Don’t be discouraged by the name or longer instructions. The preparation is actually pretty simple. Janchi guksu is a traditional Korean dish that is usually served at festive occasions such as weddings or birthday parties. (Janchi = party/celebration, Guksu = noodles).
Korean Soup Janchi Guksu
Janchi guksu is a simple soup served with wheat noodles (somyeon or somen in Japanese). Noodles symbolize a long and happy life in Korea, so they are served during special events and celebrations.
This dish is not difficult to prepare, so when I crave for a warm soup that doesn’t take much time, I cook this one (or miso soup).
Tips for preparation
Dried anchovies are usually used to prepare the broth, but it’s not so easy to find them in a shop. A good substitute is dashi powder, which is commonly used in Japanese cuisine. You can add various vegetables such as mushrooms, onions, radish, which will add a richer taste to the broth.
The noodles should be thin. Rice noodles are not very suitable, wheat noodles are better. I strongly recommend not to skip the topping. It perfectly flavors the broth. You can use different vegetables, but zucchini, carrots, kimchi or nori seaweed are typical.
It’s a really simple dish and you can prepare the broth, topping and vegetables and keep them in the refrigerator for several days, then you just need to cook the noodles.
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Recipe for Korean Soup Janchi Guksu
Ingredients
- 1 liter of water
- 5 g kombu seaweed
- 1 + 1/2 tsp dashi powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 onion
- 1 spring onion
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 zucchini
- 2 bundles of somen noodles
Topping
- 3 - 4 tbsp finely chopped spring onion (or chinese chive)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 garlic
- 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
- Sesame seeds
- Chili (optional)
Instructions
- For the broth, pour 1 liter of water into the pot and leave the kombu seaweed soaked in it for about 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, let the water with kombu boil. Add onion and the spring onion (just bigger pieces). When the water starts to boil, add dashi powder and salt. Let it cook for 15 minutes. Then add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. You can already boil water for the noodles in another pot.
- In the meantime, prepare the zucchini and eggs. Cut the zucchini into smaller strips and stir fry in a pan. Add a pinch of salt.
- Beat the eggs in a bowl with a pinch of salt and make a pancake on a little oil in a pan. If you have a smaller pan, you can make two, if you have a larger pan, then one. Then roll up the egg pancake and cut it into thinner strips.
- Cook the noodles according to instructions on the package. After cooking wash them under cold water to remove starch.
- For the topping, mix finely chopped onion, grated garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds and chili (omit if you don't like spicy).
- Put cooked noodles in a bowl, put the egg and zucchini strips on noodles and then the topping on top. Pour in the broth and serve.
Itadakimasu! [itadakimas]
