Gamja-Ongsimi — Potato Dumpling Soup from Gangwon (감자 옹심이)

Ingredients

• For the anchovy broth
• 1.5 litres water
• 30 g dried anchovies, heads and innards removed
• For the ongsimi dumplings
• 800 g starchy (mealy) potatoes, 분질감자 variety or equivalent high-starch potato, peeled
• 1 tsp fine salt
• For the soup
• 150 g kimchi, cut into 3 cm pieces
• 1 courgette, halved lengthways and sliced into half-moons, 5 mm thick
• 3 green onions, sliced on the diagonal
• 1 tsp fine salt, to season broth

Method

1. 1
   Combine the dried anchovies and water in a pot, bring to a simmer over medium heat, and cook for 10 minutes — a longer steep would pull bitterness from the heads and gut cavity into the broth. Remove and discard the anchovies. The finished broth should be pale gold, faintly saline, and carry a clean marine smell without bitterness.
2. 2
   Grate the peeled potatoes on the finest grater surface into a large bowl, then transfer in batches to a clean cloth and squeeze firmly over a second bowl, collecting all extracted liquid — squeezing hard enough to leave the grated potato almost dry gives the dumplings body so they hold their shape in the broth. Set the squeezed potato aside and allow the extracted liquid to rest undisturbed for 5–10 minutes until the white starch has visibly settled as a pale sediment at the base of the bowl.
3. 3
   Pour off and discard the clear water above the settled starch, leaving only the dense white sediment, then fold this recovered starch back into the squeezed grated potato — returning it binds the mixture from within so the dumplings stay whole as they cook rather than shedding into the broth. Add 1 tsp salt and combine with a light hand, folding only, never kneading, until the mass just holds together; it should feel dense and cohesive, not paste-like.
4. 4
   Take roughly 20 g of the potato mixture and roll it between both palms into a rough sphere approximately 2.5 cm in diameter, leaving the surface as it comes from your hands rather than smoothing it — the natural unevenness catches and holds the broth once the dumpling is in the bowl. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
5. 5
   Return the anchovy broth to a steady simmer over medium heat and add the kimchi and courgette, simmering for 3 minutes until the courgette has softened slightly at its edges but retains a pale green colour and faint resistance — stopping at this point keeps it from going slack and losing its texture against the soft dumplings. The broth will have taken on a faint sour warmth from the kimchi.
6. 6
   Lower the shaped ongsimi one by one into the simmering broth so they do not knock together and break — they will sink immediately, and after 3–5 minutes they will rise and float at the surface, which is your sign that the centres are cooked through. Stir gently once during cooking to prevent the dumplings from settling and sticking to the base of the pot. The broth will carry a warm, slightly starchy, earthy fragrance — the characteristic smell of the soup.
7. 7
   Add the green onion, season the broth with salt, stir once, and remove from the heat. The ongsimi should be gelatinous-chewy at the exterior and soft at the centre when pressed or bitten.