Gomjangeo-bokkeum (Busan Spicy Hagfish)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •30cm wok or wide cast-iron skillet
• •3-quart pot for parboiling
• •Colander
• •Kitchen shears or sharp knife
• •Disposable gloves, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Check the hagfish

   Start with hagfish that has been skinned and cleaned by the fishmonger. This is the corner you do not shorten at home unless you already know the animal. Trim away any dark bits left inside and cut the pieces evenly, about 5cm long, so they cook at the same pace.

   Frozen cleaned hagfish is acceptable. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, not on the counter, then drain it well before washing.
2. 2

   Wash with salt

   Put the hagfish in a bowl with the coarse salt and flour. Rub firmly for 2 minutes, using gloved hands if you like. The salt tightens the surface and the flour grabs the remaining slime, which is why the sauce will cling later instead of sliding off. Rinse under cold running water until the water is no longer cloudy, then drain.

3. 3

   Soak in soju

   Combine 1/2 cup soju and 1/2 cup cold water in a bowl, add the drained hagfish, and soak 10 minutes. Do not soak it all afternoon. You want to quiet the smell, not wash the character out of the seafood. Drain and pat the pieces dry.

4. 4

   Mix the sauce

   Stir together the gochujang, gochugaru, soy sauce, rice syrup, 1 tablespoon soju, garlic, ginger, doenjang, black pepper, and 2 tablespoons water. The teaspoon of doenjang is not there to make stew. It gives the sauce depth and helps settle the seafood smell without making the pan taste like paste.

   Do not double the gochujang because you like heat. Add heat with gochugaru or fresh chili. Too much paste makes the sauce heavy and sweet before the hagfish has a chance to speak.
5. 5

   Parboil briefly

   Bring 4 cups water to a hard boil with the scallion tops and ginger slices. Add the hagfish and boil 90 seconds, just until the pieces begin to firm and curl. Drain immediately and discard the parboiling water. This step tames the smell and sets the texture; it is not meant to cook the hagfish through.

6. 6

   Start the vegetables

   Heat a 30cm wok or wide skillet over high heat until a drop of water jumps on contact. Add the neutral oil, then the onion, cabbage, and carrot. Stir-fry 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, just until the onion edges turn glossy and the cabbage begins to soften. The vegetables should still have bite, because they have more time coming with the sauce.

7. 7

   Stir-fry with sauce

   Add the parboiled hagfish and green chili to the pan. Spoon in about one-third of the sauce and toss hard for 1 minute so the surface of the hagfish takes the seasoning. Add the remaining sauce and stir-fry 3 to 4 minutes, scraping the pan as the sauce reduces. It is ready when the sauce is glossy and clinging, the hagfish is opaque and springy, and the thickest piece reaches 63 C / 145 F if you check with a thermometer.

   If the sauce tightens before the hagfish is cooked, add 1 tablespoon water at a time. If liquid pools in the pan, keep the heat high and toss until it reduces. Watery bokkeum is unfinished cooking.
8. 8

   Finish with perilla

   Add the scallions and half the sliced perilla leaves and toss for 30 seconds. Turn off the heat and fold in the sesame oil. Perilla goes in late because its green, peppery edge disappears if you cook it too long.

9. 9

   Serve right away

   Transfer to a shallow pan or platter and scatter with sesame seeds and the remaining perilla. Serve at once with rice, whole perilla leaves or lettuce leaves, and a few plain banchan. This is food for eating while it is still glossy from the pan, not food to admire from across the room.

Chef Tips

• •Buy skinned and cleaned hagfish from a fishmonger who sells it often. Fresh should smell clean and marine, not sour or ammoniac. If the shop cannot clean it for you, cook another seafood dish tonight.
• •The salt-flour wash, soju soak, and quick parboil are doing three different jobs. Salt and flour remove slime, soju softens the strong smell, and parboiling firms the surface. Skip one and the pan will tell on you.
• •Use a wide pan. Hagfish releases moisture, and a small pan turns bokkeum into boiling. If your pan is narrow, cook the recipe in two batches and combine them at the end.
• •Perilla is not decoration here. Its sharp green flavor cuts the red sauce and makes the dish feel like Busan rather than a generic spicy stir-fry.
• •If you cannot find hagfish, squid or eel can take this sauce, but then name the dish honestly. It becomes ojingeo-bokkeum or jangeo-bokkeum, not gomjangeo-bokkeum.

Advance Preparation

• •The sauce can be mixed up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Let it stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before cooking so it spreads easily in the pan.
• •The onion, cabbage, carrot, chili, scallions, and perilla can be cut up to 4 hours ahead. Keep the perilla wrapped in a barely damp towel so it does not blacken at the edges.
• •Wash, soak, and parboil the hagfish on the day you cook it. Do not leave it sitting overnight in soju; the texture weakens and the flavor turns flat.
• •Leftovers keep 1 day refrigerated in a covered container. Reheat quickly in a skillet with a spoonful of water, but know that the first pan is the best pan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 350g)