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)
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.
2. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce and set it aside:
3. Drain away the liquid from the Mackerel can and add the fish to the pot:
4. Add 1/2 C water, 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 pepper 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!
Pike Mackerel Stew (Kkongchi Jorim)
Ingredients
- 1 14 oz / 396.89 g 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 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp rice wine (mirin)
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp chopped fresh ginger or 1/2 t ginger powder
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp korean red chili paste (gochoojang 고추장)
- black pepper
Instructions
- 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.
Tips & Notes:
- 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.
Nutrition Information:
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!
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!