Korean · lunch, dinner, side

Kongnamul-guk (Korean Soybean Sprout Soup)

Kongnamul-guk (Korean Soybean Sprout Soup) — from Maangchi's cooking video Watch how it’s made · 9:55

Video by Maangchi on YouTube · Open on YouTube

40 minServes 4120 kcal a serve
  • Vegan if you leave out the anchovy broth and fish sauce
  • Vegetarian with a swap for the anchovy broth and fish sauce
  • Gluten-free with a swap: Use tamari instead of soy sauce, and check your fish sauce is gluten-free
  • Dairy-free
  • Nut-free

Contains: Gluten, Fish, Sesame, Soy. Check labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes.

A light everyday soup that is almost all sprouts, vegetables and broth, at about 110 kcal and under 1 g of saturated fat a bowl. The sprouts add crunch, vitamin C and folate, and it uses only 2 teaspoons of oil for four bowls.

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Ingredients 11

Method

Tap a time to watch that step in the video.

  1. Swish the sprouts in a big bowl of water, lifting them out by the handful, and change the water a couple of times. Pick out any dark or dead beans, then put the sprouts in a pot. 1:31
  2. Add the water, the cleaned anchovies (heads and guts removed) in a soup pouch, soy sauce, fish sauce, gochugaru, sliced onion and minced garlic. 2:36
  3. Cover and cook over medium-high heat for 30 minutes. If it starts to boil over, crack the lid. 4:58
  4. Meanwhile chop the green onions and grind the toasted sesame seeds finely. 5:48
  5. Lift out the anchovy pouch, stir in the salt and green onion and cook 1 minute more. Turn off the heat and stir in the sesame oil. 6:38
  6. Ladle into bowls, sprinkle the ground sesame over each, and serve hot with a bowl of rice and kimchi or kkakdugi. 8:27

Tip. Serves 3–4. Start with 1 tsp salt and add more to taste, as soy and fish sauce are salty too. For a vegetarian soup, use vegetable stock instead of the anchovies and salt instead of fish sauce. Keeps 4 days chilled.

The method is a summary in our words — the video shows every step.

One serve gives you 1 of 4

Energy120 kcal500 kJ
Protein7.2 g14% of a day
Fibre4.1 g14% of a day
Carbohydrate15 g11 g net · 6.5 g sugars5% of a day
Fat5.2 g0.7 g saturated7% of a day
Sodium1,720 mg75% of a day

Where the energy comes from one serve

  • Net carbs 37%
  • Protein 24%
  • Fat 39%

For comparison, low-carb eating usually gets under 26% of its energy from carbs, and ketogenic eating under 10%. Why this is here

One serve has about 75% of a day’s sodium. Use less salt, stock or sauce, or a reduced-salt version, to bring it down.

Vitamins & minerals % of a day, one serve · tap for more

Vitamin K High54%

65 µg a serve, mostly from soybean sprouts (58%). Needed for blood clotting and bones. Leafy greens and herbs are very rich in it. If you take warfarin, keep your intake steady and talk to your doctor.

Folate High24%

96 µg a serve, mostly from soybean sprouts (72%). Needed to make DNA and new cells — especially important before and in early pregnancy. Legumes and leafy greens are rich sources.

Vitamin C High23%

20 mg a serve, mostly from soybean sprouts (73%). An antioxidant needed for collagen, immunity and iron absorption. Long cooking destroys some, so raw herbs, citrus and capsicum help.

Magnesium Source19%

80 mg a serve, mostly from soybean sprouts (30%). Takes part in hundreds of reactions — energy, muscles, nerves, blood sugar and bones. Nuts, seeds, legumes and whole grains are good sources.

Vitamin B6 Source16%

0.3 mg a serve, mostly from soybean sprouts (37%). Helps turn food into energy and make brain messengers. Chickpeas, fish, poultry, potatoes and bananas are good sources.

Iron Source14%

2.5 mg a serve, mostly from soybean sprouts (41%). Carries oxygen in your blood. Iron from plants absorbs better with vitamin C in the same meal — lemon, tomato or capsicum.

Potassium Source13%

630 mg a serve, mostly from anchovy broth (46%). Balances sodium to help control blood pressure and keeps muscles and nerves working. Beans, potatoes, leafy greens and fruit are rich sources.

Zinc Source10%

1.1 mg a serve, mostly from soybean sprouts (42%). Needed for immunity, wound healing, taste and growth. Meat, seafood, legumes, seeds and whole grains supply it.

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Calcium8%

106 mg a serve, mostly from toasted sesame seeds (46%). Builds bones and teeth and helps muscles and nerves work. Dairy, calcium-set tofu, sardines with their bones and some greens supply it.

Selenium6%

3.2 µg a serve, mostly from toasted sesame seeds (54%). Part of the body's antioxidant enzymes and needed for thyroid hormones. Seafood, eggs, meat and Brazil nuts are rich sources.

Vitamin A5%

44 µg a serve, mostly from korean hot pepper flakes (83%). Keeps eyes, skin and the immune system healthy. Orange vegetables and dark greens give beta-carotene, which the body turns into vitamin A.

Vitamin E4%

0.7 mg a serve, mostly from korean hot pepper flakes (65%). An antioxidant that protects cell membranes. Nuts, seeds and plant oils such as olive oil are the main sources.

Omega-33%

0 g a serve, mostly from toasted sesame seeds (40%). Omega-3 fats support the heart and brain. Oily fish give EPA and DHA; walnuts, flax, chia and canola give ALA, which the body converts only a little.

Vitamin B121%

0 µg a serve, mostly from fish sauce (100%). Keeps nerves and blood cells healthy. Found almost only in animal foods and fortified foods (some plant milks, nutritional yeast), so vegans need a reliable source.

Vitamin D0%

0 µg a serve. Helps you absorb calcium for bones and supports muscles. Few foods have much — oily fish, eggs, UV-exposed mushrooms, fortified milks. Sunlight is the main source.

Estimated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central values; % of a day uses the food-label daily values. How this works

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Recipe and video by Maangchi; the method summary, nutrition estimate and diet notes are Notbroken’s. General information about food, not dietary advice.