For this traditional dish of beef with soy sauce, hard-boiled eggs, green chili peppers, and lots of garlic, be sure to choose a lean cut so the broth won’t be greasy. Flank steak is lean and also tears nicely into strips once cooked. Don’t throw away any leftover broth: You can make a quick bibimbap with it by mixing some of it with your warm rice.
Jangjorim is another good example of mitbanchan—side dishes that can be made in large batches, ready for pulling out of the refrigerator at the drop of a hat. When I was young, beef was expensive, so this dish was a special treat—and it still is. It’s always served in very small portions. To save time, I cook the eggs in the shell right in with the beef.

Serves 8 to 12

INGREDIENTS

• 8 ounces flank steak, cut along the grain into 2½-x-1½-x-¼-inch strips
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1 (4-x-6-inch) piece dried kelp (dasima; optional)
• 2 cups water
• ½ cup peeled garlic cloves
• 3 large green Korean chili peppers (cheong-gochu), stemmed and cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
• 3 large eggs in the shell, washed, and patted dry with paper towels
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1 red Korean chili pepper (hong-gochu), stemmed and chopped into small pieces, for garnish (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Put the beef in a medium pot and add water to cover. Cover and cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Drain, rinse the beef under cold running water, and drain again. Wash out the pot.
2. Return the beef to the clean pot. Add the soy sauce, dried kelp (if using), and water, cover, and cook over medium-high heat for 20 minutes.
3. Add the garlic, green chili peppers, and eggs and turn the heat down to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Uncover the pot and gently turn the eggs over (this will help keep the yolks in the center of the eggs). Cover and cook until the flavors meld, 30 to 40 minutes, stirring a few times.
4. Remove the eggs, let stand until just cool enough to handle, shell them, and put them back in the pot. Add the brown sugar and mix well. Remove the pot from the heat and cool until the beef is cool enough to handle.
5. Remove the kelp if you used it. The soy sauce–infused kelp can be eaten as a side dish with rice. Remove the beef, tear it into thin strips with your fingers, and put it in a serving bowl. Cut the eggs into a few pieces each and add them to the serving bowl. Add the garlic and green chili pepper, along with some of the braising liquid. Garnish with the red chili pepper, if using, and serve. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 1 week.