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1
Combine the water, dried anchovies, and kelp in a pot, bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, and cook for 15 minutes, so the kelp gives its quiet sweetness without turning the stock bitter and slick — a fault it develops quickly if left beyond this point. Discard the solids. The stock should be pale gold and carry a clean marine scent.
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2
Dissolve the doenjang in a small ladleful of the hot stock before stirring it back into the pot, so the paste disperses evenly rather than sitting in dense pockets that will make the broth taste uneven spoon to spoon. Add the gochugaru, gochujang, and minced garlic, stir to combine, and bring the broth to a steady simmer; the surface should show an even, rust-red colour with no raw gochugaru floating unmixed.
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3
Add the zucchini, tofu, and mushrooms and cook over medium heat for 4–5 minutes, so the vegetables draw a little of the spiced broth into themselves before the fish enters and demands all the attention. Pull back when the zucchini is just beginning to yield at the edges but still holds its shape.
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4
This is where the dish lives or dies. With the broth at a clear, active simmer — not cold, not at a rolling boil — lower the whole sea bream into the pot, head and collar submerged, so the fish cooks through at the same rate from collar to tail without the violent agitation of a hard boil shredding the flesh from the frame. Cook for precisely 8–10 minutes: the flesh should just release from the backbone when pressed at the thickest point above the spine, but must not flake freely or pull away in loose fragments; test the cheek meat (볼살) last with a chopstick tip, as it will be the final part to firm.
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5
In the final 2 minutes of cooking, scatter the perilla seed powder (들깨가루) over the surface and stir it gently through the broth, so it has just enough time to swell and soften the sharp, fermented heat into a slightly creamy, nutted character without losing its fragrance to prolonged cooking. Add the spring onions at this point; the broth should smell of roasted seeds cutting cleanly through the chilli base.
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6
Bring the pot to the table directly, or transfer to a heated stone bowl (dolsot), keeping the broth at a visible simmer on arrival. Serve the cheek meat (볼살) as the first bite, extracted with chopsticks from behind the eye socket, and drink the broth from a spoon throughout the meal.