Bill's Recipes

Maeuntang
Spicy Korean Fish Stew

If you love seafood and spicy stews, I’m sure you’ll absolutely love this one, called maeuntang in Korean and spicy fish stew (or soup) in English. It can be made with pretty much any type of fish but most importantly the fish should be fresh!

Maeuntang is one of Koreans’ most-loved seafood dishes. Most Korean households have all these seasonings on hand, so it’s a great way to share a delicious, fresh fish with friends and family. It’s easy to make and the savory, spicy stew sits in the middle of the table and everyone can enjoy it together.

2-3 pounds cleaned whole fish (black sea bass, cod, pollock, flounder, fluke, red snapper), cut into 2 inch pieces
8 cups water or broth, see below
1 pound Korean radish (or daikon) sliced into ⅛ inch thin bite sized pieces
7-8 large dried anchovies, with heads and guts removed or 20 small intact. You can skip this and use broth (see below)
4 to 5 green onions, sliced diagonally
1 large green chili pepper, sliced
1 pound carrots
1 large sween onion, quartered
1 head garlic

For the seasoning paste:
1/4 cup hot pepper flakes (gochugaru)
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoons Korean fermented bean paste (doenjang)
1/2 tablespoon Korean hot pepper paste (gochujang)
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoons fish sauce
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons mirin (or soju)

Make seasoning paste: Combine the seasoning paste ingredients in a bowl. Mix it well with a spoon. Set aside.

Make broth: put 8 cups water, anchovies, onion, 4 cloves garlic in a pot and simmer for 30 min. strain broth out and discard rest. Alternate, use 8 cups broth (vegetable is best) instead of the water, and skip the anchovies.

Note: You can put Worcestershire sauce in your recipe instead of anchovies. Since it contains anchovies, this sauce is a suitable replacement. You do not have to be concerned about the flavor variation when you add it to your dish.

Make maeuntang: Combine the radish/daikon, broth, carrots, fish, and paste in a large pot. Cover and cook for 20 minutes over medium high heat until the radish turns a little soft. Add green chili pepper and green onion. Gently stir the stew a few times with a wooden spoon and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes.

Mirin Substitute: a dry sherry or a sweet marsala wine. Dry white wine or rice vinegar will also do, though you'll need to counteract the sourness with about a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar for every tablespoon you use.

Serve with rice, kimchi.