Refreshing Spicy Mulhoe Broth

Quick answer

Total time: 20 min
Level: Easy
Servings: 2 servings
Ingredients: 10

About this dish

Refreshing Spicy Mulhoe Broth is a Korean cold soup base for raw fish dishes.

This recipe combines red pepper paste, red pepper powder, vinegar, sugar, plum syrup, and minced garlic. The mixture of six tablespoons of vinegar and two of plum syrup provides a double acidity that blocks fishy notes from seafood. Adding one hundred milliliters of lemon-lime soda introduces carbonation that lifts a bright, airy note in the broth. Alternatively, using pear juice instead of soda offers a sophisticated sweetness. To prepare, mix the paste first to remove dry pockets, stir in water, and add the soda last to preserve carbonation. Chill the broth for at least two hours or ferment it for a day to deepen the flavor. Serving it semi-frozen as a slushy lets the ice dilute the seasoning gradually as sashimi thaws.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmountUnit

Red pepper paste4 tbsptbsp

Red pepper powder2 tbsptbsp

Vinegar6 tbsptbsp

Sugar4 tbsptbsp

Plum syrup2 tbsptbsp

Minced garlic1 tbsptbsp

Lemon-lime soda100 mlml

Water400 mlml

Liquid seasoning or Soup soy sauce1 tbsptbsp

Toasted sesame seeds1 tbsptbsp

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Instructions

Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.

6 steps

1

Season

Put 4 tablespoons gochujang, 2 tablespoons gochugaru, 4 tablespoons sugar, and 1 tablespoon minced garlic in a large bowl.

Mix the thick paste first so no dry pepper powder or sugar pockets remain.
2

Step

Add 6 tablespoons vinegar and 2 tablespoons plum syrup a little at a time while loosening the paste.

If you see lumps, press them against the bowl with a spoon and stir for about 1 minute more.
3

Step

Pour in 400 ml water first and stir until the broth becomes evenly loose and pourable.

Add 100 ml lemon-lime soda last, then stir gently so the carbonation does not disappear too quickly.
4

Season

Add 1 tablespoon of seasoning sauce or soup soy sauce and stir slowly from the bottom so the seasoning, water, and soda combine evenly.
5

Step

Transfer the broth to a sealed container and chill it for at least 2 hours.

For deeper flavor, refrigerate it for one day; for a slushy texture, freeze it for 1 to 2 hours before serving.
6

Season

Just before eating, pour the cold broth over the prepared raw fish and vegetables.

Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, and if seasoning has settled on the bottom, stir once before ladling.

Practical Cooking Checks

The cues that matter most while cooking.

Key technique: Mulhoe-yuksu uses vinegar and plum syrup to balance the spicy acidity of this fish broth.
Finish cue: Just before eating, pour the cold broth over the prepared raw fish and vegetables.
Substitution: Using pear juice instead of soda provides a more sophisticated sweetness.
Storage and reheating: Aging the broth in the refrigerator for a day deepens the flavor.