winter rain drops on cherry tree, california
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)
Braised Pike Mackerel (Kkongchi Jorim)
Ingredients for Pike Stew:
- 1 14 oz canned pike mackerel
- 1 C sliced Korean radish (Daikon is also OK)
- 2 green onions
- 1 fresh red or green pepper (optional)
Sauce
- 1 1/2 C water
- 3 T soy sauce
- 2 T rice wine (mirin)
- 1 t chili powder
- 1 t chopped fresh ginger or 1/2 t ginger powder
- 2 t sugar
- 1 T korean red chili paste (gochoojang고추장)
- black pepper
Directions
1. Cut up 1 C of radish.
Cut up 1 C of radish
Put radish in the pot for Kkongchi Jorim
2. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce and set it aside:
Sauce for Kkongchi Jorim
3. Drain away the liquid from the Mackerel can and add the fish to the pot:
Radish+mackerel+bit of liquid & pic of the mackerel can
4. Add 1/2 C water, sauce to the pot and start cooking at medium high heat.
Kkongchi Jorim with sauce and water added
5. 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.
Green onions and red pepper
Kkongchi Jorim is Boiling!
6. Simmer at low heat for 30-40 minutes until the sauce is reduced and looks like below:
Kkongchi Jorim is done!
Kkongchi Jorim (top left), Ssam (top right), Ssamjang (bottom right), Brown Rice(bottom left)
This makes a complete and very delicious, healthy dinner!
Korean Ssam Bahp
Pike Mackerel Stew is a great hearty fish jorim or stew that you can make with canned mackerels.
- 1 14 oz canned pike mackerel
- 1 C sliced Korean radish (Daikon is also OK)
- 2 green onions
- 1 fresh red or green pepper (optional)
- 1 1/2 C water
- 3 T soy sauce
- 2 T rice wine (mirin)
- 1 t chili powder
- 1 t chopped fresh ginger or 1/2 t ginger powder
- 2 t sugar
- 1 T korean red chili paste (gochoojang고추장)
- black pepper
- Cut up 1 C of radish.
- Mix all the ingredients for the sauce and set it aside:
- Drain away the liquid from the Mackerel can and add the fish to the pot:
- Add 1/2 C water, sauce to the pot and 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.
- Simmer at low heat for 30-40 minutes until the sauce is reduced.
- Serve with some rice, lettuce leaves and ssamjang. Can be enjoyed with Korean ssam (lettuce wraps).
- Calories and nutrition value only includes 1/2 of liquid sauce.
Here is a how you eat 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!
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!