Gamja-ongsimi facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Gamja-ongsimi

Type	Sujebi
Place of origin	Korea
Region or state	Gangwon Province
Associated national cuisine	Korean cuisine
Main ingredients	Potatoes

Gamja-ongsimi (Hangul: 감자옹심이) is a special kind of potato dough soup from Korea. It's a popular dish from the Gangwon Province, which is known for its delicious Korean cuisine. You can call both the potato dumplings (or potato balls) and the soup itself gamja-ongsimi.

Sometimes, these potato balls are used in other dishes too! For example, a porridge made with them is called gamja-ongsimi-juk. If they are added to a noodle soup, it's called gamja-ongsimi-kal-guksu.

What Does Gamja-ongsimi Mean?

The name Gamja-ongsimi is quite simple to understand. Gamja (감자) is the Korean word for potatoes.

Ongsimi (옹심이) is a special word from the Gangwon area. It means saealsim (새알심). This word literally translates to "bird's egg." It got this name because the little dough balls look like small bird's eggs, maybe even quail eggs!

How Ongsimi Changed Over Time

Originally, gamja-ongsimi was made into tiny, round balls, just like saealsim. These small dough balls were often made from glutinous rice flour. They were added to porridges like patjuk (a red bean porridge) and hobak-juk (pumpkin porridge).

But today, gamja-ongsimi can be made in different shapes. They are often bigger and not always perfectly round. They can even look more like sujebi, which are hand-pulled dough pieces.

How to Make Gamja-ongsimi

Making Gamja-ongsimi is a fun process that starts with fresh potatoes.

Preparing the Potato Dough

First, the potatoes are grated into small pieces. Then, the grated potatoes are squeezed to remove their water. This water is kept aside. After a while, a white starch settles at the bottom of the water. This starch is super important! It's mixed back in with the squeezed potato pulp to make a sticky dough.

Cooking the Soup

Once the potato dough is ready, it's rolled into the ongsimi balls or shapes. These potato pieces are then boiled in a tasty broth. This broth is usually made from anchovies and dasima (a type of seaweed).

Adding Vegetables and Toppings

Many fresh vegetables are added to the soup to make it even more delicious. These can include aehobak (Korean zucchini), shiitake mushrooms, shepherd's purse, and red chili peppers.

When the soup is ready to be served, it's often topped with gim-garu (which are flakes of dried seaweed). Toasted sesame seeds are also sprinkled on top for extra flavor and crunch. Sometimes, people add white and yellow al-gomyeong (thinly sliced cooked egg) as a pretty garnish.

Gallery

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  Gamja-ongsimi (potato dumpling soup)

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  Deulkkae-gamja-ongsimi (potato dumpling soup with perilla seed broth)

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  Gamja-ongsimi-kal-guksu (potato dumpling and noodle soup)

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  Gamja-ongsimi topped with gim-garu (seaweed flakes) and toasted sesame seeds, served in ttukbaegi (earthenware)

See also

In Spanish: Gamja ongsimi para niños