Spicy braised hairtail and radish (Galchi jorim)
Cook the radish first, then layer on hairtail and onion and braise with soy sauce and Korean red pepper flakes.
- Cuisine
- Korean
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 30 min
Scale the recipe
Ingredients
- Cleaned unsalted hairtail pieces Trunk sections with skin and backbone, weighed after thawing in the refrigerator if frozen, removing the head, tail, innards and fins, and blotting dry
- 300 g
- Korean radish (mu) Peeled
- 200 g
- Onion Skin and root removed
- 75 g
- Large green onion
- 25 g
- Cheongyang green chile Stem removed
- 5 g
- Water
- 1 C + 1/2 C
Seasonings
- Korean brewed soy sauce (jin-ganjang)
- 40 g
- Korean red pepper flakes (gochugaru)
- 7 g
- Minced garlic
- 8 g
- Minced ginger
- 3 g
- Sugar
- 8 g
Level measures: 1 T (tablespoon) = 15 mL, 1 C (paper cup) = 180 mL. Household spoons and cups can vary in size.
Method
-
Prepare the fish
Remove any innards or black membrane remaining in the cavity. Blot with paper towels and prepare 300 g. Thaw frozen fish in the refrigerator. Wash the board and knife that touched raw fish before prepping vegetables.
-
Cut thick slices of radish
Slice the peeled radish 200 g about 1 cm thick. Cut wide slices into half-moons or quarters so they will sit evenly across the pan.
-
Slice the onion, green onion and chile
Thickly slice the onion 75 g. Slice the green onion 25 g and Cheongyang chile 5 g diagonally. Keep them separate from the onion, which goes in first.
-
Mix the braising sauce
Mix the soy sauce 40 g, red pepper flakes 7 g, minced garlic 8 g, minced ginger 3 g and sugar 8 g in a bowl. Stir until the sugar and pepper are evenly dispersed.
-
Precook the radish
Spread the radish in a wide shallow pot. Add the water 1 C + 1/2 C and about one-third of the sauce. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium, cover and cook about 10 minutes, until the radish edges are translucent.
-
Layer onion and fish over the radish
Spread the onion over the radish and arrange the fish in a single layer on top. Spoon the rest of the sauce over the fish. Use a pot wide enough to keep one layer when scaling up.
-
Bring back to a simmer
Raise the heat to medium-high and cover. When bubbles rise around the edge again, uncover and lower to medium.
-
Braise and baste the fish
Adjust the heat to maintain small bubbles and braise for about 8 minutes. Take liquid from the edge of the pot and spoon it over the tops several times without turning the pieces.
-
Add green onion and chile
Scatter the green onion and chile on top, baste once and cook about 3 minutes more over medium heat until the green onion wilts.
-
Check the fish and the radish
Insert a food thermometer through the side of the thickest piece without touching bone. Cook over low heat until the fish center stays at or above 85°C for 1 minute and a chopstick pierces the radish easily. Leave enough liquid to spoon over both.
-
Serve the fish and radish together
Use a wide spatula to lift the fish and radish, then spoon on the sauce. Remove the fine bones at the sides and the central backbone as you eat.
