Name: Pork Rice Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Korean
Ingredients: 1 lb Pork (shoulder or belly); 3 stalks Green onion (sliced); 6 cloves Garlic (whole cloves); 3 slices Ginger (sliced); 2 cups Cooked rice; to taste Salt; to taste Black pepper; 10 cups Water

Busan people have strong opinions about dwaeji gukbap. It's not just a dish there — it's a civic identity. The city is famous for its pork bone soup restaurants that open before dawn and serve until everything is sold out, which usually happens before noon. The soup is milky, fatty, deeply savory. It is the kind of thing you eat standing at a counter, then feel energized for the rest of the day.

I first had it on a trip from Seoul to Busan by train. A a friend who grew up in Busan insisted we go before the conference. Six in the morning. The restaurant was already half full. The bowl arrived with rice inside the soup — not on the side — and a plate of fermented radish and kimchi alongside.

The pork used in Busan-style dwaeji gukbap is simmered so long that it becomes tender enough to cut with chopsticks, but still holds its shape when sliced. The broth picks up enough pork fat and collagen to turn slightly opaque — not milky-white like seolleongtang, but cloudy and rich. Ginger is essential for deodorizing the pork; Korean recipes for any pork dish involve ginger as a foundational aromatic.

My Hungarian friend Péter visited me in Busan years later and had dwaeji gukbap for the first time. He said the pork reminded him of Hungarian pulled pork soups — long-cooked, mineral, filling. The Korean version is milder but has a similar restorative quality. He ate the bowl in complete silence, which is the highest compliment Péter gives to food.

Instructions

Place the pork in a large pot with 10 cups of water, garlic, ginger, and the white parts of the green onion. Bring to a boil.

Skim the foam, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 50 minutes until the pork is very tender.

Tip: Dwaeji gukbap is a famous specialty of Busan. The long simmer creates a rich, milky pork broth.

Remove the pork, let it cool slightly, and slice it thinly. Strain the broth if desired.

Place a scoop of rice in each bowl. Top with sliced pork, ladle the hot broth over everything, and garnish with green onion. Season with salt and pepper at the table.

Pork Rice Soup

Dwaeji Gukbap

Prep: 15 minCook: 60 minTotal: 75 minServings: 4

Ingredients

1 lb Pork (shoulder or belly)
3 stalks Green onion (sliced)
6 cloves Garlic (whole cloves)
3 slices Ginger (sliced)
2 cups Cooked rice
to taste Salt
to taste Black pepper
10 cups Water

Instructions

Place the pork in a large pot with 10 cups of water, garlic, ginger, and the white parts of the green onion. Bring to a boil.
Skim the foam, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 50 minutes until the pork is very tender.
Remove the pork, let it cool slightly, and slice it thinly. Strain the broth if desired.
Place a scoop of rice in each bowl. Top with sliced pork, ladle the hot broth over everything, and garnish with green onion. Season with salt and pepper at the table.