Al Tang - Fish Egg Soup - (알탕)

So I decided to make al tang today. I prefer to buy the FRESH al they sell in the banchan section of some of the bigger K-markets, but for some reason our local K-market stopped selling them sometime last year. Therefore, I'm forced to buy the frozen kind which always seems to burst open in the soup. =P

Needed:

• 1 8oz. package of frozen pollack roe - It can be found in the frozen fish section of most K-markets and there are lots of different brands.
  
• 1 cup sliced daikon radish
• 1 cup of bean sprouts
• sauce: 1.5 red pepper powder, 0.5 red pepper paste, 1 TB rice wine, dash of pepper and ginger powder
• 1 TB light soy sauce (Korean gook ganjang) and 1 TB minced garlic
• small red pepper or serrano chile

I chose to buy Wang tonight, but next time I think I'll try another brand. These exploded and I was left with hardly any big pieces of roe.



As you can see, this was preseasoned. Depending on the seasonings of the brand of roe you buy, you may have to add or decrease the amount of soy sauce you add.



In a small bowl mix 1.5 red pepper powder, 0.5 red pepper paste, 1 TB rice wine, and a dash of pepper and ginger powder.



First heat about 1TB of gook ganjang and 1 TB of minced garlic in a pot.



Then throw in your cut up moo (daikon radish) and stir it around for a bit.



Add 3 cups of water and the red paste mixture in the small bowl and bring it to a boil. Although you can see the anchovy and dashima in the pic, don't add it. It was too fishy and I think it tastes fine without the anchovy broth.


 
Once it starts boiling, add your bean sprouts and close the lid. Let it cook for about 5 minutes


   
Finally throw in your chopped up green onions and peppers and let it boil for about 10 minutes.

 

You are then ready to serve! As you can see a lot of the roe exploded and there were barely any big pieces left. It still tasted great (according to the MR) but if you use the fresh roe, it's less likely to explode like this. I hope you can find it!