Jogae Tang - 조개탕
Clam and Ssukgat Soup
Recipe by Ji Hye Kim
I love this soup because even though it looks complicated, it is quite simple. You make the stock, cut some vegetables, and boil clams in them until clams are just cooked and open. Stir in the sauce and serve. The green sauce made with ssukgat and lady choi peppers makes the soup fresh, herbaceous and so delicious.
I tend to make anchovy stocks in bulk and have pints of them in the freezer. With the stock premade that way, this takes as little time as making the sauce. Pair it with some rice and banchan for a satisfying meal. Or serve it by itself with some soju late at night. Hope you enjoy it!
Ingredients:
For cleaning clams:
¼ cup salt
4 cup water
For anchovy stock:
5 cup Water
10 Dried anchovies (look for larger ones labeled “for stock”) OR 1 premade “dashi pack”
3 Scallions, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 Onion, cut into 1 inch pieces
4-inch piece Dashima (Dried seaweed for stock, use if not using “dashi pack”)
Any Peels of ginger, garlic, onion, radishes and fennels from prepping the sauce and soup
For ssukgat sauce:
1 Lady Choi pepper
½ tbsp Garlic (1 large or 2 small cloves)
½ tsp Ginger
1 cup Ssukgat, loosely packed
½ tsp Lemon juice or rice wine vinegar
For soup:
12 ea Little neck clams, medium sized
¼ Fennel bulb
4oz Korean moo radishes (about 1.5” by 2.5” piece)
1 Scallion
Garnish:
Set aside a few (or a handful, if you’re me) strands of ssukgat pieces for garnish
Instructions:
Soak clams
Choose fresh clams from a good fish monger.
Scrub the clams under cold running water. Then rinse them with cold water 2-3 rimes until water is clear.
In a large bowl, dissolve the ¼ cup of salt into 4 cups of cold water. Add the clams into the bowl. Soak at least 20 minutes, no more than 2 hours in the fridge.
Make ssukgat sauce
Prep all the vegetables.
Slice the tops off a lady choi pepper. Slice it long way in half, then remove seeds and stems. Chop roughly into half inch pieces.
Smash garlic.
Peel ginger, chop roughly.
Wash ssukgat, shake it off to remove access water. Cut into one inch pieces.
Place all the ingredients into a food processor or vitamix and puree it until as smooth as you can get it. Set aside in the fridge.
Make the anchovy stock
Split the anchovies the long way and take out the dark innards and the head. Discard the heads and innards.
Heat the dry stock pot over low heat on the stove. Add the prepped anchovies into the pot and toast gently, for about 30 seconds. (Skip this step if you’re using a dashi pack.)
Add water. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil.
Add the vegetables and dashima into the pot. Simmer for about 15 minutes.
Pro Tip: as you’re prepping vegetables for this recipe, you can add any trims and peels into the stock pot, too.
Turn the heat off and let it cool enough to handle.
Place a colander over a large container. Pour the stock over the colander, so the colander will catch all the stock ingredients and the container will only have the liquid. Discard the solids caught in the colander. It should get you about 4 cups of stock. Set aside the liquids for the soup.
Make the soup!
Prep vegetables that will go into the soup
Cut off the stems of fennel. Thinly slice fennel against the grain into slivers
Peel the radish and slice into semi circle or square pieces about ⅛ inch thick.
Cut scallions in to 1 inch pieces.
In a medium pot, add the vegetables and pour over 4 cups of anchovy stock. Place over high heat and bring it to a boil.
When the stock starts boiling, gently drop in the clams. Skim any foams that arise to the top.
As soon as all the clams are open and just cooked, turn off the heat.
Stir in half of the ssukgat sauce until the broth is herbaceous and a little spicy.
Garnish with fresh ssukgat pieces. Serve the rest of ssukgat sauce on the side for your guests to add more to their liking.
Enjoy with some rice and kimchi, or simply serve it with some soju late night.