← Nouns Cooking · Korean

Ingredients

• 800 g whole white fish (snapper, croaker or cod), cleaned, cut into 3–4 pieces
• 6 Clams (optional)
• 1 l Water
• 6 large dried anchovies, heads and guts removed
• 1 piece dried kelp (about 8 cm square)
• 200 g Korean radish or daikon, thin squares
• 200 g Tofu, thick slices
• 100 g Courgette (zucchini), half-moons
• ½ Onion, sliced
• 1 Red chilli, sliced
• 1 Spring onion, cut into lengths
• 1 handful watercress or crown daisy (ssukgat)
• 3 tbsp Gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes)
• 1 tbsp Gochujang
• 1 tsp Doenjang (Korean soybean paste)
• 2 tbsp soup soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Fish sauce
• 2 tbsp Mirin
• 4 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 tsp Ginger, grated
• Salt

Method

1. Simmer the water with the anchovies and kelp for 10 min, then strain into a wide pot.
2. Rinse the fish pieces well, including the head, which gives the broth its body. Mix the seasoning ingredients into a paste.
3. Add the radish to the broth and boil for 5 min, until its edges turn translucent. Stir in the seasoning paste.
4. Lay in the fish (and clams) with the onion. Boil gently for 8–10 min, skimming off any foam, until the fish is white all the way through. Don’t stir, or the fish will fall apart.
5. Add the tofu, courgette and chilli and cook for 3–4 min more. Top with the watercress and spring onion, check the salt and serve bubbling hot with rice.

Tips

• Fish heads and bones make the best maeuntang; ask the fishmonger for the frame left over from filleting.
• Contains fish and shellfish.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Korean Bapsang Beyond Kimchee