Soybean Sprout Soup or Kongnamul Guk is wonderfully warm and light. This amazingly soothing soup is Koreans’ Chicken Soup for the soul.
If you get a terrible cold, this soybean sprout soup is what mom will make for you – with extra red pepper flakes to chase the cold away. The non-spicy version of this Kongnamul Guk is also a perfect soup for children. Kids love the flavor and it also aids with their brain development. If you are suffering from a hangover, Kongnamul Guk is another fabulous soup (next to Bugeo Guk or Dried pollock soup) that will help your body get rid of the alcohol in your body.
Why is Kongnamul Guk or Bugeo Guk good for hangovers?
Amino acid asparagine – contained in the root end of soybean sprouts, research has shown that it helps healthy brain development in children. This amino acid also helps the liver get rid of acetaldehyde – a compound produced from partial oxidation of ethanol – which is known to contribute to hangovers.
Vitamin C – soybean sprouts contain large amount of vitamin C which is helps with immunity
In addition, Soybean sprouts are a good source of protein, B vitamin folate and fiber.
Making this soup is surprisingly simple and interestingly, kids love this soup! So, try making some for your little one!
Chef’s Tips for Perfect Korean Soy Bean Sprout Soup (Kongnamul Guk)
- How to make Anchovy stock – see My Tips page to make the anchovy stock ahead of time. There’s also a new type of dried fish that I recently discovered in Korea. These guys add even better flavor to the stock. It’s called Bendaengyi (밴댕이) or Dipori (디포리) and is referred to as Herengula Zunasi/Sardinella Zunasi or Japanese Sardinella. The fermented, salted form is called Bendaengyi jeot and is used in Kimjang Kimchi.
- How to Buy Soybean Sprouts (Kongnamul) – When buying sprouts, don’t go for the big, thick ones as they probably have fertilizers or chemicals in them. Buy thin, slender sprouts and go for organic or ones with no chemicals (무농약) if you can. Also, turn the bag over and see if there are any sprouts that have become mushy at the bottom of the bag. This means the sprouts are not as fresh as they should be.
Fresh, best quality soybean sprouts (콩나물 Kongnamul) See how beautiful these sprouts are? Not a brown, yellow or blackish spot anywhere..
- How to clean Soybean Sprouts (roots or no roots?) – People have different opinions about taking the root ends off of soybean sprouts. I personally stopped removing the root ends long time ago because I learned that the roots have a lot of nutrients in them. To be honest, it’s probably more because I was just lazy..haha 🙂
- Saewoojeot (새우젓) – add fermented, salted shrimp for extra flavor. Reduce amount of salt if you are going to finish the soup with this.
- Use paper tea bags for anchovies – fishing for anchovies from the stock can be a bit of a hassle so you can buy and use a paper bag (sold at Korean or Japanese stores) to keep the fishes while they are in the pot.
anchovies in paper bag for stock Check out my Anchovy Broth (4 recipes) post to learn more about how to make the best stock and the right one for your recipe.
Step-by-Step Directions
Servings: 2-3 Time: 30 minutes Difficulty: Easy
- Make anchovy stock. Add water to pot and add dried anchovies and kelp. Simmer for 15-20 min.
Dried Anchovies and Kelp for stock 
Fish stock for soybean sprout soup If you have time, let it sit with heat turned off for 20 min. Extra time will make the broth even more richer and flavorful. Like so-
Finished anchovy kelp fish stock - Rinse soybean sprouts (kongnamul) and discard any black and spoiled pieces.
- Remove the kelp and anchovies from the fish stock. Add salt and soybean sprouts to pot. Cover and bring to boil.
Sprouts in pot for Kongnamul Guk - Boil COVERED on medium heat for 8 minutes. DO NOT open the cover until sprouts are fully cooked. Opening before it’s fully cooked will leave a fishy smell/taste to the soup so don’t do it!!! Be patient..
- Add garlic, green onions and red chili pepper powder. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Taste the soup and adjust saltiness by adding more salt or optionally saewoojeot.
- And that’s all! Serve with some rice and other side dishes for a warm and soothing meal.
Non-spicy Kongnamul Guk – great for kids! Soybean Sprout Soup (Kongnamul Guk)
Wonderfully warm and light, this amazingly soothing soup is Korean Chicken Soup for the soul. If you have a cold or a hangover, this soup will chase the blues away, with extra red pepper flakes, while the non-spicy version is perfect for kids.Prep: 10 minutesCook: 30 minutesTotal Time: 40 minutesserves: 4 servingsIngredients
- 6 oz soybean sprouts (Kongnamul / 콩나물)
- 15 dried soup anchovies (Gukmyeolchi / 국멸치)
- 1 piece dried kelp (Dashima – approx 3 x 3 in)
- 4 cups water
- 3/4 tsp Sea Salt (Trader Joe's)
- 3 tsp red chili pepper powder (Gochukaroo)
- 1 Tbsp chopped garlic
- 2-3 Tbsp chopped green onions
- 1 tsp fermented salted shrimp, chopped (Saewoojeot – OPTIONAL)
Instructions
- Make the fish stock. Add 4 cups of water to a pot and add dried anchovies and kelp. Simmer for 15-20 min.
- If you have time, let it sit with heat turned off for another 20 min. Extra time will make the broth even richer and more flavorful.
- Rinse the soybean sprouts (kongnamul) and discard any black and spoiled pieces.
- Remove the kelp and anchovies from the fish stock. Add salt and soybean sprouts to the pot. Cover and bring to a boil.
- Boil COVERED on medium heat for 8 minutes. DO NOT open the cover until sprouts are fully cooked. Opening before they are fully cooked will leave a fishy smell/taste to the soup.
- Add garlic, green onions, and red chili pepper powder. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Taste the soup and adjust saltiness by adding more salt or optionally saewoojeot.
- Serve with some rice and other side dishes for a warm and soothing meal.
Tips & Notes:
- For anchovy stock, see My Tips page to make the anchovy stock ahead of time.
- When buying sprouts, don’t go for the big, thick ones as they probably have fertilizers or chemicals in them. Buy thin, slender sprouts and go for organic or ones with no chemicals if you can. Also, turn the bag over and see if there are any sprouts that have become mushy at the bottom of the bag. This means the sprouts are not as fresh as they should be.
- Root or no root? People have different opinions about taking the root ends off of soybean sprouts. I personally stopped removing the root ends long time ago because I learned that the roots have a lot of nutrients in them.
Nutrition Information:
Calories: 20kcal (1%)| Carbohydrates: 3g (1%)| Protein: 1g (2%)| Sodium: 41mg (2%)| Potassium: 75mg (2%)| Fiber: 1g (4%)| Vitamin A: 475IU (10%)| Vitamin C: 1.2mg (1%)| Calcium: 16mg (2%)| Iron: 0.3mg (2%)
HI! Is there a way to do this with the anchovy dashida/ powder stock instead of the anchovy/seaweed? Would it be 1 tbsp stock per cup of water? Thanks!
Hi Rita, yes, I think you can use anchovy dashida powder instead. So I don’t know exactly what kind of powder you are using but I would say 1 Tbsp per even 2-3 cups should be OK. Try that first, simmer for a little bit and if you find that it’s tasting too bland, you can always add more water later. Thank you!
It’s been raining here in Hawaii more often than usual and we are dealing with volcanic haze. We love soup. Knognamul Guk will be on the menu tonight. BTW, if the soy bean sprouts are really fresh in the markets, I don’t pinch off the root ends, but if they’ve started to turn brown, I’d pinch them off.
Hi Mike! Raining in Hawaii?? Can you send some of it to California? We need it so badly here…I totally do the same thing, I don’t take off the root ends if the kongnamul looks good. They say there are a lot of nutrition in the root ends…Thank you so much for the update. Always good to hear from you. 🙂
I live in an African country and there are neitherKkorean nor Japanese stores here. What do i do?….I have been gathering Korean recipes for a while now but i havent been able to make them.
Oh dear.. well, is there anyway you can maybe purchase things online? Hope you can find a way!
Wow! Thank you! I’m referring to your site often now. Due to the rising cost of meat, there’s little room for errors now so I need to refer to my sources. Haha! I just had another baby so need to learn how to cook more. 🙂
I’m going to a Korean market tomorrow! I need to make kongnamul gook, it’s so good!
Yay!! Enjoy~