When the weather starts to get chilly, we often look for a warm and simple dinner. One of the Korean soups we make at home is Korean Beef and Radish Soup, commonly called So-goh-gee Moo-gook.
This is a simple Korean home-style soup made with beef, Korean radish, green onion, garlic, and a few basic seasonings.
We do not need many ingredients or complicated cooking steps. What matters most to us is making a clean beef broth and cooking the beef long enough to become fully tender.
We especially like to serve this soup with freshly cooked rice. The warm broth, soft radish, and beef make a simple meal that fits very well on a chilly evening.
Ingredients We Use
For our version of Korean Beef and Radish Soup, we use:
- 400 g beef for soup
- 500 g Korean radish
- 15 g green onion roots
- 2 medium onions
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons green onion, sliced diagonally
- 2 tablespoons soup soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Salt, as needed
- 2.5 liters water
We usually use beef sold for soups or stews. Since we cut the cooked beef into bite-sized pieces later, the pieces do not need to be exactly the same size when we start.
Korean radish is also an important part of this soup. We like to use Korean radish because it becomes soft as it cooks and works well with the beef broth.
Why We Soak the Beef First
Before we start cooking, we put the beef in cold water for about one hour.
This helps remove blood from the surface of the meat and helps reduce the strong smell that can sometimes come from beef.
We use cold water for this step.
After about one hour, we take the beef out of the water and prepare to make the broth.
This is a simple step, but we do not skip it when we make this soup at home. We like starting with beef that has been properly prepared before it goes into the pot.
Making the Beef Broth
Place the beef in a large pot.
Add:
- 2.5 liters of water
- 15 g green onion roots
- 2 medium onions, cut in half
Bring everything to a boil over high heat.
The green onion roots and onions are mainly used while cooking the beef. We use them to help reduce the strong smell of the meat and to add a simple base flavor to the broth.
Once the water starts boiling, foam will rise to the surface. Some fat may also float on top.
We use a spoon or ladle to remove the foam and excess fat.
We repeat this a few times while the beef is cooking.
Why We Remove the Foam
For us, removing the foam is an important part of making this soup.
When the beef first starts boiling, the surface of the broth can become covered with foam. We do not want to leave all of it in the pot.
We slowly skim the surface with a spoon or ladle as the soup continues to boil.
We find that this gives the broth a cleaner appearance and a lighter feel.
It does take a little extra time, but it is not difficult. We simply check the surface while the beef is cooking and remove the foam and fat when we see it.
Cook the Beef Until It Is Fully Done
After the broth starts boiling, we continue cooking the beef for about 20~30 minutes.
The cooking time can change depending on the size of the beef pieces and the heat from the stove.
Large pieces may need more time, while smaller pieces may cook faster.
Instead of watching the clock only, we check the condition of the beef.
When the beef is fully cooked and tender enough to cut, we remove it from the pot.
Let the beef cool until it is easy to handle.
At this point, we also remove the cooked onions and green onion roots from the broth and discard them.
The broth stays in the pot.
By now, the flavor from the beef, onions, and green onion roots has already gone into the broth.
Cutting the Cooked Beef
When the cooked beef is cool enough to handle, we cut it into bite-sized pieces.
We like pieces that are large enough to give us a good bite of beef when we eat the soup.
There is no need for every piece to be exactly the same size. We simply cut the meat into comfortable pieces for eating with a spoon.
After cutting the beef, we set it aside.
The broth remains in the pot while we prepare the radish.
Preparing the Korean Radish
Peel the Korean radish and cut it into flat pieces.
For our soup, we usually cut the radish into pieces about 2 to 3 cm wide and 2 to 3 cm long, with a thickness of about 3 mm.
The pieces do not have to be perfectly even.
We prefer fairly thin pieces because they cook reasonably quickly while still keeping their shape in the soup.
Add the sliced radish to the beef broth.
Continue cooking until the radish becomes soft.
As the radish cooks, it slowly becomes tender and blends with the beef broth.
We wait until the radish is fully cooked before adding the final seasonings and the cooked beef.
This order works well for the way we make the soup at home.
Adding the Final Seasonings
When the radish is fully cooked, add:
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons green onion, sliced on the diagonal
- 2 tablespoons soup soy sauce
- The sliced cooked beef
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Bring the soup to a boil again.
Let it cook briefly so the beef, radish, garlic, green onion, and seasonings come together.
Then taste the broth.
If the soup needs more salt, add salt a little at a time.
We prefer to adjust the final salt level carefully rather than adding a large amount of soup soy sauce.
Why We Do Not Use Too Much Soup Soy Sauce
We can use soup soy sauce to season the entire soup, but we usually do not add too much.
Soup soy sauce gives the broth a good savory taste, but adding too much can make the soup much darker.
We prefer our Beef and Radish Soup to have a lighter-colored broth.
For this reason, we use soup soy sauce for the main seasoning and then use salt to make the final adjustment.
This is a small detail, but it is one of the things we pay attention to when making this soup at home.
We like to see the light broth, soft radish, and pieces of beef clearly in the bowl.
Taste the Soup Before Turning Off the Heat
Before we turn off the stove, we taste the broth one more time.
At this point, the beef should be fully cooked and the radish should be soft.
The beef should provide the main flavor of the broth, while the radish, onion, and green onion add their own flavors.
We do not want the seasonings to cover up the taste of the main ingredients.
If the soup needs more salt, we add a small amount and taste it again.
This is why we prefer adding salt little by little at the end.
It is easy to add more seasoning, but it is much harder to fix a soup that has become too salty.
How We Like to Eat It
We like to eat Korean Beef and Radish Soup while it is still hot.
Our favorite way to serve it is with freshly cooked rice.
Hot rice goes very well with the light beef broth and soft radish.
We can simply eat the soup with rice, or we can add a few Korean side dishes from the refrigerator.
On a chilly evening, we do not always need a complicated meal.
A bowl of hot soup, freshly cooked rice, and a few simple side dishes can make a very satisfying homemade dinner.
What We Pay Attention to When We Make This Soup
There are a few things we always keep in mind when making Korean Beef and Radish Soup.
First, we prepare the beef carefully before cooking it.
Second, we remove the foam that rises when the beef broth begins to boil.
Third, we cook the beef until it is fully done instead of depending only on a fixed cooking time.
Fourth, we wait until the radish is fully cooked before adding the final seasonings and cooked beef.
Finally, we season the soup gradually.
These steps are simple, but they are part of the way we have learned to make this soup at home.
Small Adjustments Make a Difference
This recipe can be adjusted depending on the ingredients we have.
If the beef pieces are large, they may need more cooking time.
If the radish is cut thicker than ours, it may also take longer to become soft.
The amount of salt can also change depending on the amount of broth and the type of soup soy sauce we use.
For this reason, we use the recipe as a guide rather than treating every measurement and cooking time as an absolute rule.
We check the food while we cook.
That is how we normally cook at home.
Our Homemade Korean Beef and Radish Soup
Korean Beef and Radish Soup is one of those Korean home-style dishes that we keep coming back to.
It does not require a long list of ingredients.
We start with beef, Korean radish, onions, green onion roots, and water. We take a little time to prepare the beef, skim the broth, and cook everything in the right order.
Then we finish the soup with garlic, green onion, soup soy sauce, salt, and black pepper.
We do not try to make the broth too dark or too strongly seasoned.
We like the natural combination of beef, radish, onion, and green onion to remain noticeable.
When the weather becomes chilly, a warm bowl of soup is often what we want for dinner.
For us, Korean Beef and Radish Soup is a good example of simple Korean home cooking.
It is made with familiar ingredients, the cooking process is straightforward, and it goes especially well with freshly cooked rice.
Sometimes we do not need a complicated meal.
A hot bowl of soup, a bowl of fresh rice, and a few simple side dishes are enough for a comfortable evening at home.