''Gopchang'' (Hangul: ) can refer to the

small intestine The small intestine or small bowel is an organ in the gastrointestinal tract where most of the absorption of nutrients from food takes place. It lies between the stomach and large intestine, and receives bile and pancreatic juice through the p ...

s of

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

(or

large intestine The large intestine, also known as the large bowel, is the last part of the gastrointestinal tract and of the digestive system in tetrapods. Water is absorbed here and the remaining waste material is stored in the rectum as feces before being r ...

s of

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

) or to a ''

gui The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...

'' (grilled dish) made of the small intestines. The latter is also called ''gopchang-gui'' (; "grilled intestines"). The tube-shaped

offal Offal (), also called variety meats, pluck or organ meats, is the organs of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but usually excludes muscle. Offal may also refe ...

is chewy with rich elastic fibers. In

Korean cuisine Korean cuisine has evolved through centuries of social and political change. Originating from ancient agricultural and nomadic traditions in Korea and southern Manchuria, Korean cuisine reflects a complex interaction of the natural envi ...

, it is stewed in a hot pot ('' gopchang-jeongol,'' 곱창전골), grilled over a

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...

(''gopchang-gui''), boiled in soup with other intestines ('' naejang-tang''), or made into a sausage ('' sundae''). In the past, ''gopchang'' was a popular, nutritious, and cheap dish for the general public. Rich in

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

and

vitamin A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an Nutrient#Essential nutrients, essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its ...

s, it was served as a health supplement for improving a weak constitution, recovering patients, and postpartum depression. Today, ''gopchang'' is also regarded as a delicacy and is more expensive than the regular meat of the same weight. It is a popular '' anju'' (food served and eaten with

soju (; Hangul: ; Hanja: ) is a clear and colorless Korean distilled alcoholic beverage. It is usually consumed neat. Its alcohol content varies from about 12.9% to 53% alcohol by volume (ABV), although since 2007 low alcohol soju below 20% h ...

), as it helps break down alcohol.

Preparation

The intestines are cleaned thoroughly, rubbed with

wheat flour Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of wheat used for human consumption. Wheat varieties are called "soft" or "weak" if gluten content is low, and are called "hard" or "strong" if they have high gluten content. Hard flour, or ''bread ...

and coarse salt, and rinsed several times. The fat is trimmed off, and the cleaned ''gopchang'' is soaked in water to remove any traces of blood.

Garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

cooking wine The classification of wine is based on various criteria including place of origin or appellation, vinification method and style, sweetness and vintage,J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 752 & 753 Oxford University ...

black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diame ...

, and Korean pepper are common marinating ingredients, mainly used for eliminating any unpleasant odors and tenderizing the meat of ''gopchang''. Ingredients for ''gopchang-gui'' marinade are juiced, rather than minced, so that they don't burn during the grilling process. Common ingredients include

soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and '' Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''Asp ...

, ''

gochutgaru Chili powder (also spelled chile, chilli, or, alternatively, powdered chili) is the dried, pulverized fruit of one or more varieties of chili pepper, sometimes with the addition of other spices (in which case it is also sometimes known as chili p ...

'' (chili powder), ''

mullyeot ''Yeot'' is a variety of ''hangwa'', or Korean traditional confectionery. It can be made in either liquid or solid form, as a syrup, taffy, or candy. ''Yeot'' is made from steamed rice, glutinous rice, glutinous sorghum, corn, sweet potato ...

'' (rice syrup), ''

cheongju Cheongju () is the capital and largest List of cities in South Korea, city of North Chungcheong Province in South Korea. History Cheongju has been an important provincial town since ancient times. In the Cheongju Mountains, specifically in the ...

'' (rice wine),

juice,

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

juice,

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

juice,

scallion Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, ch ...

juice, and

juice. The ''gopchang'' is first marinated in the seasonings and spices, then grilled on a lightly greased pan or griddle. Onions and

bell pepper The bell pepper (also known as paprika, sweet pepper, pepper, or capsicum ) is the fruit of plants in the Grossum Group of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange ...

s are often grilled together with ''gopchang''. Grilled ''gopchang'' is often served dipped in salt and

sesame oil Sesame oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from sesame seeds. The oil is one of the earliest-known crop-based oils. Worldwide mass modern production is limited due to the inefficient manual harvesting process required to extract the oil. O ...

. After that, usually Bokkumbab (Hangul: 볶음밥; "fried rice") is cooked with Gopchang oil.

Varieties and similar dishes

''Gopchang'' of pork big intestines is usually called ''dwaeji-gopchang'' (; "pig gopchang"). In Korean cuisine, food similar to ''gopchang'' prepared with beef blanket tripe is called '' yang-gopchang'' (; "rumen ''gopchang''"), while the one prepared with beef reed tripe is called ''

makchang ''Makchang'' (; "last viscus") or ''so-makchang'' (; "beef last viscus") is a Korean dish of either the abomasum (the fourth and final stomach compartment in ruminants) of cattle or the ''gui'' (grilled dish) made of beef abomasum. The latter is ...

'' (; "last tripe"), and the one with beef

s is called ''daechang'' (; "big innards"). Internationally, gopchang could be compared to chitterlings (pork's small intestines) or Latin American ''

chunchullo is beef small intestine, which may be grilled or fried. It is consumed in many Latin American countries. In some countries, is grilled over wood or charcoal. In Colombia, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru, Chile and Ecuador, however, it is u ...

'' (beef, pork, or lamb's small intestines). The Spanish/Portuguese term ''

tripas ''Tripas'', in Mexican cuisine (known as chitterlings in English-speaking countries), are the small intestines of farm animals that have been cleaned, boiled and grilled. ''Tripas'' are used as filling for tacos, and then dressed with condi ...

'' or the English

tripe Tripe is a type of edible lining from the stomachs of various farm animals. Most tripe is from cattle, pigs and sheep. Types of tripe Beef tripe Beef tripe is made from the muscle wall (the interior mucosal lining is removed) of a cow's st ...

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 Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Gallery

Gopchang 3.jpg, Uncooked ''gopchang'' prepared to cook on grill 양념곱창.JPG, ''Yangnyeom-gopchang'' (marinated ''gopchang'') Korean.food-Gobchang.bokkem-01.jpg, ''Gopchang-

bokkeum ''Bokkeum'' () is a category of stir-fried dishes in Korean cuisine. Etymology ''Bokkeum'' () is a verbal noun derived from the Korean verb ''bokkda'' (), meaning "to cook food or food ingredients with little or a small amount of liquid by ...

'' (stir-fried ''gopchang'') Korean cuisine-Gobchang jeongol-01.jpg, '' Gopchang-jeongol'' (''gopchang'' hot pot)

References

{{reflist, 30em Korean meat dishes Offal Table-cooked dishes