Gamjatang
감자탕
Pork backbone and potato in a gochugaru pot — a late-night stew you eat with your hands and a lot of rice.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: 감자탕.
0 people cooked this in the public kitchen yet. Kitchen-tested by I Want Some Food. Not a purchased rating.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 30 min
- Rest
- None
- Total
- 1 hr 55 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- Hot
- Cost
- A bit special$16–28 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Gamjatang is pork neck or spine, potatoes, and a loud chilli-perilla broth. The meat should pull from the bone. The potatoes should drink the sauce. It is a share pot, not a polite consommé. If you cannot find backbone, meaty neck bones still make the pot. Blanch pork neck or spine to clean the scum, then braise with potatoes in a chilli-perilla broth. Add deulkkae (perilla seed powder) late if you can find it — that nutty note is what thin home pots often miss. Done is meat pulling from the bone and potatoes intact but stained. If the potatoes collapse, they went in too early; it is a share pot; a polite clear soup is a different recipe.
Ingredients
- Pork, neck bones or meaty backbone, in pieces1.2 kg
- Potato4 medium
- Napa cabbage (optional)200 g
- Garlic8 clove
- Ginger15 g
- Gochugaru44 ml
- Gochujang15 ml
- Soy sauce30 ml
- Toasted sesame oil15 ml
- Sesame seed4.9 ml
- Water2 l
- Rice, uncooked, to serve400 g
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Cover pork bones with water, boil 8 minutes, drain and rinse. Return to a clean pot with 2 litres water, onion, ginger and garlic. Simmer 45 minutes.
55 minStep 2
Stir in gochugaru, gochujang and soy. Add potatoes and cabbage. Simmer until the meat pulls and the potatoes are tender, 30–40 minutes.
35 minStep 3
Sesame oil, spring onion, sesame seeds. Serve roaring, with rice. Hands are allowed.
Adapt this recipe
The canonical recipe stays intact. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are maths, not AI.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 10 October.
Substitutions
Neck bones → Meat pork ribs
Less collagen, still a stew. Simmer until the meat surrenders.
Tips
- Perilla leaves or deulkkae powder on top is the restaurant finish.
- A pressure cooker helps the bones.
History & culture
Late restaurants and group tables. Perilla seed powder (deulkkae) is the nutty note a lot of home versions skip — add it if you can find it. Late-night 'gamjatang alley' streets still feed groups after work with soju. One pot, many spoons, rice on the side. Home versions appear when a butcher will sell neck bones. Spice-shy tables exist and order it anyway, then drink more water than soju.
A 20th-century stew that used the cheap parts. Now it is a destination pot. Pork neck, spine and potato in a loud chilli broth is twentieth-century cooking that used the inexpensive cuts and later became a destination pot. Restaurant specialisation in the mid-to-late century is what named it for the rest of the country. It is not an ancient peasant brand we can footnote. Date it as modern leftover-to-destination cooking.
Traditional
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips — not a chatbot.
How long does Gamjatang take?
1 hr 55 min all in — 25 min prep, 1 hr 30 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 4 pots. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
Hot.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Soy, Sesame. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Nut-free.
What does it cost to cook?
A bit special — about $16–28 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Dutch oven.
How much salt do I put in?
This recipe does not list salt as its own ingredient. Saltiness comes from Gochujang — 1 tbsp; Soy sauce — 2 tbsp. Taste at the end rather than adding a number we did not write.
How much gochugaru?
3 tbsp of Gochugaru.
How much gochujang?
1 tbsp of Gochujang.
How much soy sauce?
2 tbsp of Soy sauce.
How much toasted sesame oil?
1 tbsp of Toasted sesame oil.
What can I use instead?
Neck bones → Meat pork ribs. Less collagen, still a stew. Simmer until the meat surrenders.
Any tips from this recipe?
Perilla leaves or deulkkae powder on top is the restaurant finish. A pressure cooker helps the bones.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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