Beoseot Jeongol (Korean Mushroom Hotpot)

Beoseot Jeongol (Korean Mushroom Hotpot)

This is one of my favorite dishes. Jeongol pans are similar in appearance to paella pans – anything wide and deep will do. Hotpots are generally cooked on a burner on the table while everyone gathers round watching it simmer. If you don’t have a burner for your table, you can just as easily cook it on your stovetop and move it to the table for serving. The broth is the star of this dish. You want to make it multidimensional with lots of umami flavor.

Broth (enough for 2 hotpots):

2 c dried shitake mushroom (or equivalent amount of several dried varieties)

4 c boiling water

2 -2”pieces of kombu (dried kelp)

6  lg dried anchovies

4 c water

½ T salt

Rinse dried mushrooms to remove grit and place in a large bowl. Cover with boiling water and put a weighted plate on top to keep mushrooms submerged, until mushrooms are fully rehydrated for around 1 hour. Reserve liquid for broth and slice mushrooms (remove hard stems) for the hot pot.

Put remaining ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.  Remove and discard anchovies and kombu. Combine with mushroom liquid and keep at a low simmer.

Bulgogi:

1 lb of thinly sliced beef (bulgogi style) such as flank steak

½ onion, sliced

3 green onions, split and sliced in 2” pieces including green and white parts

5 T soy sauce

2 T sesame oil

2 T sesame seeds

1½ T sugar in the raw

2 T minced garlic

1 T minced ginger

½ t black pepper

Combine and set aside for a least 1 hour.

Make Two HotPots (one with beef and one without):

Ingredients for one hotpot

2 -3 lb fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (oyster, king oysters, enoki, brown, shitake, etc.)

rehydrated mushrooms, sliced

bulgogi

1 onion, sliced

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch green onion, split and sliced in 2” pieces including green and white parts

1 block tofu, sliced

watercress, chopped (optional)

1 T Korean red pepper flakes (gochu karu), optional

½ c soy sauce

1 T black vinegar

1 T sesame oil

In large wide jeongol pan, lightly coat with oil and arrange vegetables and beef. Reserve a few green onion tops for adding at the end.  Put a mound of raw bulgogi in the center (omit in the vegetarian pot) and arrange mushrooms, onions and green onions in little stacks all around it. Here is an example below:

Add slices of tofu on top of the other ingredients. Sprinkle generously with black pepper. Heat pan over medium for about 5 minutes, until fresh mushrooms release their liquid. Add warm broth until vegetables are just covered. Bring to a boil and turn down to simmer until beef and vegetables are cooked, about 10 minutes. Add soy sauce and black vinegar.  Taste broth and adjust seasoning if necessary. As it cooks, stir it around. Sprinkle with watercress and a few reserved green onion tops. Add enoki mushrooms if using and cook until wilted about 1 minute. Add 1 T sesame oil.

Serve with steamed rice.

Continue adding additional broth as necessary as people serve themselves from the pot.