''Gopchang'' () is a dish in

Korean cuisine Korean cuisine is the set of foods and culinary styles which are associated with Korean culture. This cuisine has evolved through centuries of social and political change. Originating from ancient Prehistoric Korea, agricultural and nomad ...

. It can refer to either the

small intestine The small intestine or small bowel is an organ (anatomy), organ in the human gastrointestinal tract, gastrointestinal tract where most of the #Absorption, absorption of nutrients from food takes place. It lies between the stomach and large intes ...

s of

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

, the

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

s of

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

s, or a '' gui'' (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 internal organ (anatomy), organs of a butchered animal. Offal may also refer to the by-products of Milling (grinding), milled grains, such as corn or wheat. Some cultures strong ...

is chewy with rich

elastic fiber Elastic fibers (or yellow fibers) are an essential component of the extracellular matrix composed of bundles of proteins (elastin) which are produced by a number of different cell types including fibroblasts, endothelial, smooth muscle, and ai ...

s. It can be stewed in a hot pot ('' gopchang-jeongol,'' 곱창전골), grilled over a

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (often shortened to BBQ worldwide; barbie or barby in Australia and New Zealand) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to coo ...

(''gopchang-gui''), boiled in soup with other intestines ('' naejang-tang''), or made into a sausage (''

sundae A sundae (Sunday Ice) () is an ice cream frozen dessert of American origin that typically consists of one or more scoops of ice cream topped with a sweet sauce or syrup and other toppings such as sprinkles, whipped cream, marshmallows, chocola ...

''). In the past, ''gopchang'' was a popular, nutritious, and cheap dish for the general public. Rich in

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () 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, forming much of Earth's o ...

and

vitamin Vitamins are Organic compound, organic molecules (or a set of closely related molecules called vitamer, vitamers) that are essential to an organism in small quantities for proper metabolism, metabolic function. Nutrient#Essential nutrients, ...

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 regular meat of the same weight. It is a popular '' anju'' (food served and eaten with

soju Soju (English pronunciation: ; ) is a clear and colorless distilled alcoholic beverage from Korea, traditionally made from rice, but later from other grains and has a flavor similar to vodka. It is usually consumed neat. Its alcohol content ...

Preparation

The intestines are cleaned thoroughly, rubbed with

wheat flour Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of common 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 ...

and

coarse salt Kosher salt or kitchen salt (also called cooking salt, rock salt, kashering salt, or koshering salt) is coarse edible salt usually without common additives such as iodine, typically used in cooking and not at the table. It consists mainly of s ...

, 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 plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), 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 which was classifie ...

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 (the peppercorn), which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diameter ...

, 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 (sometimes called soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of China, Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermentation (food), fermented paste of soybeans, roasted cereal, grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''A ...

, '' gochutgaru'' (chili powder), ''

mullyeot () 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. is made from steamed rice, glutinous rice, glutinous sorghum, corn, sweet potatoes, or mixed gra ...

'' (rice syrup), ''

cheongju Cheongju (; ) is the capital and largest list of cities in South Korea, city of North Chungcheong Province in South Korea. The 'Cheong' in the name of Chungcheong Province is the Cheong of Cheongju. History Cheongju has been an important prov ...

'' (rice wine),

juice,

apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

juice,

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...

juice,

scallion Scallions (also known as green onions and spring onions) are edible vegetables of various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions. Their close relatives include garlic, shallots, leeks, chive ...

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 sweet pepper, paprika, pepper, capsicum or, in some parts of the US midwest, mango) is the fruit of plants in the Grossum Group of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in diff ...

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. ...

. After that, usually Bokkumbab (; "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'' (; "last tripe"), and the one with beef

s is called ''daechang'' (; "big innards"). Internationally, gopchang could be compared to

chitterlings Chitterlings ( ), sometimes spelled chitlins or chittlins, are a food most commonly made from the small intestines of pigs, though cow, lamb, goose and goat may also be used. They may be filled with a forcemeat to make sausage.''Oxford English ...

(pork's small intestines) or Latin American '' chunchullo'' (beef, pork, or lamb's small intestines). The Spanish/Portuguese term '' tripas'' or the English

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

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. '' Nakgopsae'' () 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 Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

, South Korea.

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 st ...

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

References

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