The fish roe in this stew adds a pleasantly soft, pebbly texture, and chrysanthemum greens impart an herbal edge. This is a simpler dish, as there’s no stock to prepare, and there are no fish bones in it, so it’s easy to eat too. With a bowl of rice, it makes a good quick meal. I use frozen pollock roe because it’s easy to find in a Korean grocery store, but you can use any kind of fresh fish roe sold in a fish market, including salmon roe, if you prefer.
SERVES: 2 to 4
INGREDIENTS:
- 5 ounces Korean radish (mu) or daikon, peeled and cut into ⅛-inch slices and then into bite-size pieces (about 1 cup)
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 2 tablespoons fermented soybean paste (doenjang)
- 3 cups water
- 1 (12-ounce) package frozen pollock roe (naengdong-myeong-ran), thawed in the refrigerator
- 4 or 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons Korean hot pepper flakes (gochu-garu)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 scallions, cut diagonally into ½-inch pieces
- 1 green Korean chili pepper (cheong-gochu), stemmed and sliced
- 1 red Korean chili pepper (hong-gochu), stemmed and sliced
- 1 ounce (about ½ cup) chrysanthemum greens (ssuk-gat), washed and left whole or cut into 3-inch lengths, or a small handful of basil
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Combine the radish, onion, soybean paste, and water in a shallow 10-inch pot or sauté pan. Cover and cook over medium-high heat until the onion is almost translucent, about 12 minutes.
- Add the fish roe, garlic, hot pepper flakes, and salt, turn the heat down to medium, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.
- Scatter the scallions, chili peppers, and chrysanthemum greens over the top of the boiling stew, cover, and cook for another 3 minutes. Serve.
