Korean Hot Pot with Pork and Clams and then Porridge

Notes:
I used pork back bones for the broth, you can also use pork neck bones or a mix of some pork shoulder and some bones, you can also use beef bones and meat. You can use whatever broth you want, I wouldn’t recommend store bought broth though. Just make sure when making broth to add some type of bones. It adds body to the broth. You don’t want a mild thin broth for this.

I know the ingredient list might be daunting but it’s just a stew with a bunch of veggies and some protein. Since this soup needs to be cooked quickly the prep needs to reflects that. Veggies are cut flat and small. So is the meat. Keeping that in mind, preparing should be easy.

You can totally mess around with the porridge to your liking. Want it like a risotto? Use less soup. Want it more soupy? Use more broth. Want more veggies? Add some then! (Just make sure they are cut into small pieces) More meat? More eggs? Don’t like or have nori? Do whatever you want. Just use my instructions as a guide.

Bonito Flakes: I use this often. It adds so much flavor! I like to get the smaller flakes and crumble it into dishes. It stores forever in the freezer.

The “hot pot” pot I used is sold in Korean markets for super cheap. The pot and lid set cost about $10. My pot holds 2 quarts. Any flat-ish 2 -3 quart will work here. Pots with tall high walls (like pretty much every pot) will not work.

Makes 4 – 6 servings. Takes 5 hours total. Active time about 30 minutes.

Pork broth:

• 2 lbs pork back bones
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 inch ginger, smashed
• 0.25 kelp
• 2 green onions, cut into thirds
• 10 cups water

Hot Pot:

• 3.5 cups broth
• 0.40 oz. pork belly slices, cut into 1″ thick squares
• 10 live manilla clams
• 4 outer leaves of napa cabbage, chopped into 1″ pieces
• 1 bunch perilla leaves, chopped into 1″ pieces
• 1/2 medium lobok, sliced into thin 1 1/2″ pieces
• 7 oz. firm tofu, cut into small 1/2″ thick squares
• 1 bunch crown daisy, roughly cut into thirds
• 3 green onions, cut into 3″ pieces
• 3 ounces “seafood” mushrooms (aka Enokitake)
• 1 red jalapeno, sliced thinly

Soup base:

• 1 t. Doenjang
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 T. red pepper powder
• 2 T. soup soy sauce
• 1 t. fish sauce
• 2 t. mirin
• 1 t. roasted sesame oil
• 1 t. salt, more salt to taste if needed
• fresh black pepper to taste

Porridge:

• rest of pork belly(about 0.20 oz) chopped into small pieces
• some of the meat pulled off back bones (optional)
• rest of broth
• 1 bunch perilla leaves cut into small pieces or thin strips
• Rest of Seafood mushrooms, chopped into small pieces
• 1 egg
• 1 green onion, sliced thin
• 2 cups cooked rice
• 1 t. fine bonito flakes (crumbled)
• 1 toasted nori sheet, crumbled into pieces
• 2 t. sesame oil

Make the broth:
Add the bones to a stockpot. Cover with cold water by a few inches and bring to a boil. As soon as it boils, take off heat and dump everything into a clean sink. Rinse of bones with clean running water and place bones back into pot. Add all ingredients and the water. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to a low boil. Let it cook for about 3 hours. Strain out broth. There should be about 4 cups of broth. You can pick the meat off the bones and add to the soup and porridge if you’d like.

Make the hot pot:
When assembling the pot, arrange the ingredients in an even layer. Starting from the bottom 1) pulled meat from pork (if using), 2) lobok slices, 3) napa cabbage, 4) pork belly, 5) clams, 6) soup base, 7) tofu, 8) perilla leaves, 9) crown daisy, 11) seafood mushrooms, 12) red pepper slices, 13) green onions. Then pour the broth in. If your pot is bigger than 2 qt you can pour in all the broth. I only saved some broth because my pot was full.

Bring to boil over high heat, covered with lid. If using a 2qt pot it’s going to boil over a bit. Uncover lid when it’s boiling and let it boil for a few minutes. Gently stir ingredients. Season to taste with salt and fresh pepper. The soup is ready to eat when the pork is cooked through and the vegetables are wilted. Adjust the heat if you’d like while eating to keep it hot. Serve with rice and kimchi. (Save about a cup of soup for the porridge)

Porridge:
Turn on heat to high. Add the 1/2 cup broth and pork belly. Cook the pork belly for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms and perilla leaves and cook for another few minutes, stirring. Add the rice and bonito flakes, mix well. Make a well in the middle and add the egg. Mix the egg into the rice and keep mixing until the egg is cooked. Add the nori, green onions, sesame oil and mix well. Season to taste with salt. I added 1 t. salt to mine. Serve immediately!