Fishing season is nearly upon us so now is the time to empty our freezers of last year’s harvest. A couple of months ago, my mother-in-law dropped off a few things she needed to clear from her freezer, including some very generous portions of frozen halibut, salmon and sablefish.
Salmon is a regular staple for us, and halibut is a treasured treat, but sablefish is admittedly something I rarely serve at home. Sablefish is sometimes referred to as black cod although it is technically not cod. The fish is oily and rich with omega 3 fatty acids, the flavor is strong and buttery, and the white flesh is firm, versatile and stands up to various cooking methods, making it a forgiving fish for novice cooks.
I have baked it in a pouch slathered with miso paste (highly recommended) and have served it simply steamed with ginger and cilantro (not so highly recommended), but this time I wanted to use it in a spicy Korean fisherman’s stew called “maeuntang.”
This dish is made with basically any firm, white fleshed fish — cod, seabass, flounder, pollock and fluke would all work well, but the oils in the sablefish and the buttery flavor added such a wonderful richness to the broth, I may never make this soup with anything else again.
There are many variations, and different families might add different vegetables, but the radish (daikon) cannot be substituted and is crucial for the flavor. This recipe requires a few specialty ingredients that can be found in Anchorage at one of the several Korean markets or can be easily found online. Both the Korean red pepper powder and fermented bean paste ship nicely.
Maeuntang or Korean fisherman’s stew
Ingredients:
2 ½ pounds sablefish, skinned, deboned, and cut into about 2-inch chunks
1 pound daikon, peeled and sliced into thin pieces (about ¼ inch thick)
½ white onion, thinly sliced
1 large zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and sliced into about ¼ inch thick pieces
4 stalks green onion, chopped
1 serrano pepper, sliced (optional)
For the seasoning paste:
10 cloves garlic, freshly minced
2 tablespoons Korean fermented bean paste (Japanese miso will work in a pinch, but use an extra teaspoon)
1 tablespoon Korean red pepper paste
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
¼-1/2 cup Korean red pepper powder, depending on your spice tolerance
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
Directions:
Mix the seasoning paste ingredients together in a bowl and set aside. This paste can be made in advance and the flavor benefits from the extra time to merry, so consider letting it sit for a couple hours if you have the time.
Put the sliced radish, onion and about 8 cups of water into a pot and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes, until the radish has softened.
Add the chunks of fish and half of the seasoning paste.
Cover and reduce the heat. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the zucchini, the serrano pepper and the rest of the seasoning paste and cook for an additional 10 minutes, until the fish is completely cooked.
Taste the broth and season with extra fish sauce for saltiness or some more red pepper powder for extra spice.
Top with chopped green onion and serve with steamed rice and cucumber kimchi.
