Spicy Korean Seafood and Vegetable Stew

Ingredients:

Broth:

• 4 tbs lard
• 1 small white onion, sliced thin
• 2 fresh red or green chiles, such as finger chiles
• 5 scallions, white portion sliced thin and green portion reserved
• ¾ tbs finely chopped ginger
• 2 tbs finely chopped garlic
• 6 cups warm seafood broth
• 1 tbs Korean red pepper flakes
• 1 tbs Korean red pepper paste
• 3 tbs fish sauce 
• A few drops Stevia
• Unrefined sea salt to taste

Vegetables:

• 2 small young white radishes, preferably Korean or Daikon radish, sliced into ¼ inch thick coins
• 3 medium shiitake mushrooms, sliced ¼ inch thick
• 1 medium carrot, sliced into ¼ inch thick coins
• 1 handful enoki mushrooms, roots trimmed and separated
• 4 baby tatsoi
• 1 handful of pea shoots, if available
• ½ bunch of water dropwort or watercress, if available
• Reserved scallion greens cut in to 2-inch pieces

Fish:

• 1 lb firm white fish cut in to large chunks
• 1 lb shrimp
• 1 lb clams
• Toppings:
• Fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• Fresh mung bean sprouts
• Reserved sliced chile

Directions:

1. In a heavy pot, heat lard over medium-high heat until it melts. Add onion, sliced chile peppers, and sliced white scallion. Fry them gently in the hot fat, until they begin to brown slightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir occasionally.
2. Add garlic and ginger, stir continually until very aromatic, about 2 minutes. Take care not to let the aromatics burn. Ladle in warm broth, scraping up any bits of aromatics they may have accumulated on the bottom of the pan with your spoon. Bring to a light simmer, and add Korean pepper paste and flakes, fish sauce and stevia (optional). Stir, taste and add salt as needed. If it’s a bit too spicy for you, tone it down with more honey.
3. Bring broth to a boil and add radish, shiitake, carrots, enoki and baby tatsoi. Once at a boil, decrease the heat to its lowest setting, cover, and then let it cook about 15 minutes. We want the vegetables to soften and add flavor to the broth.
4. Add the water dropwort or watercress, pea shoots and reserved green scallions. Bring back to a light simmer for 5 minutes, then lower the heat again.
5. Add shrimp and clams, cover and allow clams to open, and then add fish chunks. Careful not to overcook the seafood. Once the seafood is cooked, taste one last time, making any necessary adjustments for spice and salt.
6. Remove from heat, add garnishes, and serve with rice.

GF/DF

Borrowed from NourishedKitchen