Agwi-jjim (Braised Monkfish with Bean Sprouts)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide heavy pot or deep 12-inch skillet with lid
• •Two large spoons for folding
• •Small bowl for starch slurry
• •Wide serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Clean the fish

   Rub the monkfish pieces with the coarse salt, rinse under cold water, and drain well. Sprinkle with the soju or rice wine and let it sit 10 minutes while you prepare the vegetables. Monkfish is lean, but it can carry a muddy smell if handled carelessly; the salt rub cleans the surface and the rice wine sharpens it without perfume.

   Bone-in pieces give better body to the sauce and stay juicier. If you have boneless monkfish tail, cut it larger, about 2 1/2 inches, because it tightens as it cooks.
2. 2

   Mix the sauce

   In a bowl, stir together the gochugaru, soy sauce, fish sauce, gochujang, garlic, ginger, mirin, sugar, black pepper, and 3 tablespoons of the broth until it becomes a thick red paste. Use only 1 tablespoon gochujang. Too much makes the dish sweet and muddy; agwi-jjim should taste of fish, sprouts, and chili, not a jar of paste.

3. 3

   Prepare the starch

   Stir the potato starch with 3 tablespoons cold water in a small bowl and keep it near the stove. Do not add it early. Starch thickens fast, and if it cooks too long it turns dull and heavy instead of glossy.

4. 4

   Start the braise

   Set a wide heavy pot or deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, monkfish, mideodeok if using, the remaining broth, and the sauce. Fold gently so the fish is coated, then cover and cook 7 minutes. The fish should release liquid and begin to firm. Keep the pieces mostly in one layer so they cook evenly and do not break.

5. 5

   Add the sprouts

   Pile the soybean sprouts over the fish, cover tightly, and cook 5 minutes without lifting the lid. Pick one rule for sprouts and obey it: lid on the whole time or lid off the whole time. Here we use lid on, because the pile is high and needs trapped heat. Lift the lid too often and half-cooked sprouts give the kitchen a raw bean smell.

6. 6

   Fold and season

   Uncover and fold the sprouts down into the sauce with two spoons, lifting from the bottom so the fish does not shred. Add the minari, scallions, and chilies. Cook uncovered 3 to 4 minutes, just until the minari bends and the sprouts stay crisp at the center. Taste the sauce now. If it needs salt, add soy sauce 1 teaspoon at a time; do not guess from the color.

7. 7

   Thicken the sauce

   Stir the starch slurry again, then drizzle in half while folding the pot gently. Wait 20 seconds. Add more only if the sauce still runs like broth. You want a glossy red coating that clings to the sprouts and fish, not a paste. Notebook 42 says the whole 2 tablespoons is right for juicy fresh monkfish; drier fish may need less.

8. 8

   Finish and serve

   Turn off the heat and fold in the sesame oil. Scatter sesame seeds over the top and serve immediately on a wide platter or straight from the pan. The sprouts keep their crunch only for a short while. Bring rice to the table, and at the end, if there is sauce left, stir in a bowl of warm rice for bokkeumbap. That last spoon is why people forgive the mess.

Chef Tips

• •Fresh or frozen monkfish both work. Thaw frozen monkfish overnight in the refrigerator, drain it well, and pat it dry before salting. Water left in the fish thins the sauce and makes you blame the recipe when the market was the problem.
• •Thick soybean sprouts are best here. Thin mung bean sprouts cook too fast and lose the clean snap that makes agwi-jjim worth cooking.
• •Mideodeok is traditional in the Masan style, but it is not easy to find outside Korea. If you cannot get it, leave it out. Do not replace it with a strong shellfish paste; the dish needs briny pops, not a new flavor taking over.
• •Minari gives a peppery, green finish. If your market has none, use a small handful of chrysanthemum greens or omit it, but do not bury the dish under cilantro. Cook the month you're standing in.
• •For a dinner party, cook the fish and sprouts just before serving. You can clean the fish, mix the sauce, trim the vegetables, and set the starch slurry earlier, but the final braise does not wait politely.

Advance Preparation

• •Clean and salt-rub the monkfish up to 6 hours ahead, then cover and refrigerate. Drain again before cooking.
• •Mix the sauce up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate it. Let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before cooking so it loosens enough to coat the fish.
• •Rinse and drain the soybean sprouts up to 1 day ahead, then keep them wrapped in a clean towel in the refrigerator. Wet sprouts add too much water to the braise, so drain them well.
• •Do not cook the finished dish ahead. Reheating turns the sprouts limp and tightens the monkfish. Leftovers are best chopped and fried with rice the next day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 400g)