Gamjatang 감자탕

Made with affordable pork neck bones and hearty potatoes, this Korean stew is great for the colder seasons.

I’m cooking it in two parts. First, pressure cook the bones with aromatics to form the stew base. Then, boil the stew to cook the potatoes.

PART 1 - Make Stew Base

Prep your bones by boiling them for 5 minutes to remove foam, bone shards, and gamey smell. Dump the water and rinse the bones.

To the instant pot add a bit of oil and switch to sauté mode. Unceremoniously add the green onion ends, white onion, ginger, and garlic and sauté until you can smell them.

Add the blanched bones and mix them around with the veg.

Add water to the max fill line, then add the dwenjang paste, soy sauce, fish sauce, bay leaves and black pepper. Mix it around so the dwenjang isn’t a clump at the bottom.

INGREDIENTS

Main Ingredients

  • 1kg (2.2lbs) pork neck bones
    (you can add more)

  • Water (to the fill line of your pot)

  • 1 white onion (peeled and quartered)

  • A knob of peeled ginger (sliced )

  • 1 bunch of green onions (the white part for the stew base, the green part for garnish)

  • 4- 6 garlic cloves

Seasoning

  • 2 heaping tbsp dwenjang (or brown miso)

  • 1 tbsp soy sauce

  • 1 tbsp fish sauce

  • 2-3 bay leaves

  • Ground black pepper

PRESSURE COOK

Add the lid, lock it up, and change the mode to “Pressure Cook” on “High Pressure” for 22 minutes.

Allow 15 minutes of Natural Release, then release any remaining steam pressure, and then open the lid.

Change the mode back to “Sauté on high”bringing the stew to a boil so we can cook the potatoes.

PART 2 - BOIL POTATOES

Add the potatoes to the boiling stew, the gochujang, pepper, and perilla powder.

Martina’s tip: Remove a few bones if the pot is too full to add the potatoes.

For the gochujang, add it to a ladle, dip it into the hot stew and mix inside the ladle. It will help soften it rather than having it stick to the bottom in a clump.

Let it all boil about 8 - 15 mins until potatoes are soft.

Give the stew a taste, and add more seasoning to match your preferences. Add chopped green onions. Serve hot with a bowl of fresh white rice.

INGREDIENTS

Main Ingredients

  • 4-6 medium white or russet potatoes (peeled, cut into quarters)

  • 1-2 tbsp gochujang (add more or less depending on your spice level)

  • 1-2 tsp more of ground black pepper/white pepper

  • 2 tbsp ground/powered perilla

    Green onions chopped for garnish

Optional (Recommend for Legit Korean Taste)

5-8 fresh perilla leaves (sliced)

1/4-1/2 cup of kimchi

KOREAN TOUCH

Once it is all cooked, kill the heat. Add in the kimchi, fresh perilla leaves, and green onions.

Optional (Recommend for Legit Korean Taste)

5-8 fresh perilla leaves (sliced)

1/4-1/2 cup of kimchi

The bones are covered in tasty soft meat, so it is a little effort to scrap them all off, but the taste is worth it.

Chopsticks make great poking devices for getting in the crevices of the bones.

Serve hot with a bowl of fresh white rice.