Maeuntang (Spicy White Fish Radish Stew)
Maeuntang is a spicy Korean fish soup that uses white-fleshed fish such as cod or frozen pollock as its centerpiece. The fish is salted for ten minutes beforehand to firm the flesh and draw out impurities, while radish simmers in water to create a clean, sweet base. Gochujang, gochugaru, soup soy sauce, and garlic are stirred into the broth, and the fish and tofu are added together and cooked for ten minutes without flipping, using ladled broth to cook the top side evenly. Zucchini, green onion, and cheongyang chili are added in the final three minutes for color and crunch.
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Instructions
- 1
Cut 300g fish into large pieces, sprinkle lightly with salt, and rest 10 minutes to reduce fishiness.
- 2
Slice radish thin, cut tofu and zucchini into bite-size, and diagonally slice green onion and chili.
- 3
Boil 800ml water with radish for 5 minutes until radish becomes translucent.
- 4
Stir in 1.5 tbsp gochujang, 1 tbsp gochugaru, 1 tbsp soup soy sauce, and 1 tbsp garlic.
- 5
Add fish and tofu, simmer 10 minutes on medium heat. Do not flip fish--spoon broth over it instead.
- 6
Add zucchini, green onion, and chili peppers. Simmer 3 more minutes to finish.
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