Korean Seolleongtang, Milky Ox Bone Soup

📍 Where this dish comes from: Busan · Gamcheon Culture Village
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Seolleongtang is a snow-white beef bone soup simmered for hours until it turns rich and milky. It arrives unseasoned so every diner can add salt, pepper and scallions to taste. Thin slices of brisket and a nest of shirataki noodles make it a complete keto meal.

Per serving: 356 calories · 3.4 g net carbs · 31 g protein · 24 g fat (calculated from the ingredients)

What You’ll Need

Korean Seolleongtang, Milky Ox Bone Soup

Seolleongtang is a snow-white beef bone soup simmered for hours until it turns rich and milky. It arrives unseasoned so every diner can add salt, pepper and scallions to taste. Thin slices of brisket and a nest of shirataki noodles make it a complete keto meal.

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Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours hours

Total Time: 6 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Korean

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 356kcal

Ingredients

• 4 pounds beef leg or knuckle bones
• 1 1/2 pounds beef brisket
• 1 onion halved
• 6 cloves garlic
• 14 cups water
• 2 packages (7 ounces each) shirataki noodles rinsed
• 4 scallions finely chopped
• Salt and black pepper to serve
• Kkakdugi (radish kimchi) to serve

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Instructions

• Soak the bones in cold water for 2 hours, changing the water once. Boil them for 10 minutes, then drain and scrub off any scum. Wash the pot.
• Return the bones to the pot with 14 cups of fresh water. Bring to a boil and keep at a strong simmer, uncovered, for 3 hours, topping up with water to keep the bones covered.
• Add the brisket, onion and garlic and simmer 2 hours more, until the brisket is tender. Remove the brisket and cool it.
• Continue boiling the broth for 1 more hour, until it is milky white. Strain and skim off the fat.
• Slice the brisket thinly against the grain. Warm the shirataki noodles in the broth. Serve the noodles and brisket in bowls with the hot broth and set out salt, pepper and scallions for each person to season.

Notes

This takes most of a day, but almost all of it is hands-off. A pressure cooker makes good seolleongtang in about 2 hours. Freeze extra broth in portions for quick soups later.

Chef's Tip: Adding cold water to the boiling pot partway through helps the fat and collagen emulsify, which makes the broth even whiter.

Keto Swap: Restaurants add thin wheat noodles (somyeon) and serve rice. Shirataki noodles keep the slurpable texture with almost no carbs.

Success Tip: Kids love this mild soup. Add a little salt to their bowls and let them dip pieces of brisket.

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

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 356kcal | Protein: 31g | Fat: 24g | Fiber: 2.6g

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About This Dish

Seolleongtang has been a Seoul specialty for centuries. One popular story links its name to Seonnongdan, an altar where Joseon kings held farming rituals and then shared beef soup with the crowds. Restaurants serve it unseasoned, and diners add salt and pepper themselves. It is almost always eaten with kkakdugi, cubed radish kimchi, and some diners pour a little of the kimchi juice into the soup. Several Seoul seolleongtang restaurants have been open for more than 50 years.

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