Sour and Spicy Kimchi Soup
Beef Broth, Buckwheat Noodles, Swordfish, Seaweed
It’s not the elegant soup I would serve at a dinner party, but rather a rustic soup I absolutely crave on a winter night. This soup is kimchi guk on steroids.
Kimchi guk is a simple Korean soup where chopped napa cabbage kimchi is simmered in beef broth. Sometimes daikon, meat, or tofu are added. It is usually garnished with scallions.
This version with ground beef, buckwheat noodles, seaweed, and swordfish is much more hearty, and served as a meal. The broth is sour, spicy, savory, salty with a hint of sweetness, and really explodes with flavor.
There are a few non-traditional foods that I like to pair with napa cabbage kimchi such as cheddar cheese, mashed potatoes, and BBQ oysters. Swordfish is another, with its mildly sweet flavor and a juicy meaty texture with a good balance of fat, it just goes well with sour and spicy kimchi.
Sour and Spicy Kimchi Soup Recipe
Ingredients
1/4 lb. lean ground beef
2 t. dark sesame oil, divided
4 c. low-sodium beef broth
2 t. low-sodium tamari
2 t. mirin (read about high-quality mirin here)
1 t. fish sauce
1 t. brown sugar
1 t. gochugaru (coarse red chili powder)
1 c. aged napa cabbage kimchi, chopped, including juice
1 T. miyeok (cut dried wakame/seaweed)
1 serrano chile, sliced thin
1 portion 3 oz. soba noodles, cooked
2 portion 4 oz. fresh swordfish
scallion, sliced
toasted sesame seeds
(makes 2 generous portions)
Method
In a medium soup pot or ddukbaegi (Korean earthenware pot), heat one teaspoon sesame oil and brown the beef.
Add beef broth and bring to a boil. Add the remaining teaspoon of sesame oil, tamari, mirin, fish sauce, brown sugar, gochugaru. Stir to dissolve.
Add kimchi, miyeok, and serrano. Turn down the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook soba noodles according to package instructions.
Sear swordfish in a non-stick dry pan over medium-high heat until browned on both sides and just cooked through.
To Serve
Place noodles in warm bowls. Ladle soup over noodles. Place swordfish on top of soup. Garnish with sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds.