Jaecheopguk (Shijimi Clam Soup)

Ingredients

Directions

1. 1
   

   Put the shijimi clams in a large bowl, sprinkle with a tablespoon of coarse salt, and rub the clams against each other to scrub them, then rinse. Draining them in a sieve makes them noticeably cleaner.

2. 2
   

   Now it's time to purge the sand. Pour plenty of water into a large bowl, dissolve a tablespoon of coarse salt, and soak the cleaned clams. Live clams will have their shells slightly open. Cover with a dark bag and let them purge for 4-5 hours; sand will settle on the bottom, so rinse them several times in cold water afterward.

3. 3
   

   Drain in a sieve to remove the water.

4. 4
   

   Pour 7 cups of water and the purged clams into a pot and bring to a boil. For a milky broth, always start the clams in cold water before heating. Skim off the foam and add a tablespoon of cheongju; the shells will open, and some clam meat may separate on its own as it cooks.

5. 5
   

   Now you have a milky white broth. You can strain it once more through cheesecloth, but if the sand was purged well, you can use it as is.

6. 6
   

   Scoop out all the cooked clams with a sieve and dip them into a bowl of cold water; shaking the sieve underwater pops the clam meat right out of the shells. Rinsing in cold water this way also makes the meat chewier — a technique often used by restaurants in Hadong.

7. 7
   

   Rinse the separated clam meat a few more times in cold water.

8. 8
   

   Add the clam meat back into the broth and bring it to a boil once more.

9. 9
   

   Season with salt to taste. Adjust the amount as you like — this time, a tablespoon of salt was added.

10. 10
    

    Add the short-cut garlic chives to the bowl right before eating so their aroma stays fresh. Jaecheopguk tastes best piping hot, so serve it right after boiling.