Korean beansprout soup with clam 'Kong Na Mul Guk'

I had this soup so many times when I was a child.

The beansprout was the cheapest ingredient (it is still a cheap one),

also it is so simple to cook .

My mother was a working mom.

She made this soup when she didn't have time to cook
or during the cold Korean winter.

'Kong Na Mul' means  soybeansprout,

also it refers to a seasoned side dish made from soybeansprout.

'Kuk' means the soup.

This soup can be cooked with or without the clams or the mussels.

Ingredients

200g beansprouts
2 cups clams

2 cloves garlic crushed
1 chilli chopped
1/3 cup chopped leek
1~2 Tbsp light soy sauce
3 cups water

Place the clams In a bowl, pour in the water and a tsp of salt' leave to soak.
This will make the dirt come out of the clam.
Trim the ends of the beansprouts, Wash the beansprouts few time, also rinse the clams until the dirt has been removed.
Place a pot on medium heat with 3 cups of water, put the clams and beansprouts in the pot and cover with a lid and boil.
Don't open the lid until the water is boiling.
If you open the lid befor the water boils, the beansprouts will make the soup taste bad.
1 minute after the soup starts boiling, open the lid, put all the other ingredients into the pot and stir.
Cover with the lid and boil for 2 or 3 minutes, add some more light soy sauce for taste and serve.

We enjoy this soup very much.
Especialy when we get flu, we eat this soup with a lot of chilli powder.
Also this soup helps after you drink a lot of alcohol! 

It works,,,, definitly.*^^*