Beef and Radish Soup: a Metal and Earth Everyday Broth

Sliced radish and beef are sauteed, simmered in 5 cups of water for 20 minutes, and finished with green onion, garlic and soup soy sauce. A Metal and Earth soup with an even nature, 2 servings in 30 minutes.

Elements	Metal · Earth
Good in	autumn, winter
Suits	every constitution
Serves	2 · 30 min

Radish, beef and the generating cycle

Korean radish is white, so the tradition places it with Metal; the app says its white Metal energy makes the stomach feel refreshed. Green onion and garlic are pungent, the taste of Metal, and add fragrance.

The beef is tagged Earth. Because Earth produces Metal (土生金), the tradition reads the beef as feeding the radish and giving the broth body. A spoon of soup soy sauce, salty, is read as a small Water note for seasoning.

Season and body type

Autumn radish is prized in Korea for its sweetness, and the app offers this soup in autumn and winter.

The nature is even. The tradition reads even dishes as suiting everyone, and especially a balanced constitution, 한열이 고른 체질. Read as the tradition's way of pairing food and temperament, not as medical advice.

Ingredients and their elements

For a meat-free pot, the app swaps the beef for 4 shiitake mushrooms.

Beef and radish soup, 2 servings, 30 minutes
Ingredient	Amount	Element	Swap
Korean radish	200 g	Metal	-
Beef for soup	100 g	Earth	Shiitake mushrooms, 4
Green onion and garlic	1 tbsp each	Metal	-
Soup soy sauce	1 tbsp	Water	Salt, 0.5 tsp

Ingredients

Korean radish 200 g (Metal)
White Metal energy that makes the stomach feel refreshed.
Beef for soup 100 g (Earth)
Earth produces Metal (土生金) and gives the broth body.
Green onion and garlic 1 tbsp each (Metal)
Fragrant Metal energy.
Soup soy sauce 1 tbsp (Water)
For seasoning.

How to make it

Cut the radish into thin square slices.
Saute the beef and radish in a pot, then pour in 5 cups of water.
Simmer for 20 minutes and finish with green onion, garlic and soup soy sauce.

Questions

What is soup soy sauce?

Guk-ganjang, a lighter-coloured, saltier Korean soy sauce for soups. The app allows 0.5 tsp of salt instead.

Can I make it vegetarian?

Yes. Use 4 shiitake mushrooms; the app reads them as savoury Earth, so the Earth-feeds-Metal logic stays.

How should the radish be cut?

Nabak-sseolgi: thin, flat squares about the size of a coin, so they cook through in the 20-minute simmer.

Solar terms in this season

Liqiu Chushu Bailu Qiufen Cold Dew Frost Descent Start of Winter Minor Snow Major Snow Winter Solstice Minor Cold Major Cold

Baesuk: Steamed Pear with Bellflower Root and HoneyA whole Korean pear filled with bellflower root, honey and peppercorns and steamed for 25 minutes. Why the tradition reads it as Metal.Beef Seaweed Soup (Miyeokguk) and Its ElementsKorean beef and seaweed soup in 35 minutes: 15 g dried seaweed, 150 g beef, 6 cups water. A warm Water and Earth soup for autumn, winter and spring.Baek-kimchi: a Cool Metal White Kimchi without ChiliKorean white kimchi with napa cabbage, radish and pear in a clear brine, no chili. How the tradition reads its white colour as Metal.The Generating and Controlling Cycles of the Five ElementsHow the five elements feed one another in the generating cycle and keep one another in check in the controlling cycle, with two real days worked out.Start of Winter (立冬, Lidong): Dates, Kimjang and the 亥 MonthStart of Winter (立冬) begins on 7 November 2026 at 18:52 KST and opens the 亥 month. Read its meaning, the kimjang season and early-winter habits.

See it for your chart → Open Haru

Traditional Four Pillars (myeongni) and yin-yang five-element interpretation. Not a medical diagnosis or advice.