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1
Build the broth in the communal vessel or a wide heavy pot. Combine the anchovy stock, gochugaru, gochujang, garlic, and ginger over high heat and bring to a full rolling boil, stirring to dissolve the gochujang completely — undissolved paste will scorch on the bottom and turn the broth bitter. Season the base slightly stronger than the desired final flavour, because the seafood will release brine as it cooks and dilute the broth; the base is ready when its colour is a deep brick-red and the raw sharpness of the garlic and ginger has cooked off.
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2
Add the crab pieces and daikon to the boiling broth and maintain a vigorous boil so the crab releases its flavour into the stock rather than absorbing stock into itself. After 3 minutes, add the shell-on shrimp and cook for a further 5 minutes; the daikon should offer only slight resistance to a chopstick tip, the crab shells will have turned fully red, and the shrimp will be opaque through.
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3
This is where the dish lives or dies: add the squid and octopus now, at the 8-minute mark, only if they have been par-cooked for 20-plus minutes beforehand, or hold them back and add them 3 minutes before serving for firm-tender results — the window of 8 to 15 minutes in the broth produces maximum toughness, so both paths deliberately avoid it. Add the tofu cubes alongside whichever timing the cook has chosen for the cephalopods, as tofu requires only gentle heating through.
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4
Four to five minutes before the intended serving moment, add the clams and mussels, pressing them lightly into the broth so they sit submerged and steam evenly rather than cooking unevenly at the surface. Cover the pot and cook until the shells have opened fully; discard without exception any that remain closed.
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5
Lift every piece of seafood and tofu from the pot and set aside, then boil the broth hard for one minute so the liquid left behind concentrates and recovers the intensity diluted by the brine the seafood released. Return all the seafood to the pot and allow 30 seconds at the boil to restore temperature; the broth should coat a spoon lightly and carry the compounded brine of crab, clam, shrimp, and gochugaru.
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6
In the final 30 seconds, lay the chrysanthemum greens or watercress across the surface of the stew — adding them any earlier will turn them drab and strip their clean, slightly bitter fragrance. They are done when just wilted but still bright green; bring the pot to the table immediately.