Seolleongtang (Korean Beef Bone Soup)
A milky beef bone soup that is rich, creamy and amazing on it’s own or used as a base for Korean dishes to amplify their flavors. Enjoy the broth with a bowl of warm rice.
Ingredients
Broth
- 3-4 lbs (1.3-1.8 kg) beef bones leg, knuckle, marrow
- 1-2 lbs (450-900 g) beef flank, brisket, pot roast
- water **note in instruction on amount
For Serving
- rice
- chopped scallion
- cooked noodles (rice or glass noodles) *optional
- 2 inch thick slice Korean radish *optional
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
Soak
- Place the bones in a large bowl or pot with cold water and soak for 3-4 hours at minimum, preferably overnight. This will soak out the redness blood from the bones. Cut off very fatty pieces from the bone.
- In a separate bowl, soak the beef for about 3-4 hours. The beef does not need to soaked overnight. I prefer not soaking it for too long or it may lose some flavor. (Only the bones overnight is preferred).
Parboil
- Place the bones in a large pot with enough water to cover all the bones. Bring the pot to a boil and continue to simmer for about 10 more minutes. Keep the lid off during parboil to rid of any odors. (No need to parboil the beef slab).
- Drain the water. Rinse and clean each bone under running water so the pieces are clean. (You can use a brush or your hands to clean the bones of any brown bits).
Moderately Boil
- Place the bones back into a clean pot. (If using the pot that was used for parboil, make sure to wash it cleanly with soap). Place in the beef slab. *The amount of water here is not important. Add enough water to cover the bones and then some more. Should be about 4 quarts (3.75 Liters) of water.
- Bring to a boil over high heat and reduce to about medium to medium high heat. Make sure the broth continues to moderately boil. This is KEY to bringing out the milky broth. Continue to cook the broth for about 4-5 hours. The broth will be clear at first but will turn milky as it boils for longer. Add more water as needed to keep all the bones covered while boiling.
- ** Take the beef slab out after about 1 ½ to 2 hours when the meat is fully cooked and soft. Set aside and cool.
- Pour only the broth out into a large bowl to cool. Set the bones aside.
Optional Step - Repeat!
- Optional but recommended: You can repeat this process to boil more broth with the same bones about 2 more times. Fill up the pot with the bones and water (about 3 quarts or 2.75 Liters). Bring it to a boil and moderately boil until the broth is milky again. After the 2nd time, the broth may not become as milky. For the third time, use a little less water than the first two batches.
- Once done, combine all the batches of broth to combine all the flavors.
Fat Removal
- There will be some fat from the broth because of the fat on the bones. You can use a fat separator or you can cool the broth in the fridge overnight. This will harden the fat on the top and it can be scooped out. This makes the broth taste better.
Serve
- Reheat the amount of broth you want to immediately enjoy.
*Optional to add a 2 inch slice or two of radish when reheating. I prefer without but others enjoy the additional flavor to the beef broth. - *Optional: Cook glass noodles (dang myun) in a separate small pot according to package. Add to hot broth.This is a very common step at restaurant but we often skip at home.
- Add hot broth into a large bowl. Slice a few pieces of the meat slab and add to the hot broth to soften the meat again (you can reboil in the broth as well). Optionally, add a serving of rice or glass noodles into the hot broth.
- Top with chopped scallions and a generous portion of salt and pepper to taste. Traditionally, each person seasons their own soup as they wish. Enjoy with a bowl of hot rice and delicious kimchi.
Leftover
- *Freeze leftovers in ziploc bags. Use as a base for any Korean stew or soup to replace the water or anchovy broth! It will result in a richer flavor for any dish.