Eobok Jaengban

Ingredients

• 800g beef brisket, in one piece
• 300g ox tongue (optional)
• 3 litres cold water
• 1 onion, halved
• 1 leek, halved
• 6 garlic cloves
• 20g fresh ginger, sliced
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 250g Korean radish (mu)
• 6 fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 100g oyster mushrooms
• 1 Korean pear or nashi pear
• 100g water dropwort (minari), or watercress
• 3 spring onions
• 2 tbsp pine nuts
• 200g dried buckwheat noodles
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce for soup (guk-ganjang)
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 3 tbsp Korean mustard paste (gyeoja)
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tbsp soy sauce

Before you cook

• Soak the brisket and the tongue in cold water for 1 hour, changing the water twice, then drain them.
• Peel the radish and cut it into 4cm chunks.
• Slice the shiitake caps thickly and tear the oyster mushrooms into strips.
• Peel the pear and cut it into thin half-moons, keeping it in lightly salted water so it does not brown.
• Cut the water dropwort into 5cm lengths and shred the spring onions on the diagonal.
• Whisk the mustard paste, vinegar, sugar and soy sauce into a dipping sauce and set it aside to let the mustard bloom.

Steps

1. Put the brisket, tongue, 3 litres of cold water, the onion, leek, garlic, ginger and peppercorns into a large pot and bring it to the boil.
2. Skim the foam carefully for the first 10 minutes, because this is what keeps the broth clear.
3. Lower the heat to a bare tremble and simmer uncovered for 2 hours.
4. Add the radish chunks and cook for a further 20 minutes.
5. Lift out the meat and the radish and strain the broth through a fine sieve lined with muslin.
6. Peel the tough outer skin off the tongue while it is still hot, using a small knife.
7. Press the brisket between two boards under a weight for 20 minutes so it slices cleanly.
8. Season the strained broth with the light soy sauce and salt, then keep it hot.
9. Slice the brisket and the tongue across the grain as thinly as you can manage.
10. Slice the cooked radish thinly as well.
11. Lay the mushrooms and the radish over the base of a wide, shallow brass tray or a large sauté pan.
12. Fan the sliced meat over the top in overlapping rows, working from the outside in.
13. Tuck the pear slices and the water dropwort into the gaps and scatter over the spring onion and pine nuts.
14. Pour in hot broth to come about two thirds of the way up the meat.
15. Set the tray on a portable burner at the table and bring it to a gentle simmer.
16. Eat the meat straight from the tray, dipping each slice in the mustard sauce.
17. Cook the buckwheat noodles in a separate pan of boiling water for 3 minutes, then rinse them under cold water.
18. Drop the noodles into the remaining broth at the end of the meal and let them warm through for 1 minute before serving them out.