the end of the soup cooking process adds a fresh flavor and color that makes the soup more appetizing.
Sesame Oil/Neutral Oil
Sesame seed oil (참기름) can be used at the end of the cooking process to add aroma and shine to the soup. It can also be mixed with other neutral oils (canola, corn, and soybean oil) and used when stir-frying any meats used in the soup on low heat. This enhances the flavor and savoriness of the soup.
Garlic (마늘)
Minced garlic can be stir-fried in the beginning to add a savory-sweet flavor or added towards the end of the soup cooking process to add a kick. Some clear soups look better without garlic, so you can steep the minced garlic into the soup by placing a strainer into the soup or a metal mesh broth ball and letting the garlic sit in the broth for some time before removing it. This makes any clear broth soup look appetizing but still gets some garlic flavor.
Cooking Alcohol
Cooking alcohol can remove any naturally unwanted smells from dishes that have pork or fish.
Fresh Onion (양파)
Sliced onion can take away the strong smell that can come from frozen and defrosted meats.
Ginger (생강)
Ginger can be used to remove the smell from fish and pork as well as add flavor.
