Gamja Tang is one of my favorite Korean soups. It’s spicy, it’s hearty, and I love the deeply flavorful broth and the tender meat from the pork neck bones. However, it takes hours to make because you need to soak the meat, parboil it, and let it become fall-off-the-bone tender. While at times that’s worth all the effort, I’ve figured out a way to quickly and easily make it.
This Beef Gamja Tang is a very simple dish. It takes the rich and earthy pork bone soup and spins it into a 20-minute dish. Using thinly sliced beef and some uniquely Korean ingredients, you can save time but still enjoy this equally meaty, veggie-filled, and comforting dish.
This soup is perfect for all seasons—whether you’re sick, hungover, or just need a quick pick-me-up, this is the one to make!
Ingredients and Substitutions
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- Thinly Sliced Beef or Shabu Shabu Beef – I used this in place of pork neck bones, so it’s accessible and quick to cook, but still yields the same meaty flavor.
- Potatoes – The main veggie used in the dish. As it softens, it absorbs all the flavor from the soup and at the same time makes it very thick.
- Garlic, Scallions, Perilla Leaves – These are the aromatics for fragrance and freshness to the soup. Gamja Tang uses a lot of perilla leaves for their herby, earthy flavor that complements the soup’s meatiness.
- Jalapeño Pepper – For the spicy kick
- Bone Broth and Water – This is the base of the soup. Half of the base is instant bone broth to quickly get that rich flavor without having to boil for long hours.
Gamja Tang Seasonings
- Soybean Paste – This helps reduce the funky smell of the meat, but also adds a rich saltiness and umami flavor. The closest replacement for it is miso paste.
- Pepper Flakes – For extra spice and that fierce red color.
- Soy Sauce for Soup – This is a bit saltier than regular soy sauce that we often use for soup. It helps not darken the soup while still giving that savory flavor. You can use regular soy sauce in place of it; simply adjust to taste a tablespoon at a time.
- Dashida – This is essentially powdered soup stock, like Korean MSG. It’s the key to that meaty and umami-flavored soup. You can replace this with other beef bouillon you may have.
- Shrimp Paste – These are fermented baby shrimp, which are also for the savor and umami, but they can be replaced with fish sauce.
- Pepper Paste – To boost the savory spice. This is a unique Korean ingredient, so there isn’t any replacement for it.
- Perilla Seed Powder – The magic powder that sets Gamja Tang apart from other soups. It’s nutty but at the same time minty and herby-fresh. There isn’t any replacement for it.
- Black Pepper – To taste
How to Make Beef Gamja Tang?
Prepare the ingredients: Peel and chop the potatoes, then the scallions, jalapeños, and perilla leaves.
Combine the ingredients: Place the potatoes, thinly sliced beef, bone broth, and water in a pot.
Season the gamja tang: Season the soup with garlic, soybean paste, pepper flakes, soy sauce for soup, dashida, shrimp paste, pepper paste, and black pepper.
Let the soup boil: Cover the mixture and let it boil for 10 minutes.
Add the aromatics: Once the soup is boiling, add the scallions, jalapeño peppers, perilla leaves, and perilla seed powder. Cover and let boil until the potatoes are done.
Serving and Storage
Since this is a fairly easy soup to prepare, I’m sure you’ll be able to finish it on the spot. This is best enjoyed with freshly cooked rice, or you can add some dangmyeon or ramen noodles to it! Serve this with some napa cabbage kimchi or radish kimchi as a palate cleanser.
For any leftovers, store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Simply reheat in the stove.
Other easy soup dishes you might like:
Make sure to leave a rating, a comment, or tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok when you chop them up! Yeobosayo!
Beef Gamja Tang
Ingredients
- 360 grams Potatoes Around 2 big potatoes, Chopped to bitesize
- 300 grams Thinly Sliced Beef
- 2 cups Bone Broth
- 2 cups Water
- 2 tbsp Minced Garlic
- 2 tbsp Soybean Paste (Doenjang)
- 2 tbsp Pepper Flakes (Gochugaru)
- 1 tbsp Soy Sauce for Soup
- 1 tbsp Dashida
- 1/2 tbsp Shrimp Paste (Saeujeot)
- 1/2 tbsp Pepper Paste (Gochujang)
- Black Pepper To taste
- 2 stalks Scallions Chopped to 3-inch strips
- 1 Jalapeño Chopped
- 15 pcs Perilla Leaves Sliced into 3
- 4 tbsp Perilla Seed Powder
Instructions
- Peel and chop the potatoes into bite-sized pieces.
- Chop the scallions, jalapeños, and perilla leaves.
- Place the potatoes, thinly sliced beef, bone broth, and water inside a pot.
- Season the soup with garlic, soybean paste, pepper flakes, soy sauce for soup, dashida, shrimp paste, pepper paste, and black pepper.
- Cover the mixture and let it boil for 10 minutes.
- Once the soup is boiling, add the scallions, jalapeño peppers, perilla leaves, and perilla seed powder.
- Cover and let boil until the potatoes are done.
- Serve with rice or add dangmyeon or ramen noodles to it and enjoy!
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