Korean mushroom soup (Beoseot-deulkkae-tang: 버섯들깨탕) is a delicious, nutritious, savory soup made with mushrooms and perilla seeds powder. The perilla seeds powder makes the broth soft and nutty, and the beef brisket and the mushrooms are chewy, soft, and crispy, giving this soup a very unique taste and texture.
You could make it with just one kind of mushroom but I suggest you use a few different varieties so your soup has different tastes and textures. I used shiitake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, white beech mushrooms, white mushrooms, and enoki mushrooms, but you could use any other types of mushrooms. Add a bit of beef and this becomes a nutritious, delicious, and hearty meal a family of 4 can enjoy! If you’re a vegetarian, skip the beef and use vegetable stock instead of the water.
Enjoy this soup and let me know how yours turns out if you try it!
Ingredients
- 1 pound of assorted mushrooms, cleaned and sliced into bite size pieces
- 8 ounces (226 grams) of beef brisket (or sirloin steak), cut into small pieces
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- a few strips of thinly sliced carrot (optional)
- ½ cup perilla seeds powder (or powdered toasted sesame seeds)
- 1 tablespoon glutinous rice flour (or rice flour, all purpose flour)
- 2 ounces (60 grams) of Asian chives (or 3-4 green onions), cut into 2 inch long
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions
Serves 4
- Combine the perilla seeds powder, glutinous rice flour, and ½ cup water in a bowl. Mix it well and set aside.
- Heat up a heavy pot and add the sesame oil, beef, and garlic. Stir for 2 to 3 minutes with a wooden spoon until the beef is no longer pink.
- Add 4 cups of water, the mushrooms, onion, and carrot. Cover and let it cook over medium high heat for about 15 minutes.
- Open and stir. Cover and lower the heat to medium, then cook for another 15 minutes.
- Stir in the fish sauce, kosher salt, and the perilla seeds mixture. The broth will turn slightly thick and milky. Cover and let it cook for a minute over medium high heat.
- Add the chives and stir until the chives are slightly cooked.
- Remove from the heat and serve hot.Ponytail kimchi and kimchi
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I’ve made this soup 3 times now and it is quickly becoming one of my favorites! The first time I made it I had to use toasted, ground Sesame seed powder. My first reaction was to add some lime juice to balance out the earthy flavor. I was unable to find Perilla seed powder at the Korean market so I ordered some on-line. Ended up being sent from So. Korea! The real deal. But in the meantime, from one of the comments here, I found the Perilla powder with the rice and wheat flour at the market. However, I saw that it contained corn starch, so I have only used the powder from Korea. It makes all the difference in the world! The Perilla thickens the soup in a way the Sesame does not. Perilla is an acquired taste, but I love it. Now, my favorite way of serving the soup is with a drizzlie of Perilla oil on top to finish and a squirt of lemon or lime. Heaven!
Can you use sesame seed paste or tahini for this recipe? Perilla seed flour or seeds are hard to come by here.
This is one of my many favorite recipes, I make it all the time! Tonight I used fresh king trumpets, cremini, shiitake, and a handful of dried mushroom mix from Costco, including porcini and black trumpet. I’ve used both rice flour and regular flour and prefer regular flour, gives it a creamier texture. Will serve it tonight Italian style, with grilled bread crostini on the side, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt. We live in Seattle and Abruzzo, Italy, and I finally found a good Korean market in Rome (it’s by the Termini train station.)
I made this for lunch today, Maangchi! It’s delicious! Thanks for all the amazing recipes! ♡♡♡ the kkakdugi is from your recipes, too.
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Hey Maangchi,
Watched since the first time you made Korean wings in…2008( I think).
Your recipes are the only ones I will use when making Korean dishes.
Gonna make this recipe tonight!!
My husband and I absolutely love this soup. The first time I made it, I couldn’t find perilla seed powder. But, we’ve recently discovered a Korean grocery store that carries it. Thank you so much for sharing all your recipes. I’ve probably made dozens and dozens of them, all of which are amazing!
p.s. We went to the meetup you scheduled in Seoul this past May. It was so great meeting you!
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Wow, it looks like mine!
Perilla seed powder makes this stew special, but if you can’t find it, toasted perilla seed powder also works well.
Oh, you came to the meetup in Seoul? I can’t see your face here so I can’t remember you! lol
Thank you Maangchi,
this tastes so great! I was really lucky and got some perilla flour at the Korean store.
For those who can’t I’d suggest trying ground hazel nuts.
When you want to skip on the beef, an anchovies/kelp stock will also work. You can skip the fishsauce then, but should add some oil and maybe some soysauce.
I typically go with oyster mushroom, king oyster mushroom and fresh shiitake for the mushrooms.
Especially during winter this is one of my favorites.
Made this last night for dinner last night. It was amazing as usual. This is one of my favorite soups/stews! Even though I’m not living in South Korea at least I can get a taste of home with this delicious recipe. Thanks Maangchi!
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Hi maangchi! Just a couple of questions:
1. Can I make this in a slow cooker?
2. Are there any substitutes if I can’t get perilla seed powder?
Mushrooms are not hard ingredients, so I wouldn’t use a slow cooker because the musrhoom may get soggy when it’s done. And you can replace perilla seeds powder with sesame seeds powder.
I just made this but our Asian Market didn’t have Perilla flour or seeds. I used nut flour instead since I had it on hand. I think I should have reduced the amount but it was still very tasty.
Love this stew! I made it but used tahini paste because my local Korean store ran out. I’m not sure what difference it made, but it gave a creamy and nutty result. I also used pork, why? Because that’s what i had in the freezer! hahaha.
I just noticed (planning to make that soon):
The picture for step one has the rice flour in it, but the text hasn’t.
Thank you so much for pointing it out! I fixed it!
You’re more than welcome.
Thank you!
It was delicious!
Made this yesterday. It was fantastic!
Wonderful wonderful! : )
Whoops, I meant to post a picture with it, but I guess it was too big. Let me try again.
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Maangchi can I make sesame seeds powder in home? How can I make it?
Hi Maangchi, this recipe looks delicious, and I’m making it as I type! I bought some 들깨가루 yesterday, and it is much darker brown than yours. Also, when I combined 1/2 cup 들깨가루, 1/2 cup water, and 1 tbsp 찹쌀가루, it didn’t get as thick as yours looks. Any ideas why? Thank you! =)
Its also good made with chicken and a small amount of pepper flakes, only about a 1/2 teaspoon. Cook the chicken in the water to make a stock. Remove the chicken and shred it. Combine the chicken with the pepper flakes, a little soy and set aside while the broth and perilla powder cooks. Return the shredded chicken near the end.
I also like tree ear in my mushroom soup. It adds a crunchy type “mouth feel”.
Just made this for dinner. Delicious!!!
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I used 6 kinds of mushrooms
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yum yum! : )
Hello! Is there a vegetarian version of this soup? I’m wondering if the beef could be replaced with something else.
Replace some of the water with the water you used to soak the shiitake and use some more of them. Fry them a bit, replacing the beef. Gently fry the onion with them. Add a little bit of soy sauce.
Bye, Sanne.
Yes, you can skip beef but to make the broth delicious, use vegetable stock instead of water.
Love this recipe! Thank you, we enjoy your recipes.
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It looks awesome!
Nowadays, you get the mushrooms you need even there – fresh and/or dehydrated.
And you don’t have to use exactly the mushrooms Maangchi uses here.
Bye, Sanne.
Where do you get your mushrooms? Where I live, there are no specialty food stores — only places like Walmart and Food Lion — can you make a video with a “How to” guide of cooking korean food when there’s no asian market nearby?