Spicy Pollock Roe Stew 

Ingredients

Anchovy Stock

• 4 1/2 cup water
• 15 g dried anchovies (for soups)
• 1 piece dried kelp (aka Kombu)

Stew Ingredients

• 1 lb pollock roe 
• 4 oz pollock or cod milt 
• 1 cup Korean radish or Daikon (cut into thick squares)
• 1/2 each onion (cut into squares)
• 1 cup zucchini (sliced)
• 7 oz extra firm tofu (7 oz = 1/2 pack)
• 2 each green onions (sliced)
• 1 each red chili pepper (sliced)
• 3 each garlic cloves (sliced)

Seasoning Sauce

• 1 Tbsp Gochujang 
• 1 Tbsp Korean Red Chili powder
• 1 Tbsp Guk Ganjang
• 1 Tbsp Cooking Sake
• 1 tsp garlic 
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp ginger 
• 1/8 tsp sea salt

Instructions

1. Thaw pollock roe and milt if frozen. It doesn’t have to be completely thawed and you can still cut the milt pretty easily even when it’s partly frozen. You can either leave the milt in big pieces or rough chop like I did here. It’s up to you. I find that chopping it up is better if you have some people who could be a little put off by the looks of it.

Make Anchovy Stock

1. Add a handful of dried anchovies and a piece of kelp to a pot of water. Simmer (do not boil) for 20 min. Remove kelp and anchovies. Set aside until you are ready to make the stew.

Prepare Vegetables

1. Cut radish, zucchini, onions, green onions, tofu, red chili pepper (optional), garlic (2-3 cloves). Also chop fine – garlic and ginger.

Make Seasoning Sauce

1. In a small bowl, add gochujang, gochukaru (red chili powder), guk ganjang (soup soy sauce), sake, ginger, garlic, garlic powder and salt.

Put it altogether!

1. Bring anchovy stock to a boil on medium high heat (with anchovies and kelp discarded). Add seasoning sauce to stock and stir.
2. Add onions and radish to pot. Wait until it starts to boil, about 3-4 minutes.
3. Then add the milt and roe. Let it cook for 5-6 minutes or so or until the roe sack looks cooked (solid vs translucent color).
4. OPTIONALLY cut roe into smaller pieces. Reduce heat to simmer (so you can see..haha) and then take out each roe sack and cut them into 2-3 pieces with scissors. See how it is still raw in the middle but cutting the roe when they are partially cooked on the outside prevents the individual eggs from pouring out onto the stew. You can bypass this step and just leave the roe whole and let your guests cut it as they eat it.
5. Raise the heat back up to medium high. Add all vegetables and tofu. Top it off with garlic and chilis. Cook for another 4-5 minutes until zucchini is cooked. Top it off with some fresh aromatic veggies like ssukat or minari if you have some. I didn’t so I just added some fresh green onions at the end right before serving.