In this video, I (the Aussie wife) tried making gamjatang for the first time… and honestly, I was set up to fail because I didn’t even know what it was supposed to look like. All I got was an envelope with the recipe—no pictures—and SeongLu was standing there like, “It’s simple,” while also reminding me he used to be a chef and therefore apparently has “the right” to judge my food. We talk about what “gamja” means, why people think it’s potato soup, and how it’s actually named after the pork backbone joints (even though yes, we still put potatoes in it too). I went through the whole process: soaking the pork backbone, parboiling it, blending the veggie base, and building the broth with gochujang, doenjang, garlic, gochugaru, dark soy sauce, anchovy sauce, dashida, and mirin. The biggest lesson was time management—this soup is all about letting it boil long enough so the meat gets properly soft. When we finally tasted it, SeongLu said it was “restaurant quality” and “100% same” as Korea, and I genuinely felt like I was back in Korea. If you’re overseas and missing real gamjatang, this is the closest you’ll get—and the flavour is 100% worth the time.