Korean intestine dish
Gopchang[2] (Korean: 곱창) is a dish in Korean cuisine. It can refer to either the small intestines of cattle, the large intestines of pig, or to a gui (grilled dish) made of the small intestines.[1][2] The latter is also called gopchang-gui (곱창구이; "grilled intestines"). The tube-shaped offal is chewy with rich elastic fibers.[3]
It can be stewed in a hot pot (gopchang-jeongol, 곱창전골), grilled over a barbecue (gopchang-gui), boiled in soup with other intestines (naejang-tang), or made into a sausage (sundae).[4]
In the past, gopchang was a popular, nutritious, and cheap dish for the general public.[5] Rich in iron and vitamins, it was served as a health supplement for improving a weak constitution, recovering patients, and postpartum depression.[5] Today, gopchang is also regarded as a delicacy and is more expensive than the regular meat of the same weight.[5] It is a popular anju (food served and eaten with soju), as it helps break down alcohol.[6]
Preparation
The intestines are cleaned thoroughly, rubbed with wheat flour and coarse salt, and rinsed several times.[3] The fat is trimmed off, and the cleaned gopchang is soaked in water to remove any traces of blood.[1] Garlic, ginger, onion, cooking wine, black pepper, and Korean pepper are common marinating ingredients, mainly used for eliminating any unpleasant odors and tenderizing the meat of gopchang.[1][3]
Ingredients for gopchang-gui marinade are juiced, rather than minced, so that they don't burn during the grilling process.[7] Common ingredients include soy sauce, gochutgaru (chili powder), mullyeot (rice syrup), cheongju (rice wine), onion juice, apple juice, garlic juice, scallion juice, and ginger juice.[7]
The gopchang is first marinated in the seasonings and spices, then grilled on a lightly greased pan or griddle.[7] Onions and bell peppers are often grilled together with gopchang.[7] Grilled gopchang is often served dipped in salt and sesame oil.[7] After that, usually Bokkumbab (볶음밥; "fried rice") is cooked with Gopchang oil.
Varieties and similar dishes
Gopchang of pork big intestines is usually called dwaeji-gopchang (돼지곱창; "pig gopchang").
In Korean cuisine, food similar to gopchang prepared with beef blanket tripe is called yang-gopchang (양곱창; "rumen gopchang"),[5] while the one prepared with beef reed tripe is called makchang (막창; "last tripe"),[5] and the one with beef large intestines is called daechang (대창; "big innards").[8]
Internationally, gopchang could be compared to chitterlings (pork's small intestines) or Latin American chunchullo (beef, pork, or lamb's small intestines). The Spanish/Portuguese term tripas or the English tripe also occasionally referred to as small beef's intestines, attesting to the practice of consuming animal intestines as a truly worldwide phenomenon.
Some foods have tripe in their dishes, such as stir-fried tripe and gopchang jeongol.
'Nak-Gop-Sae(낙곱새)' is a spicy soup with octopus, tripe, and shrimp, and is also loved as a side dish that is sometimes good to eat with alcohol. It is said that this food was first developed in Busan, South Korea.[9]
