1. Ingredients for Gamgja Ongshimi
-Primary ingredients: Potato
-Secondary ingredients: Anchovy soup boiled with vegetables (pumpkin, potato and spring onion)
2. Taste evaluation
-Salty : ★★☆☆☆
-Sweet : ☆☆☆☆☆
-Sour : ☆☆☆☆☆
3. Introduction to Gamja Ongshimi (potato dough soup) 감자 옹심이
Wherever you go, you’ll find that each ingredient has its prime time. And one of the best ingredients produced in July in Korea would be potato. So I’ll introduce you Gamja Ongshimi that became popular as it was aired on TV recently.
Ongshimi is boiled potato starch and local food of Gangwon Province.
As potato was first introduced to Korea from Manju in 1824, there have been many cuisines using potato. Especially people from mountainous territories in Gangwon Province enjoyed potatoes, buckwheat and corns for a meal.
Especially people from Jeongseon and Yeongwol started to eat Gamja Ongshimi. As the city became a tour city due to the development of traffic over time, Ongshimi started to be known in other cities as well.
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Based on its recipe, you should grind potatoes and squeeze it in a cloth to make potato juice. If you leave potato juice, there will be two layers of white starch and water, and the bites of potato and starch will be used to make dough.
Divide this potato starch into bite-sized pieces. This round potato dough is
called Ongshimi.
And put Ongshimi into anchovy soup and boil it with vegetables in it.
Ongshimi is tasty because it’s made with potatoes and it’s chewy. The soup itself is not too strong and it is generally a fresh and clear food because it is made with anchovy soup boiled with vegetables including pumpkin and potato.
The soup tastes not so different from Kalguksu but texture is so chewy and elastic that cannot be compared to wheat flour.
Korean potatoes are highly starchy so they have a strong flavor and are chewy when you eat it. Although Ongshimi is Gangwon-do’s local food, you can find many specialized restaurants in Korea for its lovers.
If you are planning to visit Korea in July, I want you to eat a bowl of Ongshimi when it tastes the best.
4. Kinds of Gamgja Ongshimi
Ongshimi is just a local food from mountainous areas in Gangwon-do but it’s not as popular as Bulgogi or Bibimbap so there are not many variations.
It’s boiled in anchovy soup lightly or boiled with Deonjang or Gochujang
paste.
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5.
How to enjoy Gamja Ongshimi even more
Ongshimi
is normally boiled in anchovy soup. This fresh and clean soup tastes
the best when it’s served with Kimchi.
This
bland Ongshimi tastes so much better with a piece of Kimchi.
It’s
tasty even for those who cannot eat spicy and salty Kimchi alone.
Moreover,
it is soft but sticky when it’s too hot so you should cool it first
to taste chewy and elastic Ongshimi.
Stir
Ongshimi with your spoon to cool it and add a piece of Kimchi served
with it.
