Naejang-gukbap (Pork Offal Rice Soup)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •8-quart heavy stockpot
• •Large bowl and colander for cleaning offal
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Sharp knife or kitchen scissors
• •Disposable gloves, optional but useful

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the bones

   Put the pork bones in a large bowl and cover them by 2 inches with cold water. Soak 30 minutes, changing the water once after 15 minutes, then drain. This pulls away loose blood so the broth tastes clean instead of muddy.

2. 2

   Scrub the innards

   Keep the offal cold while you work. Run cold water through the small intestine, turning it inside out if your butcher left it that way, and pull away only heavy clumps of fat. Rub the intestine, stomach, and heart with 1/2 cup flour and 2 tablespoons coarse salt for 3 minutes, rinse well, then repeat with the remaining 1/4 cup flour and 1 tablespoon coarse salt for 2 minutes. Soak in 8 cups cold water with the vinegar for 10 minutes, then rinse until the water runs clear. Flour grabs the slickness, salt scours, and the short vinegar soak brightens the smell without toughening the meat.

   Do not try to cover poor cleaning with gochugaru later. Chili only makes a dirty pot red.
3. 3

   Blanch hard

   Put the bones in a clean pot, cover with fresh water, boil 10 minutes, then drain and rinse the bones and pot. In a second pot, bring enough water to cover the cleaned offal to a boil with the doenjang and 4 slices of the measured ginger. Blanch the intestine, stomach, and heart for 5 minutes, then drain and rinse. If using liver, blanch it separately for 3 minutes and keep it apart. This first boil is not broth; it is washing by fire.

4. 4

   Start the broth

   Return the rinsed bones to the clean stockpot with 12 cups cold water, the onion, crushed garlic, remaining ginger, and 2 halved scallions. Bring to a strong boil for 15 minutes, skimming what rises, then lower to a steady simmer. If using the pork shoulder, add it now and pull it out after 45 minutes, when cooked through; cool it before slicing. Let the bones continue until the broth is pale and full-bodied, about 2 1/2 hours total.

5. 5

   Boil the offal tender

   After the broth has simmered for 1 hour, add the blanched intestine and stomach to the broth. Simmer 75 to 90 minutes, until a chopstick slides through without force. Add the heart for the last 35 minutes so it cooks through but does not turn hard. If using liver, simmer it separately in clean water for 5 to 6 minutes, until the center is no longer pink and reaches 71 C or 160 F, then cool and slice. The offal should keep a little chew, not fight your teeth.

6. 6

   Strain and season

   Lift out the bones, offal, pork shoulder, and aromatics. Strain the broth through a fine sieve and measure it; you want about 8 cups. Add water if you are short, or boil it down if it tastes thin. Season with the soup soy sauce, 1 tablespoon minced salted shrimp, and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt. Simmer 2 minutes, then taste before adding the remaining salt. Saeujeot is salty in different ways from jar to jar, so the table gets the final say.

7. 7

   Slice and return

   Slice the intestine into 1-inch lengths. Slice the stomach, heart, liver if using, and pork shoulder into thin bite-size pieces, about 1/4 inch thick. Return the sliced meat and offal to the seasoned broth and simmer 10 minutes. Cut surfaces need that time to drink the broth; otherwise the bowl tastes assembled, not cooked together.

8. 8

   Season the chives

   Right before serving, toss the garlic chives with the fish sauce or soup soy sauce, gochugaru, sesame oil, and toasted sesame seeds. Do this at the last minute because buchu wilts quickly. Its sharp green bite cuts the richness of the pork, which is why this little side earns its place.

9. 9

   Serve the gukbap

   Divide 1 cup hot rice into each deep bowl. Ladle in about 2 cups broth with a generous share of sliced offal and pork. Scatter with thinly sliced scallions, black pepper, green chili if using, and a small spoon of perilla seed powder if you like that nutty finish. Put extra salted shrimp and the seasoned chives on the table. Add saeujeot 1/2 teaspoon at a time, tasting after each addition. This is a pale pork soup first, not a red pepper soup.

Chef Tips

• •Buy offal the day you cook it from a butcher with quick turnover. It should smell clean and faintly mineral, never sour or sharp. My teacher would have sent bad innards back without a word. Do the same.
• •The safe shortcut is buying cleaned and parboiled pork offal from a Korean butcher. Still simmer it 20 to 30 minutes with ginger and scallion before it goes into the broth. The vessel and schedule can modernize; the cleaning cannot disappear.
• •Salted shrimp is not just salt. Mince it before adding so its briny sweetness spreads evenly through the broth instead of landing in harsh little pockets.
• •A pressure cooker is allowed. After blanching, cook the bones with the aromatics for 50 minutes at high pressure with natural release, then cook the blanched intestine and stomach in the strained broth for 20 minutes at high pressure. Add heart after pressure cooking and simmer it gently 30 to 35 minutes.
• •Serve kimchi with bite, especially kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi). A soft, sweet side dish makes this bowl feel heavy; radish crunch and acidity wake it up.

Advance Preparation

• •The broth and sliced offal can be made 1 day ahead through the simmering stage. Chill quickly in shallow containers within 2 hours, refrigerate, then reheat gently. The fat will firm on top, making it easy to remove only what you do not want.
• •Cleaned and blanched offal can be held overnight in the refrigerator, tightly covered, if your refrigerator stays below 4 C or 40 F. Do not leave raw offal waiting in the sink while you prepare other things.
• •Freeze extra strained pork broth for up to 2 months. Freeze the broth alone, not the rice and not liver, which turns grainy after thawing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 1000g)