Spicy & Refreshing Bean Sprout Soup with Rice (A Hearty Homemade Meal)
Make Delicious Bean Sprout Soup with Dried Seafood from Your Freezer!
Are you looking for a satisfying and affordable meal at home in this era of rising food prices? If you’ve found it difficult to find single-serving options or found them too expensive, especially near tourist spots, it’s time to enjoy a warm, home-cooked meal with homemade Bean Sprout Soup! While many restaurants serve this dish, the taste can vary significantly between branches, making homemade the best approach. You might recall recipes using dried fish heads that resulted in a bitter taste or a dark broth. This recipe offers a secret to creating a clear and refreshing broth using frozen dried seafood (anchovies, dried anchovy-like fish called ‘Dippori’, dried shrimp, dried shiitake mushrooms) combined with fresh vegetables (scallions, onion, radish) and stored squid. Although some preparation is needed, once you have the broth ready, you can make this hearty soup in slightly more time than it takes to cook ramen. This recipe is for approximately 4 servings, but we’ll also detail how to set it up for a single person. With a medium difficulty level, you can easily enjoy a delicious, spicy, and deeply flavored Bean Sprout Soup right in your own kitchen!
Bean Sprout Soup with Rice Ingredients (Serves 4)
- Squid (cleaned) 2
- Bean sprouts 250g (approx. 2 servings)
- Anchovies (dried, for broth, cleaned) 50g
- Radish 400g (cut into approx. 2cm thick pieces)
- Dried kelp 20g
- Onion 1
- Scallion 1
- Dried ‘Dippori’ (a type of fish) 10g
- Dried shrimp a handful
- Dried shiitake mushrooms two handfuls
- Water 3L
- Egg 1 (for poached egg)
- Salted fermented shrimp 1/2 Tbsp
- Kimchi (sour, finely chopped) a little
- Chopped scallion a little
- Chopped cheongyang pepper a little
- Sesame oil a little (for poached egg)
- Gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) a little
- Seasoned seaweed flakes a little
- Minced garlic 1 tsp
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
First, prepare about 400g of radish and cut it into large pieces, approximately 2cm thick. This radish will be used to make the broth. (Note: The radish shown in the photo is what was taken out of the broth after it was made.)
Step 2
Pour 3L of water into a pot and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, add 50g of cleaned dried anchovies for broth, 400g of cut radish, two handfuls of dried shiitake mushrooms, a handful of dried ‘Dippori’, a handful of dried shrimp, and 20g of dried kelp. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 40 minutes to extract a deep, flavorful broth. (If you’re short on time, you can add all ingredients, including the kelp, at once.)
Step 3
Rinse the 2 squid thoroughly under running water. Then, use your fingernail to scrape off the suction cups from the tentacles. Removing these suction cups prevents an unpleasant texture. They should peel off in small rings.
Step 4
After simmering the broth for about an hour, turn off the heat. Strain out all the solid ingredients using a sieve. The removed solids might fill about two bowls of ramen broth size. (These solids are part of the broth’s flavor base, so don’t discard them yet.)
Step 5
Pour the strained, clear broth back into the pot and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, add the 2 prepared squid and blanch them for just 1 minute each. Immediately remove the blanched squid, plunge them into ice water to cool, then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate. Let the remaining broth cool in a chilly place like a balcony before refrigerating.
Step 6
Now, let’s make the bean sprout broth. Pour the broth made in step (4) back into the pot and bring it to a boil. When the broth is boiling, add 250g of bean sprouts (about 2 servings) and immediately cover the pot. Keep the lid on until the bean sprouts are cooked, and then turn off the heat once the broth reboils. This broth will have added flavors from the dried seafood, squid, and bean sprouts, making it even richer.
Step 7
Drain the blanched bean sprouts, rinse them quickly under cold water, and then cool them in ice water. This process helps maintain the bean sprouts’ crispness. After cooling, drain them well and refrigerate.
Step 8
Finely chop the squid into bite-sized pieces (about 1-2cm). Finely chop the scallions and cheongyang peppers as well. (Tip: Chopping and freezing scallions and peppers in advance can be very convenient.) It’s best not to chop the squid too finely to enjoy its chewy texture.
Step 9
Place about one serving of rice in a Ttukbaegi (earthenware pot). Rinse the sour kimchi under water to remove excess saltiness, then squeeze out the water and finely chop it with scissors. (Adding it directly can make the soup taste too much like kimchi soup, overpowering the original flavor.) Place the chopped kimchi and a generous amount of bean sprouts onto the rice in the Ttukbaegi, according to your preference.
Step 10
Time for the star of the show – a ‘cheater’s’ poached egg! Lightly grease a small heatproof glass ramekin with sesame oil, carefully crack an egg into it, and microwave. Heat in 5-second intervals, checking the doneness each time. After about 20 seconds, you should have a poached egg that looks like those served in restaurants. Be careful: cooking for just a few seconds longer can turn it into a fried egg. Repeat the process of microwaving for short bursts and checking until you achieve your desired doneness. It might seem tedious, but it’s much simpler than poaching in water!
Step 11
The exact microwaving time for the poached egg will vary depending on your microwave’s power. This is what it looks like after about 15 seconds. The results can differ by just a few seconds, so experiment to find the perfect timing for your microwave. Be cautious not to overcook it into a fried egg!
Step 12
Separately, bring about 2 cups (400ml) of the broth to a boil. While the broth is heating, arrange the chopped squid, chopped scallions, chopped cheongyang peppers, chopped kimchi, and about half a teaspoon of minced garlic attractively over the rice and bean sprouts in the Ttukbaegi. (Store leftover broth, bean sprouts, and squid in the refrigerator. Keep bean sprouts submerged in water to maintain freshness.)
Step 13
Pour the hot broth over the ingredients in the Ttukbaegi. If you pour unheated broth, it will take longer to cook and can make the soup cloudy. Add half a spoonful of salted fermented shrimp and a pinch of gochugaru according to your taste, then place the Ttukbaegi on the stove to simmer. Avoid a rolling boil; aim for gentle bubbling around the edges of the pot. This prevents the broth from becoming cloudy.
Step 14
Place the ‘cheater’s’ poached egg on top of the finished bean sprout soup, and generously sprinkle with seasoned seaweed flakes. A spoonful of this warm soup feels incredibly comforting and revitalizing! (If you like, you can also add blanched squid with a side of spicy dipping sauce.)
