Jangjorim is a soy-braised beef dish. It’s a slightly sweet, salty side dish that goes well with any Korean meal!

Jangjorim (장조림) is a soy-braised beef dish. It’s a slightly sweet and salty dish that’s meant to be eaten in small amounts as a basic side dish, mitbanchan (밑반찬).  As such, a little bit of meat goes a long way.

Back in the day, when beef was scarce, jangjorim was an economical way to put some beef on the table for the whole family. It’s also a popular side dish for home-packed lunch boxes. Kids love it! Growing up, it was the most exciting thing to see in my lunch box. Thanks mom!

Which cut of meat to use

Beef eye round (called hongdukkaesal, 홍두깨살) is commonly used to make jangjorim. However, I like to use brisket (yangjimeori, 양지머리), flank steak (chimatsal yangji, 치맛살 양지), or shank meat (satae, 사태) because they are more flavorful and yield a better texture. The cooking time may vary depending on which cut of meat you use. 

If you like pork jangjorim, use a lean cut such as pork loin or tenderloin. 

How to make jangjorim

First, boil some aromatic vegetables for a few minutes to make a flavorful broth. Then, cook small blocks of beef in the broth until the meat is cooked through and fairly tender before adding soy sauce and other seasoning ingredients. The beef will turn tough if you cook in soy sauce from the beginning.

It’s very common to add some fresh chili peppers and/or boiled eggs. Kkwari gochu, 꽈리고추 (aka shishito peppers) is a common choice, but you can use any fresh or dried peppers. Garlic cloves are also delicious braised in the sweet and savory jangjorim sauce. 

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Jangjorim (Soy Braised Beef)

Jangjorim is a soy-braised beef dish. It's a slightly sweet, salty side dish that goes well with any Korean meal!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Korean

Keyword beef, braised, chili peppers, soy sauce

minutes

hour

hour minutes

Servings 8

• 1.5 pounds beef brisket, flank steak, or shank meat
• 1/2 medium onion
• 2 scallions white part
• 6 ounces of Korean radish, mu, cut into big chunks
• 7 plump garlic cloves
• 3 thin ginger slices, about 1-inch round
• 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppers (or ground peppers to taste)
• 5 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons soup soy sauce (or use more regular soy sauce)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons rice wine or mirin

Optional ingredients

• 1 piece 3-inch square dried kelp (or a bay leaf)
• 10 to 12 Shishito peppers (or other fresh green peppers) Use less and cut into halves if using large peppers
• 3 boiled eggs, peeled

• Cut the beef into 2 to 3-inch rectangles.

• In a covered medium pot, bring 8 cups of water and the next 6 ingredients to a boil. Continue to boil for 5 minutes over medium high heat.

• Drop the meat into the pot. Bring it to a gentle boil, and remove the scum. Reduce the heat to medium. Boil, covered, for about 30 minutes.

• Remove the meat. Strain the cooking liquid into a large bowl, and then add 2.5 cups of the liquid back to the pot. (You can save the remaining broth to make a soup or stew later.)

• Add the meat and sauce ingredients to the pot. Bring it to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, and boil, covered, until the meat is tender and the sauce is reduced to about 1/3, about 20 minutes. You can cook longer if the meat is still not tender enough.

• Add the optional dried kelp, peppers and eggs and continue to boil for about 10 minutes. Discard the kelp, and transfer everything else to an airtight container for storage. Cool before storing in the fridge. Shred the meat and pour some sauce over to serve.

Keep it refrigerated in an airtight container. It will keep well up to 7 days. If you want to keep it longer, boil the meat and sauce again after a few days. The meat will become hard in the fridge. You can soften it by leaving the shredded beef out at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes, or microwave for about 20 seconds to soften.

This jangjorim recipe was originally posted in March 2014. Here, I have updated it with new photos, more information and minor changes to the recipe.

The post Jangjorim (Soy Braised Beef) appeared first on Korean Bapsang.