After going for Korean food for my birthday I really fell in love with it. I did find that most of the recipes I looked at were really not that difficult so I decided to make a soup.
First, a little information about Korea: Korea is a formerly unified nation that’s divided into two states. It’s located on the Korean Peninsula and it borders China and Russia. It’s separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait.
Korea was split into North Korea and South Korea in 1948. South Korea, officially “the Republic of Korea”, is a capitalist, democratic and developed country and is a member of the United Nations, WTO, OECD and G-20 major economies. North Korea, officially ” the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”, a single-party communist country founded by Kim Il-Sung.
Interesting Facts:
- In 1910 Korea was forcibly ruled by Japan and remained occupied until the end of World War II in August 1945.
- With the surrender of Japan in 1945 the UN developed plans for a trusteeship administration, the Soviet Union administering the peninsula north of the 38th parallel and the United States administering the south. The politics of the Cold War resulted in the 1948 establishment of two separate governments, North Korea and South Korea.
Recipe: Spinach Soup (Korean Malgun Sigumchi Kuk)
1/2 lb Fresh spinach
1 Scallion
1 Clove garlic
4 c Water
1/2 lb Ground beef
1 tb Soy sauce (or more to taste)
1 tb Salt
Dash pepper
1 tsp grated ginger
Directions:
1. Wash the spinach thoroughly and trim off the thick stems. Chop the scallion. Mince the garlic.
2. Bring the water to a boil. Add the meat and bring to a second boil. Skim off the froth. Add the spinach, scallion, garlic, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Add the ginger. Lower the flame and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve immediately.
Verdict:
There really aren’t any notes on this recipe. It was very easy and straight forward. The soy sauce is what gives the soup all the flavour. At the time I made this I had a bad case of laryngitis 
and the soup helped sooth my achy throat. PLUS it has a LOT of iron and that is a good thing. Overall, a very easy dish and a complete meal in itself. Try it for lunch or as a starter for dinner.
