KOREAN SPICY MUSSEL STEW (HONGHAP JJIM)


Mussel stew is quite popular as a drinking side dish (with soju) in Korea. Mussels (Honghap, 홍합) are very cheap in Korea, you can get 1 kg of unshelled mussels for about 3000 won (US $3.20). Though, it took a fair bit of time to clean them for cooking. “Cheap to eat, but hard work.”

Anyhow, since it’s so cheap and best time to have, I decided to make some spicy mussel stew (Honghap Jjim, 홍합찜). Just you know, if you buy this dish at a restaurant, it will cost about 12,000 to 15,000 won. (US $12.65 – 15.80) So it is better to cook it yourself to save some penny. 😉

INGREDIENTS FOR 2 PEOPLE (YOU WILL NEED A POT AND A WOK)

(Preparation time – 1 hours 30 mins, Cooking time – about 5 minutes)

  • 500 g mussels
  • 1 green chili
  • 1 tsp garlic, thinly sliced
  • 2 Tbsp gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)
  • 1 Tbsp gochujang (Korean chili paste)
  • 2 Tbsp soy sauc
  • 1 Tbsp honey
  • 5 cups water

PREPARATION

  1. Clean the mussels individually with a rough cloth or brush. Soak the mussels in cold water for about 1 hour. (Add some salt to encourage mussels to release out any dirt.)Drain the mussels in one hour.
  2. Pour the water into a pot and boil the mussels. When it boils, scoop out any white froth / debris that may float.
  3. Take out all the mussels and 1 cup of boiled water (broth) from the pot.

Note: You can discard the rest of the broth or re-use it for other cooking if you want.

HOW TO MAKE KOREAN SPICY MUSSEL STEW

1. Pre heat the wok for 10 seconds. Add some cooking oil and the garlic. Stir it quickly. Add the chili flakes and green chili. Stir it quickly. Add the gochujang, honey, and the soy sauce. Stir it quickly.

2. Add the broth (1 cup of mussel boiled water) and the mussel. Simmer it for 3 minutes.

3. Serve.

Warning: You may sneeze a lot, while you are cooking. I had this stew as a main dish for dinner. It was good. Soup (sauce) was quite spicy though, actual mussels weren’t too spicy. By the way, now I am starting to wonder, how would this dish work out with Soju? So if any of you are going to try this spicy mussel stew with Soju, please tell me. I am dying to know. 🙂
Also, here is a suggestion from me. Lots of people mentioned steamed egg as another side dish along with mussel stew, because it dilutes the spicy tastes. 

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