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Agujjim — Braised Monkfish with Bean Sprouts (아구찜)

Agujjim (아구찜) is a signature dish of Masan and the South Gyeongsang coast: monkfish (아귀, Lophiomus setigerus), a famously ugly but flavour-dense fish, braised over high heat in a gochujang and gochugaru-based sauce with mung bean sprouts (숙주나물) that simultaneously absorb the spiced broth and contribute a crisp counterpoint to the fish's gelatinous flesh. The defining characteristic of monkfish is the thick collagen layer under its skin that melts during braising to a sticky, lip-coating richness that amplifies the spiced sauce. The dish is finished with perilla leaves, green onion, and sesame oil, then brought to the table in the cooking vessel still bubbling.

‹Swipe for the next dish›
ServesFour portions
Total35 minutes
Within reach0of 7 in Powell River

Two elsewhere in British Columbia · five not yet within reach.

How the 7 are reached
Elsewhere in British Columbia
2 · gochugaru (고춧가루), doenjang (된장)
Not yet within reach
5 · monkfish (아귀), mung bean sprouts (숙주나물), gochujang (고추장), ganjang (간장), perilla leaves (깻잎)
Cook
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I

The Market List

The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.

1.2 kg
monkfish (아귀)
bone-in, skin-on pieces; aeksal (살) and bone sections together
Not yet within reach of Powell River · each reach is counted
300 g
mung bean sprouts (숙주나물)
tails left on
Not yet within reach of Powell River · each reach is counted
For the sauce base
4 tbsp
gochugaru (고춧가루)
Korean coarse red pepper flakes
Origin · KoreaElsewhere in British Columbia · Crazy Korean Cooking →
2 tbsp
gochujang (고추장)
Not yet within reach of Powell River · each reach is counted
1 tbsp
2 tbsp
ganjang (간장)
Korean soy sauce
Not yet within reach of Powell River · each reach is counted
6 cloves
garlic
minced
Your own market
To finish
1 bunch
perilla leaves (깻잎)
roughly torn
Not yet within reach of Powell River · each reach is counted
3 stalks
green onion (대파)
cut into 5 cm lengths
Your own market
1 tbsp
sesame oil (참기름)
Your own market

Within reach counts in town, delivered, shipped and the nearest city. A staple counts once it has a local seller. Charted from each shop's own pages; not yet vouched by a cook who shops here.

The larder of Powell River →

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II

The Method

1
Combine gochugaru, gochujang, doenjang, ganjang, and minced garlic in a bowl and stir until the paste is uniform and no dry flakes remain. Work the doenjang in thoroughly, because its dense fermented paste tends to sit in pockets and will scorch unevenly if it reaches the pan unmixed. The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon.
From the canon — Gochujang is one of the great fermented condiments of the world — a thick, brick-red Korean paste made from gochugaru (Korean red chilli flakes), fermented s… Gochujang (Korean Fermented Chilli Paste — Ratio and Use) →
2
Arrange the bone-in, skin-on monkfish pieces in a wide, heavy pan or braising vessel in a single layer, pour the sauce over the fish ensuring all surfaces are coated, and set over high heat. This is where the dish lives or dies: maintain fierce, continuous high heat throughout the braise so the sauce concentrates and clings rather than pooling into a thin, watery liquid that merely steams the fish. Braise for 12–15 minutes, turning the pieces once at the midpoint, until the sauce is visibly sticky and reduced, glossy and lip-coating from what the skin and bone have given it, and the fish flesh pulls away from the bone.
3
Scatter the mung bean sprouts over and around the fish and cover the pan, keeping the same high heat, so the sprouts cook in the trapped steam rather than sinking into the sauce and turning sodden. Cook for exactly 3 minutes, then lift the lid: the sprouts should be wilted at their base but retain an audible snap when pressed between finger and thumb — their crunch is structural to the dish.
4
Remove from heat and lay the torn perilla leaves and green onion sections over the surface, then drizzle the sesame oil across the dish so its fragrance blooms against the residual heat without cooking off entirely. Bring the cooking vessel directly to the table while the sauce is still bubbling at the edges.
III

Quality Hierarchy

01
Reserve — Air-dried monkfish (말린 아귀) from Masan: drying concentrates the flavour, and rehydration in the spiced broth during braising produces an intensity unachievable with fresh fish — the traditional Masan standard.
02
Estate — Whole fresh monkfish broken down bone-in with skin intact; the collagen layer under the skin is fully preserved. Sourced from a South Gyeongsang coastal market or equivalent day-boat supplier.
03
Market — Fresh bone-in, skin-on monkfish pieces from a reliable fishmonger. The skin and bone sections must be present; a mixed cut of flesh and frame is acceptable provided the skin is not removed.
04
House — Bone-in, skin-on monkfish from a supermarket fish counter. Acceptable as a minimum; confirm the skin is on before purchase — skinless, filleted monkfish cannot produce the dish's characteristic sauce texture and must not be substituted.
IV

Sensory Tests

◇Sight. The braising sauce is visibly reduced, glossy, and clings to the fish pieces rather than pooling loosely in the pan — the rendered collagen has bound the sauce.
◇Touch. A bean sprout pressed between finger and thumb snaps; it has wilted at its base but retained structural crunch throughout.
◇Smell. The aroma shifts from raw gochugaru to a roasted, caramelised pepper scent as the sauce concentrates — the signal that braising is progressing correctly.
◇Sight. The fish flesh separates cleanly from the bone when nudged with a spoon, indicating the collagen has fully rendered and the fish is cooked through.
◇Where it lives or dies. The dish lives or dies on sustained high heat throughout the braise: low heat causes the fish to steam in its own moisture and the collagen never renders into the concentrated, sticky sauce that defines agujjim.
Pillar V
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The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
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VI

What to Pour

Pouring for Oregon ·

A cold, dry Korean makgeolli (unfiltered rice wine) or a chilled light Korean lager; both cut the fat of the collagen-rich sauce and reset the palate against the sustained heat of gochugaru and gochujang. A dry, high-acid white — such as a Korean or Japanese junmai sake served cold — is an equally effective counterpoint.

The whole pairing
Pillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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The working kitchen
Cost this recipe
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HACCP brief
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Sourced through Provenance

The hands behind the plate.

Crazy Korean Cooking
US · gochugaru (고춧가루), doenjang (된장)
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