Soybean paste based dipping sauce for raw fish

Doenjang-banga 된장방아

Hi everybody! Today I have a short and simple – but fun – video recipe for doenjangbanga. When I was in the island of Roatan in Honduras, I chartered a boat and a few men for snorkeling and fishing. We started at about 11:00 am and came back about 4:00 pm. It was an awesome experience for me and I was happy to film this video so that I can share it with my readers.

As you can see in the video, I didn’t have a proper knife to fillet the fish, or a spoon to mix the dipping sauce! No kitchen tools! I used the flat bench on the boat as my cutting board. To be honest I didn’t expect that they would catch any fish. After negotiating the charter I quickly put some Korean ingredients and a plastic bowl into a plastic bag, and rushed on board the boat.

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I was thrilled when I saw they caught snapper, lobsters, and a huge conch! I was so excited that I told them I would give them a $40 tip! Ow ow ow, then what happened? The captain Ronin immediately went to work to break open the conch so we could eat it!

When I was young, my father used to charter a fishing boat when he visited his hometown island of Namhae. He always asked me to follow him on his excursion and told me he would make delicious hoe (raw fish) on the boat. Even though I loved the idea of following him, I always refused because I have a problem with seasickness. I knew I wouldn’t be able to enjoy a trip in a bumpy small boat. My father came home with lots of fish he caught and he would fillet them for us.

He didn’t forget to say, “Oh, you missed the delicious hoe on the boat. The taste of raw fish eaten on the boat right after being caught can’t be compared to anything!”

I took a pill for motion sickness before going on this trip. No problem! OMG it was so fun! My late father would be proud of me if he saw me what I did!

“Father, I made it, but too late! You would have been very happy if I had followed you when you went fishing. How come you didn’t think to give me a motion sickness pill btw?” lol

This dipping sauce’s main ingredient is soy bean paste. Dipping sauce recipes for raw fish depend on what kind of fish you have. This sauce goes well with snapper, flounder, or permit.

Jovani caught conch!

… and snapper

… and lobster

Samuel caught lion fish

I had never known conch has eyes! eepy!

Ingredients

Soybean paste, hot pepper paste, vinegar, garlic, green onions, toasted sesame oil, roasted sesame seeds, honey (or sugar)

Directions

Mix these ingredients on a bowl with a spoon:

  • ¼ cup soybean paste,
  • 1tbs hot pepper paste,
  • 1 ts of honey (or sugar),
  • 1-2 ts vinegar,
  • 2 cloves of minced garlic,
  • 2 stalks of chopped green onions,
  • 1 tbs of toasted sesame oil,

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*tip: If you want some vegetables to wrap the fish in, prepare lettuce, perilla leaves, and green chili pepper. Put a piece of raw fish into the lettuce or perilla leaf, add some dipping sauce and a green chili pepper, wrap it and eat.




doenjang-banga (dipping sauce) and snapper

doenjang-banga, snapper, and conch

Posted on Sunday, December 19th, 2010 at 12:43 pm. Last updated on August 10, 2021.
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31 Comments:

  1. peonygirl portland, oregon joined 8/09 & has 50 comments
    Posted December 3rd, 2011 at 2:29 pm | or create a profile.

    Maangchi, I love your glasses that you wore in this video!!

  2. fairygothmom Glen Cove, NY joined 1/11 & has 8 comments
    Posted February 25th, 2011 at 12:36 pm | or create a profile.

    Tony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern have nothing on you, Maangchi! You should get your own show. :)

  3. KarenGD joined 1/11 & has 1 comment
    Posted January 4th, 2011 at 10:03 pm | or create a profile.

    I just came across your website and so glad I did!! I’m a Korean food lover and have enjoyed cooking it in my home for my own blog. Will definitely be coming back for recipes and ideas. Fabulous, fabulous– keep it up!

  4. muskratbyte Fort Worth joined 1/11 & has 7 comments
    Posted January 4th, 2011 at 1:33 am | or create a profile.

    This looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it. I have miso on hand- can this be substituted for the Korean soybean paste?

  5. ravi Queens, NY joined 9/10 & has 10 comments
    Posted December 22nd, 2010 at 6:10 pm | or create a profile.

    maangchi, i am so impressed with you! you travel with soybean and hot pepper paste. that is one dedicated korean cook! your knife skills are also quite impressive — you remind me of MacGyver. thanks for sharing

  6. bo Hawaii joined 7/10 & has 49 comments
    Posted December 22nd, 2010 at 4:17 am | or create a profile.

    Girlfriend…. if you were stranded on Mars … you would be there cooking Korean food for Martians! Nothing stops you! You find a way to feed your friends!!

    It made me hungry …. and I don’t like raw fish!!!

  7. Sylvia joined 9/08 & has 78 comments
    Posted December 20th, 2010 at 10:23 pm | or create a profile.

    I have everything I need………….except for the raw fish.

    Looks so yummy.

  8. vb38 joined 7/10 & has 36 comments
    Posted December 20th, 2010 at 9:06 am | or create a profile.

    All that fabulous alive & kicking, super duper fresh fish and they never ever eaten them raw???!!!! What a shame! Never mind, now u hv opened up their world to a whole new eating experience!!! AWESOME VIDEO!!!! The sea/sky is such a beautiful blue too!!!!!! Show me more videos of yr trip, pls!!!! VB

  9. cy24 CA joined 7/10 & has 4 comments
    Posted December 20th, 2010 at 12:55 am | or create a profile.

    This looks like so much fun. Fresh seafood & enjoying your time out at sea. I need to go one day.

  10. amikim joined 12/10 & has 1 comment
    Posted December 19th, 2010 at 8:04 pm | or create a profile.

    You are using food to promote diplomacy and world peace! Everyone understands delicious food. Thank-you for sharing the video and your story of your father – I’m sure he is proud to see what you continue to accomplish.

  11. powerplantop Louisiana joined 6/09 & has 70 comments
    Posted December 19th, 2010 at 7:03 pm | or create a profile.

    Your spreading the word about Korean food everywhere!

  12. LuccaQ Buffalo,NY joined 6/10 & has 30 comments
    Posted December 19th, 2010 at 6:40 pm | or create a profile.

    ¡Qué bueno! That video brought such a big smile to my face! Food is the best way to share cultures. I’m sure your father would be very proud of you too. Were you speaking some Spanish? I hope to hear more about your trip to Honduras.

  13. peonygirl portland, oregon joined 8/09 & has 18 comments
    Posted December 19th, 2010 at 4:15 pm | or create a profile.

    Maangchi!
    You are fabulous! You make beautiful food where ever you go. It looked so fun on that boat and I was jealous because I get sooo seasick! But now I know you do too. ha!ha! I have never tasted fish that fresh- one day I hope I can.
    I’m glad you had fun and thanks for posting!!

  14. Brigitte Montreal,Canada joined 1/10 & has 29 comments
    Posted December 19th, 2010 at 1:53 pm | or create a profile.

    looks so delicious I think im torturing myself by watching your vids because then I have to go through traffic and get to the korean store with my dad lool

  15. KillDeer Hamilton, Ontario joined 9/10 & has 33 comments
    Posted December 19th, 2010 at 1:26 pm | or create a profile.

    Conch Eyes 0__0

    I never knew either!

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