Beef Bone Broth Version 2: Korean Style

On August 26, 2025 0 Comments - Cooking

Korean Beef Bone Broth vs Western Versions (hard and fast vs low and slow)

Some time ago, I posted a recipe for beef bone broth (stock) that involves a very long cooking time at a very gentle simmer (click here for this low and slow version). The result is a mostly clear, brownish, meaty and gelatinous stock. This is most often what chefs make in a western kitchen…it will typically be used as a soup or sauce base.

This recipe is almost identical in ingredients and process. The main difference is that this recipe cooks at a harder rolling boil for a shorter time. Even though the steps are almost identical, this small change results in a completely different stock. This one is just as gelatinous but, it is a silky opaque white colour with a nutty and delicate flavour. This stock is a base for dishes like mandu-guk (dumpling soup) or seolleongtang in a Korean kitchen. And, I think this is the version that most people think of when looking for “beef bone broth”.

Ingredients

  • 4kg (almost 9lb) beef marrow and knuckle bones cut into pieces.
  • 1.2kg (around 2.5lb) cow foot cut into pieces
  • water

The Korean grocer in my neighbourhood usually has beef bones already cut up and frozen in bags ready to go. If you don’t have access to something like this, any butcher should be able to sell you beef bones for stock. A separate Halal butcher in the neighbourhood stocks frozen cow feet which he chops up for me on his meat saw. Cow foot adds gelatine to your stock which will give it a rich mouthfeel. If you can’t get cow feet, you can leave it out and substitute more bones.

The weights above are a guideline. You can make this as big as the biggest pot you have to hold the bones. I have a 12 litre stockpot and this is a good amount for me. The ratio of bone to cow foot does not have to be exact but I wouldn’t use more than 20-25% foot to bone.

There is no salt in this recipe. Season the stocks as you use it, depending on the dish you are preparing.

Process

This recipe is a slightly abbreviated version of the slow-and-low stock recipe. The process and ingredients are almost exactly the same so I have left out a few of the more obvious photos. If you want more detail on any step, just reference the recipe at this link.

Wash and soak bones

beef bones soaking in water
Rinse the bones and cover them with cold water. You can see the hip bones on the left and cow foot on the right. You don’t have to separate them. I kept them separate so that you can see what each looks like. Soak them for a minimum of 6 hours or so. Better still, cover them and leave them in the fridge overnight. If you have time, change the water every few hours (this is optional).
After soaking, blood and other impurities will leach out into the water and it will be noticeably red. Pour all the water off and rinse the bones a few times.
beef bones after soaking
After soaking, the bones will look more pale pink than red.

Blanching the bones

Place all the bones in a stockpot that has enough room for the bones plus a few centimetres of water plus some extra room for boiling. I am using a 12L pot here.
raft of blood from blanching of bones
Bring the water up to a full rolling boil and let it go for around 5 minutes. During this time, any remaining blood will leach out of the bones and coagulate into a brownish floating mass on top.
rinsing bones in sink
After 5 minutes of boiling, dump the bones and the dirty water and give all the bones a good rinse with fresh cold water. Wash your stockpot too.

Making the stock

Add bones back to the clean pot, cover with fresh cold water. Bring the heat up until the water comes to a steady roll. This shouldn’t be boiling at full speed but the water should be actively rolling all over the surface.
This is what a good medium rolling boil looks like. This is critical to the success of this stock. With the stock rapidly moving, some fats, collagen and proteins will emulsify with the water. This is what gives this stock it’s characteristic white colour and nutty flavour. Make sure the stock is moving well without boiling over.
boiling the beef bone broth
Boil the stock uncovered for around 8 hours (more is ok if you have the time). It will evaporate pretty quickly so every hour or so, add back enough boiling water to keep the water level up. I boil a full kettle of water to top it up. If you use cold water, the stock will most likely stop boiling and it will take time and attention to bring back up.
An hour or so in and you will notice that the stock is becoming milky. This is a great sign.
It is so opaque that even in a shallow spoon, you can’t see through it.

After 8 hours or so…

Remove the bones from the stock and strain the liquid.

bones strained out of broth
If you look at these bones compared to the bones from the other recipe, you can see that these bones still have some life in them. At this point, you have the option to put the bones back in the pot, cover them with fresh water and repeat this whole process. After another few hours you will get a second stock that is a little thinner and milder in flavour. In pro kitchens, we call this “remi”, short for “remoulade” in French (basically means reboil). Once this is done, you have the option of having 2 separate stocks, one richer, one more mild OR you can choose to blend them together for something in between.
These bits of connective tissue and marrow were strained out of the finished stock. Everything here is edible. If I were making seolleongtang today, I would use them in the soup. If you don’t like eating this kind of thing, just discard with the bones.
Here is the finished stock in a small glass beaker. It is thick and milky.
Cool your stock in a sink or ice bath until it is room temp or below. Refrigerate overnight.
removing fat layer from finished bone broth
Once the stock is cool, remove the hard layer of fat from the top. This is pure clean beef fat. You can use it for frying and it stores for a long time in the fridge or freezer. Optional, of course.
You can see here that the stock itself is nearly as white as the fat layer.
Good solid jiggle…cow foot adds a lot of bounce to a stock.
At fridge temperature, I can easily stand a spoon up in the stock. It is that firm. The colour is just beautiful.
broth prepared for freezing
I usually portion my stock into yogurt containers, cover with plastic wrap and lids and freeze it. The yield from this recipe was around 6 litres of rich delicious milky beef bone broth. If you reboiled the bones, you would have twice as much. Unfortunately I didn’t have time or freezer space today. Next time for sure!

What to do with your bone broth (stock)

This is the essential milky base for Korean soups like seolleongtang (click here for recipe), doganitang or mandu guk. However, you can also use it as a base for almost any soup where you want good body and deep beef flavour. You can even drink it as is or add just a bit of cooked rice and chopped green onion for the simplest, easiest to digest, healthy and protein rich meal.

If you have any questions or comments or if I spelled Seolleongtang wrong, please let me know in the space below.

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Chicago 48hrs

On August 24, 2025 0 Comments - Photography, Travel

Chicago

Chicago seems like a city that is doing a lot of things right. The more time I spend here, the more I like it. There are endless low rise/high density neighbourhoods with sprawling canopies of old trees giving shade from the summer sun. A healthy independent retail scene fills countless blocks with small stores catering to every niche in fashion, decor, music, etc. Restaurants seem to be thriving as well. In 48hrs, we had great meals at places from classic sandwich shop Mr Beef up to Michelin star restaurant Sepia. Special mention to Jersey Mike’s for one of the best fast-food submarine sandwiches I have ever eaten. The CTA L-trains, stations and entrances are clean and efficient with colourful tiles and architecture that fits in perfectly with their surroundings. The lake is bordered by easily accessible parks, public spaces and beaches, theatres, sculpture and botanical gardens. There is so much more. It is the first place that comes to mind when I think of great American cities.

About the photographs

This was a short and busy road trip so I didn’t take as many photos as I would have on a slower adventure. But the tradeoff was that I got to see and do many fun things in short time with great company. As a die-hard solo traveler, I am starting to warm up to the idea of traveling with others (depends on the people though!). This time around, following the lead of my friend’s two sons as they scoped out cool spots in the city was an absolute pleasure. Hope we can do it again someday.

Just before this trip, I installed a mild diffusion filter on my camera lens (Tiffen Glimmerglass 1). It has tiny specks of reflective material sandwiched between two glass plates that serve to scatter and diffuse light. Mounted on the front of my Fujifilm X100 lens, in daytime photos it tends to smooth out transitions between between bright and dark areas. Points of light (especially at night) show some halation (they glow softly like halos). It is a mild effect but I think I like it…

Travelling companions: Matias, Milosz and Luke. I like the weird greenish LED light halos under the bridge.

A couple of Chicago landmarks

Chicago Theatre, a landmark in the city since 1921. You can see the halation from the lens filter around the lamp post lights.
Wrigley Field, another famous landmark and home to the Chicago Cubs. Opened in 1914 and named after the Wrigley Company, makers of the famous chewing gum some years after they acquired the stadium in 1921. I just noticed that this says “Hornitos: A shot worth taking”. Haha…that is a good line.

Millenium Park

The “Bean” (actual name is Cloud Gate) in Millennium Park. It is a 66 foot long and 33 foot high polished stainless steel sculpture. Artist Anish Kapoor took inspiration from liquid mercury. It is always crawling with tourists but absolutely worth visiting to see the surrounding architecture get bent out of shape (also to take fun-house selfies). I tried to catch some interesting reflections and angles.
Probably one of the best places in the world for mirror selfies. I am in here too..
I like seeing the actual buildings next to their distorted reflections.
Art Institute of Chicago’s Modern Wing nestled behind the dreamy wildflower meadow in Lurie Garden.
Frank Gehry’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion, an outdoor concert venue in Millennium Park. There are a few hundred people sitting in the grass watching the film Sense and Sensibility.
Free public tennis courts in Millennium park. You can really see the halation in the lights here.

Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)

This time around, we only used the L-train although I have used buses in the past. The CTA seems like a clean and functional system. The L-train stations have beautiful tile-work but I didn’t have enough time for pictures. Next time I come back, I will focus a little more on the L-train and stations including sound recordings.

The compact L-trains mostly travel on elevated (L) tracks around the downtown area. Underneath the narrow rail corridors are cafes, restaurants and shops. These trains are bright and clean, weaving seamlessly throughout the fabric of the urban centre. I like being able to travel with sunlight in the windows and views of the Chicago architecture. It is well worth the price of admission.

Chicago Architecture

I think I could spend a week just looking at buildings in this city. Below are a few of the better known ones. But, at least for me, all the beautifully built and maintained low rise apartment buildings are just as impressive. The number and variety of perfectly preserved low-rises in residential neighbourhoods is astonishing. This city is a real knock-out.

The Marina Towers (aka the corncob buildings) taken from under the Wabash Avenue bridge. I never get tired of seeing these beauties. The corncobs were designed by Bertrand Goldberg, a student of Mies van der Rohe. And, I could be wrong, but I think the black building leaning into the photo on the right is the IBM building designed by Mies van der Rohe himself.
Another shot of the same spot. I like the glow of the street lamps and the lit-up couple underneath.
Sometimes large scale textures show better in black-and-white images. I was tempted to shoot this whole Chicago trip in black-and-white. I think this city would look especially handsome. Just think of how New York City looked in Woody Allen’s “Manhattan”.
This is one of my favourite shots from this trip. It is a serviceman climbing a steel ladder above the loading area behind Sepia Restaurant. This is a great example of how the glitter glass filter softens the transition between the hard daylight from above and the dark alleyway below.

The way home

I was amazed at how beautiful US gas stations and rest stops are. Not enough time this trip to really document them but I did get in a couple of shots on a midnight break on the way home, just back over the Canadian border. Next trip I will focus on these colourful oases in the pitch black countryside.

Gas stations and trucks stops are so photogenic at night, especially in the deep dark of rural areas.
Mati and the Maybach
Luke shooting film…green because I messed up my white balance setting…I like it though.

This was a short but fun mini-vacation. Hope we can do it again soon with more pictures and sounds. As always, if you have any comments or questions or if you don’t like the plural of oasis, please leave your thoughts below.

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Haku ハク。

On August 18, 2025 4 Comments - Music

Who is Haku?

In 2019 Osaka Japan, four young women met at a vocational school club that teaches instruments to high school students. One of their advisors suggested that they join up to form a band and Haku was born. The circle punctuation mark at the end of Haku’s name in Japanese reflects these roots, symbolizing the “circle” where they first met. (these types of clubs are referred to as “circles” in Japan)

Haku released their first single in 2020 and by 2021 they had won the grand prize at a Kansai prefecture talent contest. Attention in Japan started to grow as the band released more music and played live shows. Haku hosts an annual “Haku Day” on August 9th, inviting their favourite musicians to play with them in Japan, drawing inspiration from their fellow artists.

Recently, at the request of fans outside of Japan, Haku has begun playing international shows. They played their very first overseas show in Korea. Singapore was next and, in September 2025, Haku made their North American debut in Toronto, Canada as part of the Next Music From Tokyo showcase.

Releases

In their seven year career, Haku has released a steady stream of singles, EPs and two albums.

  • Blue Girl single, 2021
  • 本物 / honmono, single, 2021
  • ワタシ / watashi, single, 2021
  • 収録曲 / hitonatsu, single, 2021
  • ふたり基地 / hutari kichi, single, 2021
  • 若者日記 / wakamono nikki, mini-album, 2022
  • ナイーブ女の子 / naive girl, single, 2022
  • 無題 / mudai, single, 2023
  • 直感way, chokkan way, single, 2023
  • 僕ら / bokkura, EP, 2023
  • 僕らじゃなきゃだめになって / Bokurajanakyadameninatte, single, 2023
  • 自由のショート / jiyuu no short, single, 2023
  • 僕らじゃなきゃダメになって / Bokurajanakyadameninatte, album, 2023
  • dedede, single, 2024
  • 頭の中の宇宙 / The Universe of my Mind, single, 2024
  • あいっ！ / Ai!, single, 2024
  • Catch, EP, 2025
  • 南新町 / minami shinmachi, single, 2025
  • それしか言えない / soreshika ienai, single, 2025 (***this marks Haku debut on major label Toy’s Factory)
  • 夢中猫 / Patapata Cat, single, 2025
  • ふわ輪 / Fuwa Rin, single, Feb 2026
  • 世界 / Sekai, EP, March 4th, 2026

Just Released! :

Digital Single “宇宙船ハート号” / “The Spaceship Heart”, June 3rd, 2026

***first full length album on major label Toys Factory set for September 9th, 2026.

Physical Copies (CDs) of Haku Releases

If you are outside of Japan, you can now order directly from Tower Records. Fill in search bar as normal and you should get a pop-up for “WorldShopping”. This is a 3rd party shipping service associated with Tower Records in Japan. Shipping rates are surprisingly reasonable.

Haku lineup:

promo photo from official Haku Instagram
  • Nazuna (なずな) – Lead Guitar
  • Kano (カノ) – Bass and Backing Vocals
  • Mayu (まゆ) – Drums
  • Ai (あい) – Lead Vocals and Rhythm Guitar

Haku everywhere!

Largely unknown outside of Japan, Haku became famous globally with their cover of Mono No Aware’s かむかもしかもにどもかも! The catchy nonsense-lyric tongue twister was released on YouTube in Haku’s trademark vertical frame practice-session format. The popularity of the video sparked a massive social media following and requests from fans around the world for overseas live shows. Local Haku shows also began to attract foreign fans who were travelling in Japan. Fans started sending them videos of themselves mimicking Ai’s groovy dance. Below is the original video of Haku covering the Mono No Aware song. As of this writing, it has over 16 million views.

This one…

Next Music from Tokyo vol 17

Late this summer, Haku made their North American debut in Toronto, Canada at Next Music From Tokyo Volume 17.

A photo of the poster for Next Music From Tokyo Vol 17

Next Music from Tokyo is an annual showcase of young Japanese indie bands put together by Toronto anesthesiologist Steven Tanaka. Each year, Tanaka handpicks a group of bands to tour three cities in Canada over 10 days and it is always a fantastic scene. The bands give everything they have and the crowds happily take it all in, dancing and crowd surfing (Steve too)!

This year when the NMFT line-up was announced, I was surprised to see that it featured Haku. The website even issued a warning that since the massively popular band is coming, tickets will sell out faster than usual. This got my attention and I started listening to their back catalog as well as newer releases. I was happy to find that, although the viral video clip is cute and obviously popular, Haku’s original music is even better.

Haku live at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, Canada

Around a year ago, Haku performed on NHK Japan and talked about influences and future goals. Ai expressed that although they were a band of 4 young girls, they did not want to be bound by the expectations of being a “girl band”. They hoped to show a more aggressive sound in live shows and to write songs that would have a broad appeal to fans of all genders and ages. With that statement in mind, it was fun to witness their first North American show in person.

From the very first song, the band delivered an energetic and gritty sound. The crowd, made up of men and women of all ages in equal number, responded with enthusiastic dancing and clapping. Surprisingly, many of their fans were singing along in Japanese to Haku’s originals. If their goal was to win over a broad spectrum of fans with high-intensity live versions of their original songs I think it was accomplished with great success. I loved the show and I was immediately sorry I didn’t buy tickets for both nights in Toronto.

Taking the stage at the packed Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto.
Kaitenshitekarakangaeru at a sold out show in Toronto, Canada.

THIS JUST IN !!!

Haku will be back in Canada this September for Next Music From Tokyo vol 18

Haku will be returning to Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver this September for Next Music From Tokyo vol 18. Toronto dates Sept 18 and 19, Montreal on Sept 21 and Vancouver Sept 23 and 24. They are joined by SYAYOS, pudelhunds and yureruwayurei. More information and ticket links at Next Music From Tokyo website.

Haku original music

For a band whose members are probably somewhere in their early 20s, Haku has released a good volume of music. The early singles and first mini album (Wakamono Nikki) sound like a young band still developing their identity and musical style but the playing is solid and the songwriting is good. The second full length album, Bokurajanakyadameninatte, is where the band really starts to shine and the most recent EP titled Catch showcases the fully developed Haku at their best.

The songs are bright and energetic with memorable vocal melodies and guitar hooks. They manage to sound fresh and original but somehow familiar at the same time. In the NHK interview, Ai talked about how many older fans have said that Haku’s music takes them back to their youth. She attributes this to the influence of 90s US and UK indie on Haku songwriting. These 90s flavours blended with modern J-pop and J-rock influences give Haku their defining sound and broad appeal.

Recipe for Success

Ai’s vocals are full of catchy melodies and fun cadence. Her lyrics (all in Japanese) touch on the universal topics of love and relationships with others, as well as her relationship with the world at large. Ai takes centre stage as the main vocalist and delivers crunchy rhythm playing on her 70s Telecaster Custom. She hopes to write songs that “stand the test of time” and from the enthusiasm of the live audience and the fact that they knew most these songs by heart, I think she is on the right track.

Nazuna’s guitar playing is mostly clean with an unmistakable Stratocaster chime. She sometimes doubles the rhythm guitar but more often wanders away on her own with melodic single-note lines. At NHK, she said that she wanted to invent guitar phrases that “linger in your ear”. I think that Nazuna’s guitar lines are just as catchy as Ai’s vocals and the two together create melodies that are hard to forget.

Kano is a creative bass player never lingering very long on a single note. Bass lines bounce along with the drums, counter guitar lines, experiment with harmonies and always add to the overall big energy of the song. Kano is also the second voice for doubling or vocal harmony and, in interviews, stands out as the most outgoing spokesperson for the band.

Mayu keeps it all together with breezy style, creative fills and lots of happy energy. She is a great drummer now but I think her ambition to learn and improve will sharpen her skills even more in the future.

Each player in the band brings their own unique style but it is definitely the combination of these four talents that gives Haku it’s appeal. The musicianship is undeniable and their obvious close friendship just adds to their charm.

Gear:

Haku uses some interesting guitars. Ai is playing a 70’s style Telecaster Custom and Nazuna’s Stratocaster is the same vintage. Both have 3 bolt neck plates used mainly on 70s Fenders. I think Fender Japan reissued these sometime in the 90’s so it is possible these 2 guitars are from that era. Either way, they are unusual instruments. Ai runs her Tele through a Marshall half-stack and Nazuna is using a Jazz Chorus 120.

In recent videos Ai is using a new red, maple neck standard Telecaster. The white Jaguar that was given to her by Fender at their Shibuya flagship store performance has also made it to the live stage recently.

As for pedals, Ai’s main sound seems to be Telecaster, JHS Morning Glory, Marshall amplifier. She switches out dirt pedals often: Ibanez Tube Screamer, Anasouds Savage (Klon Centaur clone), Animals Pedal Surfing Bear Overdrive (cute Japanese made tube screamer variant), NYC Big Muff fuzz have made the rounds.

Nazuna has a big pedal board which includes a Strymon Big Sky and Timeline, JHS Double Barrel, JHS Charlie Brown (cool and uncommon), Boss Turbo Distortion, Triangle Big Muff, Suhr Jack Rabbit Tremolo, Digitech Whammy as well as a Maxon Stereo Chorus.

Kano is running a Fender Precision Bass though a solid state head and Ampeg cabinet (at least at live shows). This deep, punchy Precision bass through a big cabinet is my favourite electric bass sound.

At least in their practice space, I have seen Mayu using a 4-piece gold sparkle Tama drum kit. Beyond that, I am not sure. Unless they are popular enough to carry their whole kit around, drummers usually just travel with their snare and cymbals so…hard to say.

Where to find Haku:

You can stream Haku in all the usual places.

Haku is also active on Instagram and YouTube. Click here for the Haku official website.

Haku is rumoured to be returning to Canada for Next Music From Tokyo Volume 18! Keep an eye on the NMFT website for details.

For a list of all upcoming live shows look here.

Here is the song Ai! from the Catch EP….it is a great record. Look it up on your favourite streaming platform.

A great song and video from Bokurajanakyadameninatte….

The latest release Sekai…

If you have any questions or comments or if I spelled anesthesiologist or anything else wrong… please share in the space below.

What’s your favourite Haku song? Leave it in the comments!

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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