Hello seafood lovers!
Today’s recipe is very simple, fast, and easy, but also very delicious with an amazing texture! It’s spicy boneless cod filets (Daegusal-jorim: 대구살조림). I originally developed this recipe for those who are not comfortable eating fish with bones, but it ended up becoming one of my favorite quick recipes! You can enjoy the soft, flaky, and juicy cod without worrying about needing to pick out any fishbones at all.
Koreans always cook fish with bones because the bones themselves give a rich flavor when the fish is cooked for a long time. But this recipe doesn’t cook for a long time, just 13 minutes! So we don’t need the bones here at all.
The potato starch coated cod cooks fast and is shiny, a little sticky and firm but flaky. I added dried kelp to make it savory.
Ingredients
Serves 2 to 4
- 1 pound frozen cod fillets, thawed and cut into about 2½ inch pieces
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black (or white) pepper
- 2 tablespoons potato starch (or plain wheat flour)
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons gochu-garu (Korean hot pepper flakes)
- a palm-sized piece of dried kelp
- 1 green onion, chopped
- 1 green chili pepper, sliced
- 1 plus ¼ cup water
Directions
- In a bowl, season the cod evenly with salt and ground black pepper. Let it sit for 30 minutes in the fridge. Pat dry with a paper towel to remove excess water.
- Coat the cod pieces with the potato starch.
- Evenly spread the onion and garlic in the bottom of a small pan.
- Cut the dried kelp into 6 pieces and add it to the pan.
- Add soy sauce and sprinkle the gochu-garu over the onion.
- Add 1 cup water. Cook over medium high heat for about 3 minutes until it starts boiling.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Stir. Add the cod pieces on top, side by side. Cover and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat.
- Uncover and use a spoon to flip over each piece of the cod. Add the rest of the ¼ cup of water to the pan.
- Add green onion and green chili pepper. Cover and cook another 5 minutes over medium heat.
- Open the lid and scoop some liquid from the bottom of the pan and spoon it over top.
- Remove from the heat and serve right away with rice and other side dishes.
My husband, half Korean, doesn’t eat seafood (yes the tragedy of it….) Is it possible to replace fish with beef, chicken, or pork ? If possible, what part of the meat and how do I modify the recipe?
Hello,
Thank you for so many colourful recipes. I love watching your channel :). You are an amazing chef and you answer questions I have in my mind about the dish or a missing ingredient.
Could you please share what can I do with the kelp from this dish? Shall I eat it or throw away?
Best wishes,
Justyna
Hi Justyna,
Yes, that’s a great question. You can slice it thinly and stir-fry it with seasonings. Check out how to make stir-fried kelp from my vegetable stock recipe here. https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/chaeso-gukmul
Hi Maangchi, sorry I’m asking a silly question. How do I clean kelp?
Thank you.
No need to clean it. The white powder on the surface is good.
Tried lots of recipe from Maangchi.
But first time post photo XP
Thanks for this easy and delicious recipe. Love you Maangchi ^3^
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The fish looks very soft and juicy with delicious broth!
Long time watcher and Maangchi recipe maker. I had some cod in the freezer and naturally came to your YouTube page to find a recipe to use it in. I found this one and just made it for lunch. It was delicious!! It was almost like a spicy lobster. I had a side of kimchi (your easy kimchi recipe) with it and sprinkled some sesame seeds on all of it. I couldn’t stop eating it! I’m sure I looked like an alligator to anyone passing by.
I modify a lot of your recipes for carbohydrates as I have to eat very low sugar/carb, but they always turn out deliciously. Thank you so much for your content, Maangchi!!! You’ve converted a midwestern US, steak and potatoes eater into appreciating Korean cuisine!
It’s so fun reading your message here! I feel your passion for delicious cooking. “I’m sure I looked like an alligator to anyone passing by.” haha!
“I modify a lot of your recipes for carbohydrates as I have to eat very low sugar/carb..” Wonderful!
Thank you very much for this recipe! My Korean husband LOVED it and asked for it again. Very enjoyable! I was gifted your cookbook by my best friend and it’s been fun making recipes with my kids and family! Thank you :)
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I’m so happy to hear that your husband loved this dish! Continued good luck with your Korean cooking!
Hi Maangchi,
This looks so delicious! I am having trouble finding frozen cod filets nearby. Are there other types of fish that you think would be a good substitute with a similar flavor?
Thanks!
Jake
Hi Jake,
You can use any white flesh fish such as snapper, halibut, flounder, and pollock.
Omg this was so yummy and super easy to make. What a great way to cook fish. My partner and I devoured it. Had it with rice and young radish kimchi.
Just ordered your cookbook let the Korean Journey begin …..
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Yes, your simple meal with rice, green vegetable, and the spicy cod fillets (daegusal-jorim) on the plate looks perfectly healthy and delicious! I’m motivated to make this tonight!
I must say that this dish is very delicious and is a great alternative to my dad’s fried fish. His fish gets old after awhile, ha ha!
Curious question, have you or any of your famed chefs tried using ginger for this recipe? If so, what is the proper way to incorporate it?
I’m half Chinese so to me, a savory East Asian dish such as daegusal-jorim isn’t complete without the 3 major herbs: green onions, ginger, and garlic. :)
I did! i was missing white onions and just the garlic and green onions felt lacking, so i added some ginger (and gochujang). it went very well with the rest of the flavours and i recommend it :)
I wanted to try this, but didn’t have any codfish. So I used swordfish, and VOILA! It’s great! Other than the fish, I pretty much followed the recipe as is. This is not bland at all, but my gochugaru is pretty spicy.
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Bravo! It looks spicy, juicy, and very flavorful! You put it on top of a layer of rice and made your own 1 plate meal! So cool!
I made this dish according to your method, but the taste is very weak, I don’t know if I added less soy sauce or less chili, do I need to add salt during the whole cooking process?
Great, you made this! If it’s too bland for you, add more soy sauce to your taste. Happy cooking!
I just made this and it turned out great, its not as pretty as yours so I’m too embarrassed to post a picture, but it tastes delicious. I always look forward to your recipes (especially the spicy ones). Because of you I became interested in cooking and hopefully one day my food will look as good as yours.
Yay, I’m very happy to hear that your daegusal-jorim turned out very delicious! Don’t worry much about what it looks like. As long as it is delicious, great!