Spicy Rockfish Stew
My haphazard attempt to recreate the "special rockfish stew" that I had at Gozip Dol Wooluck Jungmun (http://www.brianxie.me/restaurants/gozip-dol-wooluck-jungmun/), which was quietly one of the most delicious dishes I've ever had in my life. The flavor of the broth was incredible and paired so well with everything. My recreation was yummy but definitely not as good as the original; luckily I have a good idea of what I can improve for next time. I sort of roughly followoed Maangchi's recipe (https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/maeuntang) on this, improvising my own steps along the way. Improvements for next time, in no particular order: > Try shallow-frying the fish before putting it into the soup, so that it maintains its shape a little bit better and has a more appetizing skin. > Pack the pot more tightly and use significantly less water. Use leafy greens to fill in any gaps so that there is as little water as possible and the broth develops into this thick, unctuous mixture. > Sprinkle some green onions on top!
Active Time: 40 min
Total Time: 40 min
Ingredients
> rockfish (~2 lb)
> (optional) shrimp (~4 as big as possible, head on)
> (optional) abalone (4)
> tofu (1/2 to 1 pack, cut into large + thick slices)
> korean radish (~1 lb, cut into large blocks)
> chrysanthemum greens
> green onion (thinly sliced)
for the seasoning paste / broth:
> dashi
> gochugaru (1/4 cup, adjust for desired spiciness level)
> garlic (10 cloves, minced)
> doenjang (2 tbsp)
> gochujang (1 tbsp)
> soy sauce (1 tbsp)
> fish sauce (2 tbsp)
> black pepper (1/2 tsp)
> mirin / sake / soju (3 tbsp)
Instructions
1. Make the seasoning paste by mixing all of the ingredients (except the dashi into a bowl)
2. Parcook the radishes for ~5-10 minutes over medium high heat.
3. Add 1/2 of the seasoning paste (gradually add more as needed if not seasoned enough), and arrange the fish + tofu. Simmer, covered, for ~15-20 minutes until the fish is fully cooked, flipping halfway through.
4. Once almost fully cooked, arrange the chrysanthemum greens, shrimp, and abalone, and cook for a few more minutes until everything is cooked through.
5. Sprinkle thinly sliced green onions. Enjoy with rice!
Notes/Tips:
> The broth is traditionally prepared with dried anchovies and kombu, but I'm lazy + don't have those, so I just added some instant dashi instead. To a purist the flavor might taste a little off, but realistically speaking you probably won't be able to tell the difference.
> The exact ingredient amounts you'll want to use will depend on your pot size. Ideally, you want to have the ingredients such that they fill up the pot well. For best appearance, I suggest a relatively shallow pot.
> A lot of the ingredients are substitutable! Notably, feel free to us whatever whole whitefish you want (I used striped bass this time). Pretty much all the other ingredients except the fish are optional (and you could even use fish cut into steaks too to simplify things).