Posts in Category: Cooking

Beef Bone Broth Version 1: Low and Slow

On May 18, 2025 0 Comments - Cooking

Broth vs Stock

I am calling this a “Beef Bone Broth” only because it seems to be the name that everyone is using these days. It makes a perfect base liquid for any number of soup or sauce recipes although it also has many other uses.

In professional cooking, a “broth” is a usually a lighter, thinner, and often salted liquid made by boiling vegetables and/or meat for a relatively short time. A “stock”, in contrast, is made from bones and their connective tissue, simmered for a very long time, sometimes with vegetables and aromatics, usually without salt. A broth is a thin and flavourful liquid while a stock is a thick, gelatinous and relatively flavourless liquid (until it is seasoned).

So..as you will see, what we are making here is nothing like a broth. It is a very simple beef stock.

Long, Low and Slow vs Hard and Fast

This recipe is for a long, low and slow method that cooks until the bones have nothing left to give. The end result is a mostly clear, slightly brown stock. It is thick and gelatinous, even slightly sticky. If you added mirepoix (say onions, celery, carrot) to this later in the process, you would end up with something like a Western white veal/beef stock.

The second one (click here for other version) is a hard boil and relatively fast stock (for beef bones). It will still take several hours but, it will result in a milky white broth with a nutty flavour and slightly thinner consistency. This is what you will often see in Seolleongtang or Mandu Guk (dumpling soup) in Korean restaurants.

Ingredients

You can make this as large or small as you like. I have made a recipe that fits into my biggest stock pot which holds around 12 litres / 3 gallons. Just make sure that the pot is big enough to keep bones submerged plus a little water on top.

  • 4 kg / 8lb cut beef hip bones (this is usually a mix of marrow bones and knuckle bones)
  • 1.5 kg / 3lb cut cow foot
  • fresh cold water to cover them

My local Korean grocer keeps bags of cut beef bones in the freezer section all the time. And, there is a butcher near me that usually has frozen whole cow feet as well. Any butcher shop should be able to get you beef hip bones for stock. The cow foot is optional but it is made of of mostly connective tissue and this will add body and richness to your finished stock. If you can’t get cow foot, just omit or replace with regular hip bones.

Process

Wash and Soak

Beef hip bones for beef bone broth
Beef bones cut into chunks for stock. There is a mix of marrow bone and knuckles (hip joint)
chopped cow foot for beef bone broth
Cow foot cut into pieces will add body to the finished stock
washing bones
Cover bones with fresh cold water
soaking bones
Soak for a minimum of 8 hours. I left mine in the fridge overnight.
showing blood leaching out of soaked bones
Fairly soon, the bones will start to release blood into the soaking water. If you can, change the water a few times.
refreshing water for bone soaking
Pour old water off and refresh as many times as possible. If you are unable to change the water, it’s ok..the impurities will also cook out in the simmering stock.

Initial Boil (blanching)

clean soaked bones ready to make beef bone broth
Clean bones ready for blanching.
Cover with cold water
blanching bones to remove residual fat and blood
Bring to a hard boil for 10 minutes or so. During this time, the bones will release fat and blood.
shows raft of congealed beef blood
This is a raft of congealed blood floating on top
washing blanched bones with fresh water in sink
After this initial 10 minute boil, dump out the bones and wash them with cold water. Ged rid of the water from the first boil. Wash the stock pot thoroughly.

Simmering the stock

Return the clean bones to the clean pot and cover with fresh cold water.
All the bones should be completely submerged
Simmering: This is what a simmer looks like. The water is bubbling a little and definitely moving around the bones. It is not boiling hard and it is not still. This simmer is important to extract the nutrients and flavour from the bones.
bones simmering under glass cover of pot
Cover your pot and watch it for a little while. You will most likely have to adjust the temperature down to keep the simmer going without overflowing the pot.
skimming fat from cooking beef bone broth
Once every hour or two, I like to skim off the fat layer that floats on top of the stock. You don’t have to do this. I like to take it off because I can replace the fat with fresh water and end up with more stock at the end.
showing a measure of 500ml skimmed fat from beef bone broth
The first time I skimmed, I got nearly 450ml of fat off the top. I replaced it with 450ml water.

32 hours later….

showing finished beef bone broth
This is the finished stock. I simmered mine for a total of about 32 hours. Bones this size should simmer for at least 24 hours. The best way to know when it is done is to pull out bones and have a look at them.
examining a fully depleted stock bone
Once a solid white bone full of marrow, this is now just a hollow network of calcium fibres. If you press them between your fingers, you can crush them pretty easily. These bones have no more to give and the stock is finished.
Remove the bones
straining beef bone broth
Strain the liquid
You may find some pieces of marrow or cartilage in your strainer. You can make a snack of them or just discard them.

Cooling and Storage

cooling beef bone broth
I like to cool the liquid in a sink of cold water. If you have ice, it will speed up the process. Make sure the stock comes down to at least room temperature before you put it in the fridge. There is a lot of heat energy here and your fridge will not be able to cool it fast enough.
Once completely cool, remove any hard white fat from the top.
It is so thick at fridge temperature that this metal spoon will stand up in it
Gelatinous bounce : )
I ladle mine into 750ml yogurt containers which is usually a good amount to use for other recipes
preparing beef bone broth for freezing
Total yield from this batch is around 6.5 litres / 2 gallons of thick rich and lean beef bone broth (stock). I will press a layer of plastic wrap against the surface of the stock, put on the lids and store in my freezer.

How to use your Beef Bone Broth

Simmer any combination of meat/vegetables/mushrooms in it for a delicious soup. Add your favourite noodles to it. Or, you can simply warm it up and add rice and seasoning. You can even drink it as is for a deeply nutritious and filling liquid snack.

This beef bone broth (stock) is a liquid rich in body and texture that is mostly neutral in flavour…a base for almost anything you can imagine. Soup, stew, sauce, smoothie…anything goes. If you have any recipe that has water as an ingredient, replace it with this stock to improve the flavour and the nutritional value. As I cook with this new stock, I will post up ideas as I make them.

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Beef and Radish Soup: Muguk

On May 1, 2025 0 Comments - Cooking

Korean beef and radish soup, or sogogi muguk, is a flavourful and nutritious soup which is easy to make quickly. There are only a handful of ingredients and everything is cooked in one pot.

Ingredients

  • 150gr (5-6oz) beef brisket point sliced thinly against the grain
  • 250gr (8oz) Korean radish
  • 15ml (1 tablespoon) sesame oil
  • 5 or 6 cloves garlic sliced thin or minced
  • 15ml (1 tablespoon) Korean soup soy sauce (gukgangjang)
  • 2 or 3 green onions (scallions)
  • 750ml (3cups) water approximately
  • salt and pepper

I used beef brisket in this recipe because I can get it easily and I like that it is lean and tender at the same time. If you can’t get brisket, you can use almost any other good cut of beef. Lean cuts from the round will be a little chewier but still delicious: cut them thin. If you want to put premium steak cuts in here, go right ahead. I have even made this with ground beef in a pinch.

Don’t use regular soy sauce. Korean gukganjang or soup soy sauce can be found at any Korean grocer. Regular soy sauce is a poor substitute. If you can’t find soup soy sauce, substitute with a good quality fish sauce.

The meat to radish proportion can vary. This one I am making has a pretty generous amount of meat. Feel free to use a little less or, even more if you want to load up on protein.

Process

raw ingredients for korean beef and radish soup muguk
Raw ingredients.
shows marinating beef and garlic and soup soy sauce for beef and radish soup
Thinly slice beef and garlic. Stir together with soup soy sauce. You can also mince garlic instead of slicing.
Allow to marinate for at least 15 minutes. I left mine for 2 hours but you don’t have to.
shows how to chop radish into bite sized pieces
Chop up radish into bite sized chunks
cooking beef in sesame oil on stove for muguk korean beef and radish soup
Cook beef in the sesame oil over medium high heat. The meat may release a lot of water. Let it cook until it becomes almost dry.
showing point where beef is cooked enough to add radish for muguk
This looks good. The beef has browned a little and there is just a little juice left.
radish is added to the pot
Stir in the radish pieces
topping up with water into pot
Add enough water to cover. I used around 750ml/3cups
showing simmering pot of korean beef and radish sour muguk
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until radish is tender. After cooking, taste it and add pepper if you like. Adjust salt as needed.
demonstrating how to chop green onions
Chop green onions.
adding green onions to pot of cooked Korean beef and radish soup
Add them to the soup and remove from heat.
Korean Beef and Radish soup is served on table with kimchi, white rice and cucumber salad

I like to eat this with a bowl of rice and a couple of sides. Today I am having home made kimchi and a cucumber salad. I made kkakdugi yesterday but it is not quite ready yet. Otherwise I would eat it with this dish : )

This recipe will make enough for two medium portions or one very large portion.

If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. I love to hear from you.

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Kkakdugi or Korean Radish Kimchi

On April 29, 2025 0 Comments - Cooking, Fermentation

Kkakdugi, or Korean Radish Kimchi, is one of the fastest and simplest kimchis to make. There are relatively few steps and just a handful of ingredients. The recipe you will see here is a little different from others you may find.

Last time I travelled through Korea, I noticed 2 distinct kinds of kkakdugi. One was the classic little cubes served as a side in many restaurants. The other is a much larger and chunkier radish kimchi. This second one accompanies clear and mild beef broth dishes like seolleongtang or doganitang. The pieces of radish tend to be bigger and less uniform and there is much more liquid in the kimchi. The kimchi is on the table in a big container from which you can eat the radish but you can also use the kimchi-juice to season your soup. This is what I am attempting to make here. You can also just eat it as a side the same as you would any kkakdugi.

Ingredients

As a chef, I always preferred to cook by weight rather than volume. I grew up using the metric system and I like it very much. So, as much as possible from now on, I will include metric equivalents. Keep in mind that other than salt and radish, you can vary ingredients as you like to suit your tastes.

  • 3.5-4lb (1.5-2kg) Korean radish (the one i am using is 1700gr)
  • 2 tablespoons (25gr) Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
  • 1/4cup (30gr) korean chilli flakes / gochugaru
  • 1 tablespoon (20gr) salted baby shrimp / saeujeot
  • 10 cloves (35gr) garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon (10gr) ginger minced
  • 1 tablespoon sugar (75gr)/syrup
  • 1 asian pear peeled and chopped
  • 1 cup of chopped green onion/scallion or asian chive/buchu

Korean radish is similar to white daikon in some ways but the flavour of Korean radish is usually more sweet and vegetal and less hot and bitter. But, if you really can’t find Korean radish, daikon is a reasonable substitute.

I am using Diamond Kosher salt. You can substitute 30 grams of any good salt, but avoid using table salt.

I just happen to have a homemade maesil plum syrup on hand which I am using instead of sugar. If you want to try it, you can find maesil syrup in any Korean grocer.

Feel free to vary the amount of chilli flakes to make this as spicy or as mild as you like.

Korean pears are not available at this time of year so I am using a whole regular asian pear which is roughly half the size of the Korean variety. You can also substitute an apple or regular pear or leave it out altogether.

Process

raw ingredients for kkakdugi korean radish kimchi
Raw ingredients
chopped Korean radish
Peel and slice radish into disks approximately 3cm/just over an inch thick
Showing the size of the radish pieces after cutting
Use a chef knife to chop the radish into chunks. They don’t need to be the same shape but they should be roughly the same size. As a size guide, you should probably not be able to fit more than one or two chunks on a spoon.
This looks pretty good…
adding salt to the chopped Korean radish
Add the salt and mix thoroughly. You can now let the radish rest for an hour or so. Mix it up every 15-20 minutes moving the radishes on the bottom to the top.
picture shows moisture coming out of salted Korean radish
Within just a few minutes, the radish pieces will start to release water.
shows minced garlic and ginger ready for kkakdugi korean radish kimchi
While you are waiting for the radish to brine, mince the garlic and ginger.
shows asian pear shredded on slicer
Peel and chop the asian pear. I chose to run it over this Benriner Japanese slicer/shredder.
Shows chilli flakes, garlic, ginger, shrimp, pear and plum syrup together in one bowl. Ready to season kkakdugi kimchi
Put garlic, ginger, pear, salted shrimp, chilli flakes and sugar (or syrup) together in a bowl
bowl of stirred up seasoning ingredients for Kakkdugi Korean radish kimchi
Mix them all together
shows how much water the salted radish released
After an hour, the radish has released a good amount of water.
showing the draining of water from the radish
Drain off the radish water and reserve it. Do not rinse the radish.
a measuring cup showing the volume of water released: 250ml/1 cup
I got almost 250ml/1 cup of water out of this radish. I will probably end up adding all of it back as I want this kimchi wet and the radish itself does not taste too salty right now.
Add all ingredients together
radish mixed with seasoning ingredients
Stir them up. Now is a good time to taste the kimchi. The radish will still release a large amount of water so don’t worry if it seems salty now: this will change. Taste for spice..add more chilli flakes if you prefer more heat.
how to chop buchu or scallions
Chop your buchu or scallions into 2cm pieces
adding back released water
Stir the greens back into the radish mix and add back the water
Finished product: here you get an idea of the size of the pieces.
Shows finished Kakkdugi Korean radish kimchi in a mason jar
I will let this ferment in a large mason jar on the counter for a day or two until it starts to sour. It is a good idea to put a plate or tray under the jar. The kimchi will expand as it starts to ferment and it may overflow a bit. Also…the bacteria that ferment your kimchi are much happier in the dark. Keep your jar away from sunlight or bright indoor light. I will cover this jar with a towel.

Allow the kimchi to ferment on the counter for a day or two. Taste it a couple times a day and when you are happy with the flavour, refrigerate it. You can eat the radish kimchi as is as a side to any dish or use the kimchi liquid to season mild soups.

Just like any kimchi, kkakdugi will continue to ferment and sour over time. If it gets too sour to eat as is have a look here for ideas on how to use well aged kimchi. Radish kimchi will work just as well as cabbage kimchi in hot dishes. I especially like it in kimchi fried rice.

If you are also looking for a good cabbage kimchi recipe, you can find mine here.

Lastly, if you are interested in what Seolleongtang looks like in Seoul, Korea, have a look here or here. Maybe in the future I will put up a recipe for Seolleongtang although it is a long long process that is challenging to make at home. Here is a good recipe from Korean Bapsang. This kimchi would be a perfect accompaniment!

If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. I love to hear from you.

If you enjoy the content and would like to contribute towards website maintenance and development, you can make a donation here.

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