dwaeji-gukbap — South Korea

Dwaeji-gukbap is a soup of pork and bone broth ladled over rice, its name simply meaning pork soup rice. The broth is simmered long enough to turn milky, and the bowl arrives with a set of add-ins, salted shrimp, sliced onion, garlic, and kimchi, that diners stir in to taste. It is reported from South Korea, especially popular in Busan, where it is said to trace back to the poverty of the Korean War years in the 1950s, before spreading from that city through the wider Gyeongsang province and eventually to the rest of the country, though it remains less known outside Korea. Pork bones and meat are simmered for hours until the broth turns pale and rich, then ladled over a bowl of rice along with sliced pork. Diners season the bowl themselves at the table with salted shrimp, chopped garlic, spring onion, and chili paste, while noodles or bundled greens sit alongside as customary extras, and kimchi is served on the side. What distinguishes this soup from other Korean broths is above all its origin in scarcity and its long, milky-broth style, closer to the bone soups found across the Gyeongsang region than to the clear broths of the capital; it is also unusually available at any hour, since many of the restaurants that serve it in Busan stay open around the clock.