GAMJA TANG

Gamja Tang image

Provided by Joanne Lee Molinaro

Yield Serves 3 or 4

Number Of Ingredients 18

4 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon sliced fresh ginger
2 sliced shiitake mushrooms
1 onion, julienned
1 dried red chili
2 tablespoons doenjang
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons gochugaru
1 tablespoon gochujang
3 tablespoons "Fishy" Sauce
¼ cup roasted wild sesame seeds (also called perilla seeds)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 Yukon Gold potatoes, halved
1 cup bean sprouts
2 scallions, roughly chopped
5 to 6 perilla leaves, roughly chopped
2½ ounces (70g) sweet potato vermicelli (about 1 handful), cooked according to package directions
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Steps:

Make the broth: In a medium Dutch oven, combine the vegetable broth, ginger, mushrooms, onion, chili, and doenjang. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until you have a lovely aromatic broth as a base for this stew, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Fish out the mushrooms and slice them, then return the slices to the broth.
Meanwhile, make the sauce: In a small bowl, mix together ½ cup water, the garlic, gochugaru, gochujang, "fishy" sauce, and wild sesame seeds.
Make the stew: Add the sauce, potatoes, and bean sprouts to the broth and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.
Right before serving, add the scallions, perilla leaves, sweet potato vermicelli, and sesame oil.