Korean Braised Saury (Kkongchi Jorim) is a classic everyday banchan made with canned saury (kkongchi) and it’s just absolutely perfect in lettuce wraps or ssam. The slow simmer allows all the wonderful seasoning to be fully absorbed by the fish and the radish. It’s just incredibly delicious so I hope you give it a try!
Kkongchi Jorim (Korean Braised Saury) is a dish that’s rarely served at restaurants but is eaten in every Korean home because it’s so simple to make yet so filling and satisfying. Saury also goes by Pacific Saury, Mackerel Pike. You can read more about this fish in my Kkongchi Ingredient page. Once you have the Kkongchi Jorim, all you need is some rice and maybe some ssambap material.
UPDATED 8/08/22
Why this picture of raindrops on my cherry tree??
I know it seems so random now in 2022 but this was back in 2011 when I bought my first ever DLSR Nikon camera to take pictures for my blog.. I was sooo excited to have my own expensive camera and was taking pictures of everything… lol. So I’m leaving it here so that I can come back and be reminded of how being a food blogger was a very remote possibility and couldn’t even imagine doing it as a full time profession or business.
Written in 2011 –
The rain had just stopped when I stepped out onto our driveway. I noticed the fresh rain drops dangling from the branches – like crystals from a chandelier. And the air felt so clear, crisp and fresh..it felt so nice..
Anyway, so I thought about what would be good for dinner today…Hmm.. I didn’t feel like cooking a whole lot so something simple but good and yet healthy as we had a heavy meal yesterday.
So the decision was to have Kkongchi Jorim and Ssam-bap(꽁치조림과 쌈밥)
How to make Kkongchi Jorim (Korean Braised Saury):
Updated 8/8/2022
The recipe in this post vs video. So as you can imagine, we are always learning. I have learned since the post in 2011 that you can make this dish even better and even easier. I have updated the ingredients a bit and also started using the liquid from the can instead of adding water. That adds a lot more flavor. Also, I no longer make the sauce separately but just dump it all into the pot. Since we are simmering for quite some time, it will all mix and meld together.
- 1 14 oz canned saury (kkongchi)
- 1 cup sliced Korean radish (Daikon is also OK)
- liquid from pike mackerel can
- 2 green onions
- 2 T soy sauce
- 3 T rice wine (mirim)
- 2 tsp chopped garlic
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp chopped fresh ginger or 1/2 tsp ginger powder
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 T Korean red chili paste (gochujang고추장)
- black pepper
- 1 fresh red or green chili pepper (optional)
Directions
1. Cut up 1 cup of radish and either layer the bottom of the pot with the radish pieces or add a few on top (like the video). Either way works.
2. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce and set it aside OR just add the ingredients one by one into the pot (like in video).
3. Pour all the contents of the canned Saury (Mackerel Pike) including the liquid into the pot:
4. Add all the ingredients for the sauce to the pot and start cooking at medium high heat.
5. Once it starts to boil, reduce the heat to simmer. In the meantime, cut up green onions and some red chili pepper (I often use green Jalapeno too) and add to the pot.
6. Simmer at low heat for 30-40 minutes until the sauce is reduced and looks like below:
This makes a complete and very delicious, healthy dinner!
How to enjoy it as Ssam Bap.
Take a piece of lettuce, add a perilla leaf, a crown daisy, rice, flakes of the fish and a dollop of ssamjang. Then wrap it up and try to fit it into your mouth and enjoy all the different flavors burst inside your mouth!!
For Ssamjang recipe, read – Ssamjang, a veggie’s best friend.
For tips on preparing the Ssam (Lettuce and other Korean veggies).
Happy eating!
Braised Saury Stew (Kkongchi Jorim)
Ingredients
- 1 14 oz canned saury (mackerel pike) 14 oz / 396.89 g
- 1 cup Korean radish (Daikon is also OK)
- 2 green onions
- 1 fresh red or green chili pepper (optional)
Sauce
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 3 Tbsp rice wine (mirim)
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp fresh garlic chopped
- 1 tsp chopped fresh ginger or 1/2 t ginger powder
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp korean red chili paste (gochujang 고추장)
- black pepper
Instructions
- Cut up 1 cup of radish.1 cup Korean radish
- Mix all the ingredients for the sauce and set it aside:2 Tbsp soy sauce, 3 Tbsp rice wine, 1 tsp chili powder, 2 tsp fresh garlic, 1 tsp chopped fresh ginger or 1/2 t ginger powder, 2 tsp sugar, 1 Tbsp korean red chili paste, black pepper
- Empty out Saury and liquid from the can into the pot:1 14 oz canned saury (mackerel pike)
- Add sauce ingredients to pot except for green onions and chilis. Start cooking at medium high heat.
- Once it starts to boil, reduce the heat to simmer. In the meantime, cut up green onions and some red pepper and add to the pot.1 fresh red or green chili pepper, 2 green onions
- Simmer at low heat for 30-40 minutes until the sauce is reduced and radish is soft. Taste the fish, the fish should have the sauce flavor well absorbed into it.
Tips & Notes:
- Serve with some rice, lettuce leaves and ssamjang. Can be enjoyed with Korean ssam (lettuce wraps).
Do you ever add garlic to this dish? I’m so used to adding garlic to every Korean dish- I was surprised to not see it on the ingredient list.
Oh, yes, you can add garlic to the dish. I also like to add garlic powder sometimes. Sure, Koreans do love garlic and use it a lot but it’s not necessary in every dish.
This dish was a huge hit with the family. We usually make the stew version but saw this recipe and made the ssam tonight with the family. Super easy and health meal for the family.
Yay!! Soo happy to hear that Mindy!! It really is such a super easy meal -it’s my ‘don’t know what to cook and don’t want to cook’ kind of a day menu.. 😉 Thank you so much for the 5 stars rating!!
Do I add the mackerel juice to the pot?
Yes, you should. Thank you for asking! I am sorry if that was not clear. Will add something in now.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I’m living on my own now, so I’ve been learning how to cook Korean food. I tasted the sauce after it was reduced, and it tasted perfect: savory, spicy, refreshing and slightly sweet. It tasted very similar to the sauce my mom makes for braised black cod. However, I don’t think I simmered the mackerel at a high enough heat, because the inside of the fish remained pale pink (or is it supposed to be like that?). The next time I make this recipe, I will add extra cayenne pepper and/or serrano peppers because I like my food spicy ^^~~
The mackerel comes fully cooked in the can so the inside color will not change. But how long you simmer will affect whether the sauce has been fully absorbed into the fish. If you like things spicy, sure, more peppers will be great! Thanks for asking!