Gamjatang is a spicy, hearty stew made with pork bones. You can make this restaurant favorite at home with this easy to follow recipe.
What is Gamjatang?
Gamjatang (감자탕) is a spicy, hearty stew made with pork bones. Gamja (감자) is a Korean word that’s more commonly used for potato, but for this dish, gamja actually refers to a part of the pork spine. Honestly, I didn’t even know this until I started researching the origin of gamjatang for this post. Well, we learn something new every day!
Ironically, this stew traditionally includes large chunks of potatoes, gamja, so even most Koreans think that’s where the name of the stew came from. They probably wonder why potatoes in the dish seem extra rather than the main event.
Indeed, this dish is all about pork bones! They are used to make a deeply flavored, milky stew base, and the attached meat is fall-off-the-bone tender and delicious.
How to make gamjatang
You will need to soak the pork bones to remove excess blood. Next, briefly cook the bones in boiling water and discard the water to further remove the impurities from the bones. Then, boil the bones with the aromatic vegetables until the meat is tender and the broth is milky. This is the traditional technique used to cook meat bones in Korean cooking. See galbitang and seolleongtang.
You can make this stew simply with pork bones and potatoes, but this dish typically include boiled napa cabbage or young cabbage (putbaechu, 풋배추). I love the addition of the cabbages!
The stew is flavored with typical Korean condiments such as doenjang (Korean fermented soybean paste), gochujang (Korean red chili pepper paste), and gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper flakes). The most unique ingredient, however, is crushed perilla seeds (ddeulkkaegaru, 들깨가루) and fresh perilla leaves (kkaennip, 깻잎), which gives the stew distinct nutty flavors.
I know you probably don’t want to buy crushed perilla seeds just for this one recipe. But, perilla seeds are so distinctly flavorful! Use it in ddeulkkae soondubu jjigae or use as a substitute for sesame seeds in many Korean dishes, especially in namul dishes or bibim guksu.
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Ingredients
For the broth
- 2 pounds of pork spine or neck bones
- 1/2 small onion
- 5 garlic cloves
- 4 thin ginger slices about 1-inch rounds
- 1 scallion white part
For the stew
- 5 to 6 ounces young cabbage, putbaechu, 풋배추 or napa cabbage (1 cup, boiled)
- 3 small white potatoes
- 6 to 8 perilla leaves, kkaennip, 깻잎, roughly sliced
- 2 scallions, roughly sliced
For the seasoning
- 1 tablespoon gochugaru (Korean red chili pepper flakes) -- use a teaspoon or 2 more for a spicier stew)
- 1 tablespoon gochujang (Korean red chili pepper paste)
- 1 tablespoon doenjang (Korean fermented soybean paste)
- 1 tablespoon gukganjang, 국간장, soup soy sauce or fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon crushed perilla seeds, 들깨가루 Or sesame seeds
Instructions
- Soak the bones for an hour or longer in cold water. Change the water half way through if you can. Drain.
- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Drop the bones in. Let it come back to a boil. This will take about 7 to 8 minutes.
- Drain the bones. Wash the bones under running water. Clean the pot. Return the bones back to the pot. Add 8 cups of water, the onion, garlic, ginger and scallion. Bring it to a boil. Continue to boil, uncovered, for 10 minutes over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low. Continue to boil, covered, for 50 minutes to an hour until the meat is tender and the broth is milky.
- Mix the seasoning ingredients well together.
- Bring a medium pot of water to a rapid boil. Blanch the cabbage until the white parts turn soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the cabbage from the pot (keep the hot water to boil the potatoes) and shock in cold water to stop the cooking. Drain and squeeze out water. Cut into 2 to 3-inch lengths.
- Mix the cabbage well with 1 tablespoon of the seasoning.
- Cut the potatoes in half with the skin on. In the pot of water used to blanch the cabbage, boil the potatoes until almost cooked. Peel the potatoes.
- Remove the meat from the broth. Discard the aromatic vegetables, reserving the broth (about 5 cups). Place the bone back in the pot with the broth. Add the cabbage, potatoes, and the remaining seasoning. Boil for about 10 minutes.
- Throw in the perilla leaves and scallion. Add salt and pepper to taste. Boil for an additional couple of minutes, and then add the crushed perilla seeds.
Lisa says
Can lamb shanks be used?
Hyosun says
I’m sure you can. It will taste different from authentic gamjatang made with pork bones, but i’m sure it will be delicious.
Betty says
Perilla leaf will be the problem, is I’d in for me to use shillot leaves??
Hyosun says
You can simply omit it or yes use what you have!
Grace says
I would love to see an instant pot version of this recipe!!!:))
Rita Del Carmen says
Hello Hyosun, thank you so much for all the recipes you are sharing. I am a Filipino living in the USA but I love Korean cuisine very much. In some of your recipes, one of your ingredients is “perilla leaves”. Is there any kind of substitute for this? Thank you so much.
Hyosun says
You can simply omit it.
Dora says
Thank you so much for sharing this Hyosun! I’ve had this dish in Korean restaurants and I loved the nutty taste! Now I’m confident to cook it at home knowing the secret ingredient is perilla seeds！
Helene says
I had to substitute some ingredients, and thoroughly enjoyed the results! Thank you.
Hyosun says
You’re welcome! Glad you were able to substitute some ingredients.
Lisa says
Can I substitute chicken and just shorten cooking time? I’ve made the original and loved it but curious if using chicken. Ty
Hyosun says
Gamjatang traditionally is pork bone stew, but of course you can try it with chicken. It’s just going to be different but I’m sure it will still be delicious!
marie says
Thank you Hyosun, I appreciate you getting back to me. I will use the perilla leaves.
Marie says
Hi Hyosun, can I replace the perrilla leaves w baby bok choy
Hyosun says
You can, although baby bok choy will not give the flavor of perilla leaves that’s typical in gamjatang. I’m sure it’ll be still delicious.
Tina says
I LOVE Korean food!Thank you for sharing your recipes with us!
How could I adapt this recipe for cooking with the Instant Pot?
Thank you!
CB says
Is there a substitute for perilla leaves? That’s the only ingredient I couldn’t find.
Hyosun says
Just omit it. The stew will taste still good. Enjoy!
CB says
Thank you for the quick response Hyosun. I ended up substituting perilla leaves with mint leaves. Great recipe, thank you for sharing.
Janis says
Hi Hyosun, I am planning to make this recipe very soon. Have you ever made this using a pressure cooker? I’d like very much to cut the cooking time but I was just wondering if the results will be ok if I use a pressure cooker. Thank you!
Hyosun says
I haven’t, but I am sure it will work. Try it and let me know. Hope it turns out well.
Ellen says
Tried cooking this last night using a pressure cooker. I just doubled the amount of seasoning. It turned out yummylicious 👍🙂
Eden says
I remember the first time I ate gamjatang, I was sweating and my lips burning because of the rich spice. It was somewhere in Deagu. One that I also love is the chicken soup, samgyetang.
Stefani says
Hi Hyosun,
May I know if I can replace the perilla seeds with other ingredients? And what will happen if I just omit it out?
Thanks a lot 🙂
Hyosun says
You can omit it. It will still be good. If you can find perilla leaves, use lots of them.Hope you make it.
Steph says
I made this yesterday.. It was delicious, my husband also loved it.
Thank you.
john says
Gamjatang is very spicy. i love to eat this food with Korean Drink “SOJU”
many korean people love this gamjatang, it have cheap price and good appear
thank you for admin
Harry says
Hi Hyosun,
I always thought a dish like this can only be enjoyed at a specialty Korean restaurant, but this dish I made from your recipe turned out to be fantastic. I think it is the best Gamjatang I had so far. My wife liked it a lot too. Thanks for your wonderful recipes. They are precise and well written, and most importantly they are really good.
Cheryl says
Yummy. Thank you for your lovely and clearly explained recipe. i would love to have this soup for rainy season here in the Philippines
Teresa Kauffman says
Hyosun, I love your blog! I am a Korean American (mother was full-blooded Korean) who really enjoys all of your recipes. They all bring back wonderful memories of my childhood and keeps me connected to my mother who passed away in July 2010. I tried to learn everything she cooked by watching and asking questions, but your recipes are so thorough with the ingredients and directions. Thank you so much for keeping the Korean culture alive!
Hyosun says
Teresa – I’m sorry to hear you lost your mom years ago. I am happy to be helpful! Thanks for the nice words.