Korean-style serving of Fish-roe stew

알탕 · Fish-roe stew

Fish-roe stew

알탕

What exactly is it?

Pollack roe cooks with radish and tofu in a spicy soup. Cutting the cooked roe sac reveals many tiny eggs and a crumbly texture. Some bowls also contain pale, folded milt or other offal; these are not all fish eggs.

Main ingredients

Pollack roe, radish, tofu, scallion, chili powder; optional milt or offal

Ordering and serving

If you want roe only, ask whether the white offal can be omitted. Shops may use the term goni loosely, so ask what the ingredient actually is. Check rice inclusion for shared pots.

Origins and changes

It is one way of using pollack’s different parts. Unlike salted myeongnan-jeot eaten as a condiment, al-tang cooks the roe as the main ingredient of a soup.

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Fish-roe stew

알탕

Main ingredients
Pollack roe, radish, tofu, scallion, chili powder; optional milt or offal
Flavor and character
Pollack roe cooks with radish and tofu in a spicy soup. Cutting the cooked roe sac reveals many tiny eggs and a crumbly texture. Some bowls also contain pale, folded milt or other offal; these are not all fish eggs.
How to eat it
If you want roe only, ask whether the white offal can be omitted. Shops may use the term goni loosely, so ask what the ingredient actually is. Check rice inclusion for shared pots.
Read about this dish →

Cod soup

대구탕

Main ingredients
Cod, radish, tofu, scallion; water dropwort and chili vary
Flavor and character
Large pieces of white cod simmer with radish and vegetables. Both clear daegu-jiri and red spicy versions exist. Bones remain among the soft flesh, so this is not a boneless puréed fish soup.
How to eat it
Check whether roe or milt is an optional addition, and ask about offal if you want flesh only. Clear soup can still contain hot fresh chilies; ask for them separately if needed.
Read about this dish →
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