Mulhoe (Cold Raw Fish Soup)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small pot for anchovy-kelp broth
• •Fine sieve
• •Sharp slicing knife
• •Stainless mixing bowl nested over ice
• •Chilled stainless serving bowls

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the broth

   Put the water, kelp, and anchovies in a small pot over medium heat. When the water reaches a bare simmer, pull out the kelp so it does not turn the broth slick and bitter. Simmer the anchovies for 8 minutes, then strain. You should have about 2 cups of clean broth. Chill it until very cold, at least 1 hour in the refrigerator or 25 minutes in the freezer.

   Remove the anchovy heads and dark guts before simmering. That small work is what keeps a cold broth clean instead of fishy.
2. 2

   Season it cold

   Whisk the doenjang into the cold broth through a fine sieve, pressing with a spoon so no hard lumps remain. Stir in the vinegar, maesil-cheong or sugar, gochugaru, soy sauce, grated garlic, and salt. Taste it before the ice goes in. It should be saltier and sharper than a soup you would sip plain, because the ice, vegetables, and fish will soften it. Do not make it sweet first. Sweetness should help the vinegar, not take over the bowl.

3. 3

   Handle the fish

   Keep the fish refrigerated until the moment you cut it. Pat it dry, then slice across the grain into strips about 1/4 inch thick and 2 inches long. If the fish was not sold for raw eating, smells strongly fishy, or feels sticky, stop and use it for a cooked dish. Gochugaru and vinegar cannot repair poor fish, and they should not try.

   Buy fish specifically sold for raw eating, the same day you serve it. Keep it below 4 C / 40 F, and do not use freshwater fish for this recipe.
4. 4

   Cut the vegetables

   Drain the soaked onion well. Cut the cucumber and pear into thin matchsticks, slice the lettuce into ribbons, and cut the perilla last so it stays fragrant. Thin knife work matters here because everything has to lift together on the spoon: fish, leaf, cucumber, broth. Thick pieces fall away and make the bowl clumsy.

5. 5

   Boil optional noodles

   If serving somyeon, boil it in plenty of water until just tender, usually 3 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water, rubbing the noodles between your hands to remove surface starch, then drain hard. Cold noodles should be clean and springy, not slippery. If serving rice instead, keep it in a separate bowl so each person can add it as they eat.

6. 6

   Build the bowls

   Divide the fish, cucumber, lettuce, perilla, onion, pear, and green chili among chilled stainless bowls. Add the somyeon now if using it, tucking it to one side rather than burying the fish. Scatter the sesame seeds over the top. Do not pour the broth yet. Acid tightens raw fish if it waits, and mulhoe should arrive loose and cold.

7. 7

   Pour and serve

   Stir the crushed ice into the seasoned broth and pour it over the bowls just before serving. Mix at the table so the doenjang broth coats the fish and vegetables. Taste one spoonful, then adjust each bowl with 1 teaspoon more vinegar or a small pinch of salt if needed. Eat immediately with rice or somyeon. There are no leftovers with raw fish.

Chef Tips

• •Tell the fishmonger you are making hwe (raw sliced fish), not stew. A firm white sea fish is easiest at home: flounder, sea bream, halibut, or rockfish. Home freezing is not the same as commercial parasite control, so buy fish already handled for raw eating.
• •Jeju mulhoe leans on doenjang. If you want a Pohang-style red broth, replace 1 tablespoon of the doenjang with 1 tablespoon gochujang and reduce the maesil-cheong to 2 teaspoons total. Do not add both at full strength, or the fish disappears.
• •The broth must taste too assertive before it meets the bowl. Cold dulls salt, ice dilutes vinegar, and lettuce gives off water. Measure the seasoning first, then adjust by the spoonful at the table.
• •Safe corners to cut: make the broth ahead, buy vegetables already washed, and serve rice instead of boiling noodles. Do not cut the fish early, do not leave it sitting in acid, and do not use dull knife work. Those are the dish.

Advance Preparation

• •The anchovy-kelp broth can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Season it up to 1 day ahead, but add the crushed ice only when serving.
• •The cucumber, lettuce, onion, chili, and pear can be cut up to 2 hours ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Slice perilla closer to serving so it keeps its fragrance.
• •Slice the fish no more than 15 minutes before serving, keep it cold, and discard any assembled leftovers. Raw fish is not a dish for tomorrow.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 870g)