Korean Dwaeji Gukbap, Busan Pork and Rice Soup

📍 Where this dish comes from: Busan · Gamcheon Culture Village
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Dwaeji gukbap is Busan’s signature soup: a milky, deeply savory pork broth poured over tender slices of pork, then seasoned at the table with salted shrimp, chives and chili paste. It is warming, filling and nearly carb-free. Serve the cauliflower rice on the side or drop it into the bowl, just as Busan locals do with rice.

Per serving: 253 calories · 6.5 g net carbs · 22 g protein · 14 g fat (calculated from the ingredients)

What You’ll Need

Korean Dwaeji Gukbap, Busan Pork and Rice Soup

Dwaeji gukbap is Busan's signature soup: a milky, deeply savory pork broth poured over tender slices of pork, then seasoned at the table with salted shrimp, chives and chili paste. It is warming, filling and nearly carb-free. Serve the cauliflower rice on the side or drop it into the bowl, just as Busan locals do with rice.

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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours 45 minutes minutes

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Korean

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 253kcal

Ingredients

• 2 pounds pork neck bones or trotters for the broth
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder in one piece
• 1 onion halved
• 1 head garlic halved crosswise
• 2-inch piece ginger sliced
• 3 scallions whites for the broth, greens chopped for serving
• 10 cups water
• 2 tablespoons salted shrimp (saeujeot) for serving
• 1 cup garlic chives (buchu) chopped, for serving
• 1 teaspoon gochugaru for serving
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 3 cups cooked cauliflower rice for serving (optional)

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Instructions

• Soak the pork bones in cold water for 1 hour to draw out the blood. Put them in a large pot, cover with water, and boil for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse the bones and the pot.
• Return the bones to the pot with the pork shoulder, onion, garlic, ginger, scallion whites and 10 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer.
• After 1 hour, remove the pork shoulder, let it cool slightly, and refrigerate. Keep simmering the bones for 1 to 1 1/2 hours more, skimming occasionally, until the broth turns cloudy and white.
• Strain the broth and discard the bones and aromatics. Thinly slice the pork shoulder.
• To serve, place cauliflower rice (if using) and slices of pork in each bowl and ladle in the hot broth. Let everyone season their own bowl with salted shrimp, chives, gochugaru, salt and pepper.

Notes

Boiling hard rather than gently is what turns the broth milky, so keep it at a lively simmer for the last hour. A pressure cooker cuts the time to about 1 hour on high. The nutrition here counts the pork shoulder and seasonings; the strained broth adds a modest amount of protein and fat.

Chef's Tip: Make the broth a day ahead and chill it. You can lift off as much of the fat as you like, and the flavor improves overnight.

Keto Swap: The soup itself is naturally keto. The only change is serving it with cauliflower rice instead of the traditional bowl of white rice.

Success Tip: Add a spoonful of the broth to children's bowls with plain pork and cauliflower rice, and let adults add the heat.

Nutrition is calculated from the ingredients and is an estimate per serving. Net carbs exclude fiber and allulose.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 253kcal | Protein: 22g | Fat: 14g | Fiber: 2.1g

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About This Dish

Dwaeji means pork, and gukbap means soup with rice. Busan is famous for this soup, and it is widely believed to have spread there during the Korean War, when refugees made broth from inexpensive pork bones. Busan has hundreds of gukbap restaurants, and locals argue fiercely about which is best. Customers season their own bowls at the table with salted shrimp, chives and spicy paste. Many restaurants serve it with a side of thin noodles and a plate of raw onions, green chilies and soybean paste.

This recipe is from The Ultimate Korean Keto Cookbook by Gisele Costello, Chapter 3: Soups & Stews (Gamcheon Culture Village). See all Korean recipes