Joey's Korean Beef Radish Soup Recipe | Laura Iz Blog (2024)

So many people have been writing to me, asking me for my recipe for this so here it is! It’s probably the easiest Korean soup to make and very popular in Korean households. When Joey is sick, this is our go-to soup to fill her up and she devours it every time! It’s a beef radish soup and in Korean it is called Soegogi-muguk (쇠고기무국). You typically have it with a bowl of rice, and man, it’s SO GOOD when you’re feeling sick and wanting something warm and delicious to eat. Korean radish/daikon has amazing health benefits including the following:

• Anti-cancer
• Anti-bacterial & anti-viral: good for acne & eczema
• Aids digestion
• Aids Kidney functions
• Remove body toxins
• A good decongestant
• Rich in Vitamin A,C, E & B-6
• Rich in minerals Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium & Iron
• High in fiber

Uh…can you tell she loves it??

The recipe below is for how I make it for Joey. I know others make it differently than I do. This is just my personal recipe for kids. For the recipe for adults, I’ve added those notes.

Korean Beef Radish Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

(Serves 2-3 adult sized portions)

• ½ pounds/8 ounces shabu shabu beef or ground beef
  • I use softer meats for Joey so that it’s easy to chew and eat. I like the shabu shabu meat the best because it’s super soft and quick to cook. You can find them in the freezer section at asian grocery stores. For adults, you can use beef brisket, chuck or loin and slice them into bite-sized pieces as well.
• ½ pound Korean radish or daikon
  • Washed, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
• Anchovy Soup Stock (Dashi) in tea bag
  • Most people don’t use this to make this recipe so you can do without it but I like to use it because it adds more flavor and depth to the soup. You can find these in the Korean grocery stores. If you don’t have access to this item then you can make your own anchovy dashi by using this recipe.
• 2 green onions, sliced thinly
• Sesame seed oil
• Salt
  • I use a Korean brand that is low sodium for kids that has added seaweed calcium. You can find this in Korean grocery stores.
• Soy sauce specifically made for soup (Guk-Ganjang in Korean)
  • Do not use regular soy sauce as it will be too sweet. (I use a low-sodium Korean brand for kids that you can find in Korean grocery stores but for adults, you may use a regular soup soy sauce.)
  • If you don’t have access to soup soy sauce, then you can usefish sauce and taste and season to your preference.
• Water (8 cups)
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced

Steps:

By the way, I don’t use exact measurements but always taste test so please rely on what your preference is with seasoning and adjust how much water and salt you want to use.

1. In a large pot, add sesame seed oil and sauté the beef for a couple minutes. Add the radish pieces and sauté until they are close to being translucent. If you don’tsauté the radish, they will easily dissolve if you just add them into the water to boil.
2. Add water, garlic and the Anchovy Soup Stock bag (if you have it on hand), cover and let it boil for 25 minutes on medium. The radish should look translucent. The longer you simmer it, the more flavor you’ll get out of the dashi, radish and beef. Again, you don’t have to use the Anchovy Soup Stock bag here like I do.
3. Use a fat skimmer mesh ladle to to skim the brown grease and foam produced at the top of the pot.
4. Taste test and add a couple splashes of the soup soy sauce and some salt as needed. I don’t have exact measurements but you should be able to gauge how much you need by just taste testing. It shouldn’t be too salty but have a deep beef broth taste. Add green onions. Let it cook for another 5 minutes. Squeeze out the dashi in the stock bag, discard and serve the remaining soup with a bowl of rice!* For adults, you can use a little black pepper to season at the end .