Korea · 60 min · Fish · Main course · For confident cooks
Haemul Jeongol
In German: Scharfer Meeresfrüchte-Feuertopf · In English: Spicy Seafood Hot Pot
For 4 servings · US units
Korean seafood hot pot, spicy and simmered right at the table
Haemul Jeongol is a hot pot that bubbles away in a wide, shallow pot right on the table: shrimp, mussels, squid and fish piled onto a bed of napa cabbage, radish, soybean sprouts and mushrooms, with a gochugaru seasoning paste stirred through it all. You eat straight from the pot together, topping up broth and adding more to the pot as long as everyone's still hungry — and at the end you cook noodles or rice in the spicy broth that's left. It's as good on a cold night as it is with a table full of guests.
Servings
Ingredients
- 10½ ozShrimpraw, preferably shell-on, cleaned
- 10½ ozMusselsmussels or clams, scrubbed and purged of sand
- 7 ozSquidcleaned, cut into bite-size pieces or rings
- 8¾ ozWhite fish fillete.g. haddock, cod or monkfish, cut into chunks
- 2Blue crabhalved, gills removed (optional)
- 5¼ ozthinly sliced into bite-size piecesKorean radish, shorter and stouter than Japanese daikon, with a greenish shoulder — firm, juicy, mildly peppery and slightly sweet.Substitute: Daikon or ordinary white radish work well; they are more watery and softer, cook faster and release more liquid in kimchi, so shorten cooking times and drain more thoroughly after salting.Read more
- 7 ozNapa cabbagetender inner leaves, cut into strips
- 5¼ ozrinsedCaution: Soybean sprouts are not eaten raw but always cooked for a few minutes.Sprouted yellow soybeans with a large yellow bean head and a long, crisp stem, nuttier and sturdier than ordinary bean sprouts.Substitute: Mung bean sprouts will do at a pinch, but they are more delicate and watery and lack both the nutty flavour and the firm head; they need a much shorter cooking time.Read more
- 2⅛ ozwatercress as substitute, added at the very endThe tender leaves and stems of the garland chrysanthemum, a leafy green with a strong herbal, slightly bitter aroma.Substitute: There is no real substitute, because the peculiar chrysanthemum aroma is not found elsewhere. The closest approach is watercress or rocket mixed with a little celery leaf, which hints at the bitterness and herbal note; young spinach matches only the texture and makes the dish noticeably milder.Read more
- 5¼ ozMushroomsshiitake, enoki or shimeji, sliced or pulled apart
- 1Onionthinly sliced
- 3Scallionscut into lengths
- 1Carrotthinly sliced
- 1Zucchinisliced into rounds or half-moons
- 1cut into ringsA fresh chili picked unripe, grassy and bright, ranging from mild to very hot depending on the variety.Substitute: For the mild variety, use long green peppers or mild green peppers such as Italian frying peppers; for the hot one, jalapeño or serrano. The fresh character stays the same, and you only need to adjust the amount for heat.Read more
- 3 tbspfor the seasoning paste, adjust to tasteKorean chili flakes made from sun-dried red chilies, ground coarse or fine. Bright red, fruity, mild to medium hot and slightly smoky.Substitute: The closest match is Aleppo pepper (pul biber) from a Turkish grocery, which is similarly fruity and mild but oilier, often salted and slightly tangier. In a pinch, mix sweet paprika with a little cayenne; this roughly matches colour and heat but not the fruitiness or texture. Ordinary crushed red pepper flakes are too hot to use in the usual quantities.Read more
- 1 tspadds depth to the seasoning pasteKorean chili paste made from glutinous rice, fermented soybeans, chili powder and salt, thick, hot, salty and faintly sweet.Substitute: There is no real substitute, because the fermented depth and the sticky sweetness together carry the dish. As a stopgap, light miso paste stirred with Korean chili powder or other mild chili flakes and a little honey or sugar roughly matches the salt, heat and sweetness, but tastes flatter and less rounded. Chili sauces such as sriracha are too thin and too sour and change the dish noticeably.Read more
- 1 tspfor the seasoning paste (optional)Korean fermented soybean paste, dark, coarse and strongly salty with a deep, earthy flavour.Substitute: Dark, robust miso comes closest, but it is milder, sweeter and smoother; use a little more and add it towards the end of cooking. It does not quite reach the pungent, deep fermented note of doenjang.Read more
- 2 tbspSoy sauceto season the broth
- 1 tbspto season, or use soup soy sauce insteadA clear, amber seasoning sauce made from salted, fermented fish, in Korea usually anchovies; very salty and deeply savoury.Substitute: Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce can be used one for one; it tastes slightly different but works well. There is no true fish-free substitute: light soy sauce with a pinch of salt provides salt and some savouriness, but not the fermented fish note.Read more
- 4 clovesGarlicfinely minced
- 1 tspGingergrated
- 1 tbsptempers the strong note of the seafoodA clear, mild wine made from fermented rice, used in Korean cooking mainly for marinades and to tame fishy smells.Substitute: Dry sherry or a dry white wine come closest, though they taste a little fruitier. If you use Japanese mirin the dish turns sweeter, so cut back slightly on the sugar in the recipe.Read more
- 1 tspSugarrounds off the heat
- 4¼ cupswater or fish stock as substituteKorean base stock made from dried anchovies, usually simmered with kombu kelp; savoury, briny, lightly fishy.Substitute: The closest substitute is Japanese dashi made from kombu and bonito flakes, though it is smokier and more delicate. European fish stock is too heavy and tastes different, and oil-packed anchovy fillets make the broth salty and oily rather than rounded. A broth of kombu and dried shiitake gives a vegetarian version, but it lacks the fishy depth.Read more
- ⅓ ozfor the broth, remove before it boils hardCaution: Kombu is very high in iodine, so a small piece is enough for a stock, and the cooked kelp itself should be eaten only occasionally and in small amounts, especially by people with thyroid conditions.Dried kelp in stiff, dark green sheets, used mainly to steep in stock, which it gives a deep, rounded savouriness.Substitute: There is no equivalent substitute. A few dried shiitake also give a stock savoury depth, but taste noticeably earthier and colour it dark; instant dashi granules are a stopgap, but usually contain fish and taste stronger and saltier.Read more
- ½ ozfor the broth, strained out (optional)Small whole anchovies, boiled and dried; salty and intensely briny, the base of many Korean stocks and crisp side dishes.Substitute: For stock, bonito flakes or Japanese dashi powder will do, though the result is smokier and more delicate, less robust; a splash of fish sauce in water is a stopgap that gives salt but little depth. For dishes in which the small anchovies are eaten whole there is no workable substitute, because the point is their bite and crunch; jarred anchovy fillets are too soft and too salty.Read more
- 7 ozTofucut into pieces, added late (optional)
- 5¼ ozNoodleskalguksu or instant noodles, cooked in the leftover broth at the end (optional)
- Saltto taste, also for purging the clams
- Pepperto taste
Method
- Prepare the seafoodScrub the mussels well and let them sit in salted water for 30 minutes so they give up their sand. Rinse the shrimp, squid and fish fillet, pat them dry and cut into bite-size pieces; halve the blue crabs, if using, and remove the gills.
- Make the brothFor the broth, warm 1 litre of water gently with the kombu and dried anchovies and let it steep. Lift out the kombu before the water comes to a hard boil, then strain the broth.
- Cut the vegetablesSlice the napa cabbage, Korean radish, carrot and zucchini thinly, cut the onion into fine wedges and slice the mushrooms or pull them apart into clusters. Cut the scallions into lengths and the green chili into rings.
- Mix the seasoning pasteFor the seasoning paste, stir the gochugaru, gochujang, doenjang if you like, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, fish sauce, rice wine and sugar together with a little of the broth until smooth.
- Arrange the vegetables in the potArrange the vegetables in a wide, shallow pot in neat sections side by side — napa cabbage, radish, carrot, zucchini, onion, mushrooms and soybean sprouts each in their own wedge. Scatter the scallion pieces and chili rings over the vegetables.
- Add seafood and brothLay the seafood and fish on top, tucking the mussels down low so they sit properly in the liquid. Pour in the broth and dissolve the seasoning paste into it.
- Simmer and season the stewSimmer over medium to high heat until the mussels have opened, the fish is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, stirring gently now and then. Add the tofu, if using, late and season with salt and pepper.
- Add crown daisy and serveFinally, lay the crown daisy on top and let it just wilt. Serve bubbling hot at the table, topping up with broth and more seafood or vegetables as you go.
- Finish with noodles or riceTo finish, cook noodles or rice in the remaining broth if you like, and eat the pot clean.
Tips and variations
If you want the broth to taste even more of the sea, steam the mussels open separately in water first and strain that liquid through a cloth — it takes the place of the anchovy broth in step 2. You can also start by frying the shrimp and squid in oil with garlic and chili and deglazing with fish stock; seasoned Southeast Asian style, add lime leaves and Thai basil. For something more filling, go with soft tofu, eggs cracked straight into the simmering broth, instant noodles and grated cheese; instead of seafood, cooked beef with chives, enoki and bone broth works too, with a soy sauce and vinegar dip on the side. For a bigger crowd, use a divided pot with two broths — one spicy, one mild — and set out several dips. Just before eating, squeeze a little lemon juice over the pot.
Allergens
Contains: Fish, Cereals containing gluten, Crustaceans, Soybeans, Sulphur dioxide and sulphites, Molluscs
These notes follow from this recipe's ingredient list. Ready-made products and brands may contain further allergens — please check the packaging yourself.
Something not right?
This recipe was put together from independent sources and checked before publishing. Even so, a mistake can slip through — an amount that does not add up, a step that does not work as written. If you spot something, write to us: we will look into it and put it right.
