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    Home » Pork

    Gamjatang (Spicy Pork Bone Stew)

    Published 04/03/2016. Updated 02/25/2022

    Jump to Recipe

    Gamjatang is a spicy, hearty stew made with pork bones. You can make this restaurant favorite at home with this easy to follow recipe.

    DSC 1216 e1459740754298 - Gamjatang (Spicy Pork Bone Stew)

    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.

    DSC 1191 e1459740645714 - Gamjatang (Spicy Pork Bone Stew)

    You can make this stew simply with pork bones and potatoes, but this dish typically includes 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 unique ingredients, however, are crushed perilla seeds (ddeulkkaegaru, 들깨가루) and fresh perilla leaves (kkaennip, 깻잎), which give 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.

    DSC 1003 e1459740976735 - Gamjatang (Spicy Pork Bone Stew)

    For more Korean cooking inspirations, follow  along on YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

    DSC 1191 e1459740645714 150x150 1 - Gamjatang (Spicy Pork Bone Stew)

    Gamjatang (Spicy Pork Bone Stew)

    4.72 from 39 votes
    Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes
    Resting time: 1 hour hour
    Servings: 3
    Print Recipe

    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
    • 1 tablespoon crushed perilla seeds, 들깨가루 Or sesame seeds

    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

    Instructions

    • Soak the bones for an hour or longer in cold water. Change the water half way through if you can. Drain.
      DSC 0969 e1459741247885 - Gamjatang (Spicy Pork Bone Stew)
    • 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.
      DSC 1043 e1459741434456 - Gamjatang (Spicy Pork Bone Stew)
    • 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.
      DSC 1050 e1459741644196 - Gamjatang (Spicy Pork Bone Stew)
    • Mix the seasoning ingredients well together.
      DSC 1138 e1459741804767 - Gamjatang (Spicy Pork Bone Stew)
    • 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.
      DSC 1136 e1459741899823 - Gamjatang (Spicy Pork Bone Stew)
    • Mix the cabbage well with 1 tablespoon of the seasoning.DSC 1139 e1459742011939 - Gamjatang (Spicy Pork Bone Stew)
    • 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. DSC 1149 e1459742110141 - Gamjatang (Spicy Pork Bone Stew)
    • 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.
      DSC 0970 e1459742202653 - Gamjatang (Spicy Pork Bone Stew)
    • 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.
      DSC 0988 e1459742374910 - Gamjatang (Spicy Pork Bone Stew)
    Tried this recipe?Mention @koreanbapsang or tag #koreanbapsang!

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    Hi! I'm Hyosun, and I am a Korean-American mom of two wonderful grown-up children. Here, you will learn how to cook Korean dishes the way we Koreans traditionally eat at home. Read More...

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