Spicy Noodle Soup, Jjampong-style
A bit sour and mildly hot, this easy spicy noodle soup, Jjampong-style, uses powdered dashi for the broth instead of boiling shellfish with kelp. In lieu of pork and shellfish, this soup has mushrooms. In short, except for the fish-based dashi, this is a meatless dish.

Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 half-inch knob ginger chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- 6 to 8 shiitake caps only, thinly sliced
- salt
- 1 carrot julienned
- 1/2 small head white cabbage cut into thin strips
- 1 small cauliflower cut into florets
- 1 packet powdered dashi
- Korean vinegar-based chili sauce to taste
- enough cooked noodles for four (see notes after the recipe)
- sliced scallions to garnish
Instructions
- Heat the cooking oil in a pot.
- Add the garlic, ginger, onion and mushrooms, sprinkle with a little salt and cook gently until softened.
- Add the carrot, cabbage and cauliflower. Sprinkle with a little more salt. Stir and cook for a few minutes until the cabbage starts to wilt.
- Add about two tablespoonfuls of chili sauce.
- Pour in about six cups of water.
- Empty the contents of the packet of dashi into the pan. Bring to a gentle boil.
- Add the cooked noodles. Stir. Taste. Add more chili sauce and salt, as needed.
- Boil gently for about two minutes.
- Sprinkle with sliced scallions. Serve hot.
Notes
What kind of noodles would be good for this dish? Any kind, really, except those meant for dry dishes. I used soba because that was what I had. If you don’t have soba and aren’t sure which noodles can go into hot soup, read what’s written in the noodle’s package.
The level of sourness and heat can be adjusted to the suit the taste. Just use more or less vinegar-based chili sauce (available in Korean groceries), then adjust the amount of salt to achieve the desired contrast.


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