Al-tang (Fish Roe Stew)

At the fish market, al-tang begins as a question of freshness. The roe sacs should look full and glossy, not collapsed, and they should smell clean, like the sea before it becomes trouble. Cook the month you're standing in: this stew is best in the colder months, when pollock, cod, and their roe are better eating, and when a hot pot with rice makes sense at the table.

The dish lives or dies by timing. Radish goes in early because it sweetens the broth and gives its body to the pot. The fish goes in after the broth is seasoned. The roe goes in near the end, because it needs only enough time to firm into small tender grains inside its skin. Boil it hard and it turns dry, chalky, and sulky. I won't pretend the pot forgives you there.

Notebook 31 says this clearly: keep the seasoning clean. Gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) gives color and warmth, a little gochujang (chili paste) rounds the broth, but too much paste makes every seafood stew taste the same. Let the roe taste like itself. Have your rice ready, your crown daisy washed, and your table called before the roe goes in, because this stew is best carried straight from the stove.