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Naengchae jokbal
냉채족발: Busan's cold sliced braised pork trotter with cucumber, jellyfish and a sharp mustard-garlic dressing
Busan's Jokbal Alley in Bupyeong-dong, beside Kkangtong Market, is where braised pork trotter was first served cold as a salad, a summer trick that spread across Korea. The pork trotters are simmered for hours in soy, ginger and spices until the skin turns sticky and tender, chilled, sliced thin and tossed with cucumber, shredded jellyfish and a nose-tingling dressing of Korean mustard, vinegar and garlic. It is evening food, shared from a big platter. Chef's tip: slice the meat only once it is fully cold; warm trotter meat tears instead of cutting into clean slices.
- Total time
- 190 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the braised trotters
- 3 ⅓ lb pork trotterssplit and cleaned by the butcher
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 8 ¼ cups water
- 1 onionhalved
- 1 oz fresh gingersliced
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp instant coffee (optional)for the traditional dark colour
For the salad
- 5 ½ oz salted shredded jellyfishready-prepared, from Asian grocers
- 1 cucumber
- 1 carrotsmall
For the mustard dressing
- 4 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 garlic clovesgrated
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp cold water
To serve
- 1 tbsp pine nuts (optional)
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Soak 3 ⅓ lb pork trotters in cold water for 30 minutes, then put them in a large pot of fresh water, bring to the boil and boil for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse well.
40 minStep 2: Return to the clean pot with ½ cup soy sauce, 8 ¼ cups water, 1 onion, 8 garlic cloves, 1 oz fresh ginger, 3 spring onions, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 star anise, 1 tsp black peppercorns, 3 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp instant coffee if using. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 2 hours, until the skin is soft and sticky and a chopstick slides into the meat. It will be far above the 160°F pork needs.
120 minStep 3: Leave the trotters to cool in the liquid for 20 minutes, then lift out, cover and chill until completely cold and firm.
20 minStep 4: Meanwhile, rinse 5 ½ oz salted shredded jellyfish and soak it in cold water for 30 minutes, changing the water twice. Taste a strand; it should be only lightly salty. Common mistake: skipping the soak; the jellyfish makes the whole salad far too salty.
30 minStep 5: Pour hot water from the kettle (about 176°F, not boiling) over the jellyfish for 5 seconds, until it curls, then plunge into iced water. Drain and squeeze dry.
2 minStep 6: Cut 1 cucumber, 1 carrot and ½ Korean pear or nashi into thin matchsticks.
8 minStep 7: Whisk 1 tbsp Korean mustard (yeon-gyeoja) or hot English mustard, 4 tbsp rice vinegar, 2 tbsp sugar, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tsp soy sauce, ½ tsp salt and 2 tbsp cold water until smooth.
2 minStep 8: Take the cold meat and skin off the bones and slice thinly. Toss with the jellyfish, vegetables, pear and the dressing just before serving, and scatter with 1 tbsp pine nuts if using. Keep leftovers in the fridge and eat within 2 days.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 38 g
- Carbs
- 14 g
- Fat
- 23 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
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Good to know
- How long does naengchae jokbal take?
- About 190 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 150 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of soy sauce?
- Tamari, same amount (gluten free).
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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