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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Ingredients
- 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)
Sauce ingredients
- 5 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons soup soy sauce (guk ganjang, 국간장) (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
Instructions
- 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 ⅓, 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.
Notes
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.
Skim says
Hello!
I love this recipe and have been making for my little boys. Do you think I can sub the Korean mu for something else? I tried buying but they looked really bad. I really loved the original flavor and texture of this recipe so didn’t want to change.
Mingee says
This may sound crazy, but growing up I recall eating this for *months* and considered it a preserved dish…well, I’m still here so that’s something! Also, I would hope people can use actual Korean kochu peppers, not shishito, which I find different in taste and texture. Thank you so much for your recipes!
Josh says
When I was a kid we were definitely working on the same jar in the fridge for months… maybe there’s something to it!
Jinsun says
Yes we ate it for months too. Maybe because we had a super simple one: just meat, soy sauce, garlic cloves, and sugar. There was alot of soy sauce. It kept for months in the fridge in a glass jar, as long as the shredded meat was under the liquid.
My mom would sometimes use expired raw beef to make it, she would just drain off the water from the first boil that smelled bad, sometimes second. Then the next boiling of the meat there would be no more foam, and it would smell good. Simmer that for hours, and then add the garlic cloves and soy sauce and sugar. Lasted for months. Delicious and cheap. No sickness.
Erica says
The recipe was great. Extremely tasty! However, the 2.5 cups of the cooking broth (step 4) is definitely not enough. It needs more like 3.5 cups. I followed everything exactly, and this is the only step that didn’t make sense. Because of that, there was not enough liquid in the end 🙁 I had to add more broth after + soy sauce to fix.
Jes says
This is the best jangjorim I’ve ever had! I love the brisket. My mom and eeemohs use flank, but now said they’re going to try brisket. They loved it!
I agree that the liquid isn’t quite enough. I double the sauce ingredients. The sauce is so good added to rice..that being said, I also put at least a cup to the side to marinate more eggs in. I like this marinade better than mayak egg recipes.
Hyosun says
So happy to hear that!! Also, glad you modify the recipe to have more sauce to taste.
Tim L says
I’ve read this recipe many times, and cannot see when you add the soy sauce. You specify to add the “next 6 ingredients” at step 2. Those ingredients don’t include the soy sauce, so when you recommend adding that? Your list of ingredients include 5 tablespoons of Soy Sauce, and 2 tablespoons also, so you must be adding those at different times? Please clarify the instructions for readers. Thank you, Tim L
Hyosun says
Step 2 is to boil aromatic vegetables/ingredients before adding the meat. The post head notes, under How to Make Jangjorim, explains why the recipe has this process: “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.”
Regarding when to add the soy sauce, Step 5 says: Add the meat and sauce ingredients to the pot.” And the photo for step 5 shows that as well.
5 tablespoons soy sauce is regular soy sauce, and the next soy sauce says “soup soy sauce” which is different. This is why I have a note “or use more regular soy sauce.” Soup soy sauce is Korean traditional soy sauce which is a byproduct of making doenjang. It’s lighter and saltier than regular types, and has strong, unique flavor. I’ll add the Korean name to make it clear.
Hope this clarifies everything for you.
Diana says
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! It came out wonderful 🙂 I did do a few things differently: I pre-blanched the brisket for 5 mins in salted boiling water, added 1 tbsp kosher salt to the stock, & reduced the sugar to 2 tbsp. It also took about 1.5-2hrs for the brisket to become tender / shreddable. Thanks again. Definitely saving to our collection <3
Hyosun says
Glad it came out wonderfully! Brisket is a tough cut of meat, but 2 hours seems too long with these small pieces. One thing I suggest you try next time is not to use salt in your initial boiling. The salt can toughen the already tough cut of meat. That’s why we add the soy brine after the meat is cooked. I mention this in the narrative of this post: “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.” Also not sure why you need to add salt. The soy brine makes the dish quite salty at the end. Hope this helps.
Diana says
Thanks for the feedback! Yes I noticed your instructions with the cooking in stock that you do not add salt. I usually do this to ensure the seasoning penetrates through the meat, but now I realize it caused the brisket to become tough. The dish did not come out salty though just perfectly seasoned. Perhaps it’s due to the brand of soy sauce that I use? Either way it was delicious 🙂 Next time I will not add salt and see how it turns out then. Thank you!
Marlena Di says
Absolutely delicious. My family is so sad I only used a pound of meat to try out this recipe. It was a huge hit. I’ve seen this side dish in a lot of Korean dramas I’ve been watching and I’m so glad I gave it a try today. Thank you for sharing your recipe with us!
Carol says
Dearest ,
Appreciated for you r kindness to share recipe with us!
Myung Armstrong says
Going to make this tonight with Prime Steak blocks from Costco. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Hyosun says
Look forward to hearing about it!
Nicole S says
The flavor is amazing but mine came out tough and I followed the recipe pretty much exactly except I left out the ginger. Why would it still be tough after almost an hour of boiling?
Hyosun says
Which cut of beef did you use? You’re right it shouldn’t be that tough after boiling it for that long.
grace chang says
I just want to thank you for your recipes!! Very easy to follow and the taste is amazing!!
Hyosun says
Thank you for the kind words, Grace! You just put a big smile on my face.
April says
Hi! Is there a way to make this in a pressure cooker?
Kay Johnston says
Hi Hyosun! I’m new to your site and very excited to have found you. All recipes look so appetizing & thorough that I can follow. One question: rice wine, what is it called in Korean? Mirin, I know, is a Japanese version with some additional ingredients. Is it ”Matsul,” Cheongju, or soju? I don’t recall my mom using any kind of wine in her Korean cooking. Thank you.
Hyosun says
Hi Kay! Traditionally, Koreans use cheongju in cooking, but these days seasoned cooking rice wine (mirin) is also widely used. Sometimes soju is also used. Any one of these is okay to use in the recipe or you can omit.
Gina says
How long would this lay in the refrigerator? Since there’s so much sodium, I would imagine it stays a little longer than normal
Hyosun says
Yes it does. It should be okay for 2 to 3 weeks.
apark says
i was thinking that this might be a great recipe for a pressure cooker like an instant pot. Have you tried it that way?
Hyosun says
no I haven’t, but yes it should work. If you try, let me know how it turns out. Cheers!
Grace says
What if I wanted to use a crock pot for this recipe? How would I do it?
Jin H. says
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! It turned out super delicious. I forgot to put in ginger slices, but it still turned out the way my mom use to make it for me when I was a kid! I also put in some boiled eggs and it came out lovely.
Hyosun says
You’re welcome! I am happy to hear it was like your mom’s jangjorim.
Otocolobus says
Hi!
I think that korean radishes might be hard to find here. Is there any other vegetable that would be suitable to replace it with?
Hyosun says
just omit it. It should be fine. Enjoy!
Grace says
Jicama is a pretty close match for Korean radish. 🙂
Young Mi says
Hi Hyosun, what kind of kelp do I buy to use here? Is it the same kind as that used in 미역국 (don’t know if I spelled that right)? Can you give me some tips on what to look for? I have both Hmart & Assi stores here.
Also, won’t the brisket be tough if cooked only for 1-1.5 hours? Thank you for all your work in helping people with Korean food. God bless!
Hyosun says
Hi Young mi – sorry about the late reply! It’s dahima 다시마 not miyeok 미역 used in this recipe. There’s a photo of dried kelp/dashima package here: https://www.koreanbapsang.com/2011/06/how-to-make-anchovy-broth-for-korean.html
It should become tender enough with that time, but cook longer if you like it softer. Thanks!
Young mi says
My mind is blank right now… What is good to serve this with (besides kimchee)? 🙂
Hyosun says
Hi Young mi – Jangjorim is mitbanchan (basic side dish), so it’s good with anything – jjigae, guk, vegetable sides, etc. Enjoy!
Dalila says
I am very happy and thankful for your website, I am a Portuguese married with a korean man who loves korean food, I am learning a lot thanks to you.
Our baby boy will be one year in November hopefully by then I will be able to cook delicious food for his birthday.
Thanks for sharing
Hyosun says
Hi Dalila – So happy to hear my recipes are helping you. I’m sure you’ll be able to make delicious food for his birthday. Cheers!
Tina Min says
What brand soy sauce do you use?
Hyosun Ro says
I have a photo of it under the ingredients tab above. Thanks.
Miss Kim says
Ohh mouthwatering! I haven’t made this dish in a long time. But now I gotta make it again. So yummy! Totally going to go pick up some meat for it.
Hyosun Ro says
Thank you, Miss Kim! Hope you make it soon and enjoy.
Kimbo says
Sounds delicious! What exactly is “soup soy sauce”?
Hyosun Ro says
It’s traditional Korean soy sauce that’s made from fermented soybeans. It’s lighter and saltier than regular soy sauce with a deeper flavor. If you don’t have soup soy sauce, just use more regular soy sauce for this recipe.