[Food]

[Food] Maeuntang (Spicy Fish Stew, 매운탕)

The Korean peninsular is filled with mountains, valleys and rivers, and is surrounded by three seas. So it's natural that Koreans eat a lot of fish dishes. Today I'd like to introduce Maeuntang (Spicy Fish Stew, 매운탕) which usually uses freshwater and seawater fish, but maeuntang that used catfish or mandarin fish is considered the best maeuntang in Korea.

Catfish and mandarin fish are both piscivorous fresh water fish that have a very soft and silky flesh in contrast to their rough temper and hunter instinct. Catfish can even be caught in muddy waters while mandarin fish only lives in clean fresh water. So people who love to eat maeuntang usually visit maeuntang restaurants in Paldang or Cheongpyeong dam, Yeoju city, Dongducheon city and the Hantangang River which is the upper region of the Han River.

Maeuntang is a very straight forward recipe. Dress fresh fish and chop them into pieces. Season the stew with salt, pepper, chili powder, chopped garlic, ginger, leek and chili paste. You can put tofu, oriental radish, mushroom and spring onion too.

Since they are made of fresh water fish, they smell muddy and fishy (that's why you have to add ginger and pepper) but as you boil them more, the soup stew gets thicker and tastes better.

Maeuntang is a popular food among people over 40 years old because young people don't like its muddy and fish smell. I'm not a big fan of it either.

However, it still tastes great to its fans and is full of energy for one's stamina.

Bon Appétit!