Braised Yellow-Croaker
….I received a precious package from @rinda.rejouissances in Korea a few days ago, and I was pleasantly surprised. It was sent with all her heart, and she even mentioned “lots of fiddleheads that come up in the backyard.” Just imagining it made me smell the scent of spring. Now, everything is in front of me, and I am grateful. Firstly, I carefully took out the dried fiddleheads that was sent to me in the package, and it reminded me of my mother’s braised yellow-croaker with lots of fiddleheads. Instead of using radish, my mother used fiddleheads in this rare recipe, which has a taste of my hometown. Fiddlehead is one of my favorite vegetables, and it gives a unique flavor to whatever you make with it. But for this food, I wanted to put more heart into it — my mother’s recipe. The fiddlehead tasted even better than the yellow-croaker I had back then. I realized that sincerity can be shared more warmly. Let’s keep in touch…
Servings: 3–4
Time: 40 minutes plus 1 hr 30 minutes for making anchovy broth
Ingredients:
- 2 yellow croakers (1 pound)
- 3 cups fiddleheads
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 3 tbsp Mat-Gan-Jang
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp sake
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 3 stems green onion, sliced
- 3 cups anchovy broth
- 2 red fresh peppers, sliced
- 2 tbsp perilla oil
- Steamed rice
Cooking Instructions:
- In a bowl, mix the chili powder, Mat-Gan-Jang, fish sauce, mirin, sake, minced garlic, and sesame oil to prepare the spicy sauce. Set it aside.
2. Heat a pot over medium-high heat and add the fiddleheads and perilla oil. Stir-fry them for 1 minute.
3. Add the yellow croakers, anchovy broth, and the mixed spicy sauce to the pot. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. After 20 minutes, reduce the heat to low and add the red fresh pepper and sliced green onion to the pot. Continue boiling for an additional 2 minutes.
5. Turn off the heat and serve the dish with a bowl of steamed rice.
How to use dried fiddleheads:
- Soak the dried fiddleheads in rice water in a pot for 12 hours with a lid.
2. After 12 hours, boil the soaked fiddleheads for 5 minutes, then set them aside to cool down.
3. Rinse the fiddleheads with cold water 3 times. After cleaning, soak them in cold water for 30 minutes.
4. Sift the fiddleheads and trim any hard stems if necessary.
You can also view this recipe on instagram.
