Maeuntang… Korean Spicy Fish Stew…My Comfort Food

Maeuntang… Maeuntang… mmmmmmm. I kind of just like saying the word. It is a savory, spicy stew with lots of veggies, fish and lots of spice! It is my absolute favorite comfort food as Chicken Soup would be for many of you. I’ve tried to mimick my mom’s and have never quite got it to taste like hers no matter how many times I’ve tried. I love this soup so much, that this is what I request mom to cook for me on my birthdays. Here is my simple and quick recipe for today. It is modified each time I make it so you can use this basic recipe and adjust the seasoning and ingredients to your liking.

These are a few ingredients to start with.

1 Onion
Several cloves of Garlic
1 Potatoe and/or turnip
Tofu
1 Small Zucchini
Chili Peppers (You will have to choose what you like according to your tolerance to spicy) I like it HOT! HOT! HOT!

Gochujang sauce (Korean Chili Pepper Paste) The dark one is made by mom and has layers of flavors. You can find this at any Korean Supermarket or in the Asian food section at most grocery stores

I also added a couple packets of Seafood Broth Seasoning. (optional)

A couple Whole Fish (Croaker is what I use). I also get this at the Korean supermarket as it is already cleaned so all I do is cut in half.

Slice the onion and chop the garlic and put in a pot with boiling water. Add the Gochujang Sauce and keep stirring until the sauce dissolves. Make sure it doesn’t stick to bottom of the pot and burn. Add Salt to taste

Add the Fish to the boiling broth. This is obviously not a good meal for those who are squirmish around fish eyes and bones. You can make this with fileted fish, however, this is the authentic way you would have it served to you in any traditional Korean restaurant or home.