Agwi-jjigae (Monkfish Stew)

At the fish market, agwi looks like a joke someone played on a cook: broad mouth, loose skin, not much beauty. Then you put it in a pot and it gives you firm tail meat, sweet broth, and gelatin that makes the spoon feel rich. The ugly fish earns its place honestly.

This stew lives or dies by cleaning and timing. Rinse the monkfish well, blanch it briefly, and skim the broth so the pot tastes clean, not muddy. Soybean sprouts go in late enough to keep their crunch. Minari (water dropwort) goes in at the end, because its green bitterness is a finish, not a vegetable to punish.

Do not turn this into a pot of chili paste. Gochugaru gives the stew its color and lift; a small spoon of gochujang rounds the broth, but too much makes every fish stew taste the same. Let it taste like itself. Notebook 41 says the first bowl is for rice, the second is for arguing over the last piece of tail.