Jangjorim (장조림) Beef in Soy Sauce

Today, I'm sharing a side dish that reminds me of being a kid: jangjorim (jahng-jo-reem 장조림). It's a salty beef side dish (banchan) that stays in the fridge for days, even weeks, and when my mom didn't have the energy to make a big meal with a fancy protein, she'd just spoon out some jangjorim.

Ingredients:
½ lb. flank steak
4 cups water
2 to 3 bulbs of garlic
2 jalapeno peppers
2 to 4 long hot peppers (depending on how spicy you like your food)
⅓ cup soy sauce
¼ cup brown sugar
2 eggs

Start by cutting up the meat. I had a 1.5 lb slab of flank steak so I just cut off a third of it and then cut it into 1" wide strips (against the grain). Soak the meat in cold water for 30 to 45 minutes until the meat is no longer red and instead is a light pink.

While the meat is soaking, cut up the vegetables.

In a clean jar or your preferred container (I recommend one that holds at least 6 cups for this recipe) drop in all of the peppers and garlic.

Also, hard boil some eggs. I've mentioned my egg boiling technique before but I'll say it again. Start off the eggs in a pot of water and then bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, remove from the heat, put a lid on the pan, and leave alone for anywhere between 6 and 10 minutes, depending on your preferred doneness. 6 minutes for a soft-set yolk, 8 minutes for a semi-solid yolk, and 10 minutes for a solid yolk. I like 8 minutes.

Peel the eggs and place them in the jar as well. Just a little tip, the fresher the eggs, the more difficult it is to peel the shells because the proteins and membranes in the whites are much firmer. Use eggs that are a little older to avoid that problem. I used super fresh eggs and that's why there are a few scrapes on my eggs.

To get the meat ready, boil 4 cups of water and add in the pieces of flank steak. Cook for about an hour or until the stock is reduced by half. Skim off any foam and solid bits floating in the stock.

To further clarify the stock, remove the pieces of meat and then pour it through a coffee filter set over a strainer.

When the meat is cool enough to handle, shred it up with your fingers. I like smaller pieces but you can leave them as bigger chunks if you prefer.

Return the clear stock to the heat and bring to a boil. Add in soy sauce and brown sugar and the meat.

Boil the meat for 20 to 30 minutes until the color of the meat is darker and it tastes well-seasoned.

Pour the seasoned stock and meat into the jar over the peppers, garlic, and egg. Give the jar a stir to mix up the ingredients. Allow the jangjorim to cool a bit before closing the jar and refrigerating it.

To serve, scoop a portion into a bowl and eat as a banchan (side dish) with rice. The peppers end up pickled and the sauce is spicy. It's good, try it!

Here's the recipe page: