Myeolchi Bokkeum
Myeolchi Bokkeum is panfried dried anchovies. Sweet, salty and crunchy, it is one of my favourite Korean sides and also one of the simplest recipes. It can be made in just a few minutes but you need to move fairly quickly and take a little care to get it just right. I really like these with peanuts in the recipe but I am making these today without nuts to share with someone who has an allergy.
The recipe is easy to remember because it is just “one” of everything…
Ingredients:
- 1 cup dried very small anchovies (in freezer section at Korean grocer)
- 1 tablespoon olive or other vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon sugar (white or brown)
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Process:
Before you start cooking, combine the water, sugar and minced garlic in a small container. Mix until the sugar is mostly dissolved.
Start cooking: this is an easy preparation but you have to move a little quickly so here are a couple videos to demonstrate…
Heat your pan on medium high and add dry anchovies (and nuts if you are including them). I like to stir mine with my fingers in the dry pan until they are too hot to touch. This step will ensure that any moisture in the fish will evaporate before frying them in oil. Keep them moving and just heat them until you can’t handle them with bare hands anymore.
Add the olive or vegetable oil and fry until crispy. Keep them moving. It is ok for them to brown a little bit but don’t go too far or they may taste bitter (burnt)
When they are crisply fried (you can even hear how crunchy they are), move them aside, add the sugar, water and garlic from the prepared container. Let it cook down a little on the side until you have kind of a loose caramel, then mix the fish back in for a few seconds and remove from the heat.
Move the hot fish to a new bowl or container so that it stops cooking.
Pour over the sesame oil
Add the sesame seeds
Mix well and it is done
How to eat myeolchi bokkeum
You can eat these as is, put them on rice or add them to your favourite lettuce wrap (ssam). I especially like to sprinkle them on fresh salads. They can be used anywhere something sweet, salty and crunchy would go. I had a Korean cook once who put them on her yogurt for breakfast but not sure if I would recommend it! If they are not all gone in one sitting, you can store your myeolchi bokkeum in an airtight container in the fridge.
Variations:
- you can make these spicy by adding a little gochujang to the sugar/water mixture or by sprinkling some chili flakes in at the end with the sesame seeds
- you can make these saltier or more savoury by adding sea salt or soy sauce to the mix. Careful though because the anchovies themselves are already quite salty. Experiment with small amounts.
- you can add any nut or seeds in with anchovies at the start of the recipe. Peanuts are classic and delicious but almost anything works including almonds, walnuts or pumpkin seeds.
- If you like them sweeter, add a little more sugar or even syrup (rice, corn or maple)
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Dried Pollock Soup Bukeoguk
The start of a long relationship with Korean food
Years ago I hired a new cook who had recently arrived from Korea on a work visa. I soon started to notice them struggling a little with physical demands and mental focus. Everyday, they worked diligently and did an excellent job, never complaining once. But they were mentally exhausted and physically depleted by the end of every day. After a few weeks, they finally admitted to me that they were having a hard time eating North American food without feeling ill. On top of homesickness, they were basically….hungry all the time. And because they were hungry, they were exhausted.
The only way I could think of to make this situation better was to feed them. I asked them what they would eat if they could choose anything. The answer was Bukeoguk.
I knew nothing about Korean cooking and I had never heard of it. But, I searched for recipes and went to a Korean grocer for the first time and bought all the ingredients I needed. The next day, I made my first Korean food. And, for the few years that this cook worked for me, I continued to feed them one new dish a day. I gradually became a pretty good Korean cook and they gradually became healthier and happier.
They eventually moved on, as all cooks do. But my love for Korean food and cooking has remained with me. And for the last 10 years I have continued to learn methods and ingredients. By now, I must have made a hundred different dishes (probably more), even making my own doenjang, ganjang and gochujang from scratch. Makgeolli too.
Since that fateful meeting, I have cooked and eaten everything I can get my hands on. I have traveled to Korea many times and I have made many friends, even learning to speak the language at a basic level (so far). This story is a long one, too long to write here….and it’s not over yet! For now, I’ll just say “Thank you: 만나서 반가워요”
Ingredients:
- 60 grams (one big handful) dried Alaskan Pollock (bukeo) 북어
- 1 cup peeled and rough chopped Korean radish
- 4 cloves of garlic minced or sliced thinly
- 2-3 green onions (scallions)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon Korean Soup Soy Sauce (guk ganjang) or fish sauce
- 1 egg beaten
- salt and pepper
- water (4-6 cups)
The amounts above are guidelines. This preparation is very simple and there is no delicate balance to upset here. If you like more fish, use more fish. If you like more radish put in more radish. The important thing is that everything is underwater and that it is seasoned well with salt or soy sauce/fish sauce. If you do follow the recipe exactly it will make a good soup. 2 smaller portions with rice and sides or one big portion.
Raw ingredients:
Process:
Soak dried pollock for 15 minutes or so in warm water until it softens up enough to cut or tear apart. Keep the soaking water…we will add it in later.
Chop or tear soaked fish into bite size pieces. Sometime there are a few little bones in the meat and tearing it by hand will help you find and remove them.
Cook the fish pieces in sesame oil for a few minutes until it is hot and aromatic
Add garlic. I like to slice my garlic thin but I think minced garlic is more common. Up to you!
Add chopped radish and cook for a few minutes until warm
Pour back the soaking water, enough to cover everything plus a few centimetres.
Soup soy sauce goes in. This stuff is not the same as regular soy sauce. It is much saltier and funkier. You should be able to find it easily at a Korean grocer but, if not, you can substitute fish sauce.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until radish is cooked through. Now is a good time to add salt if needed. The dried fish contains salt, the soy sauce is very salty and the radish will release a lot of water. So I prefer for all these ingredients to cook completely before adding salt. Now is the perfect time to taste and adjust. Add salt if needed. Pepper too if you like.
Green onion goes in
Pour in egg and remove the pot from the heat. Wait until a raft of egg floats up before stirring it in.
Time to eat!
Bukeoguk is nutritious and easy to digest (also why it is known as a good “hangover soup”). It is simple and quick to make with only a few ingredients. I like to eat it with fresh white rice and a little homemade kimchi. Whenever I make it now, I can’t help but remember the first time I made it and the hungry person who got me started on my Korean cooking adventures.
If you have any questions or comments please leave them below. I am always happy to hear from you.
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Kimchi Fried Rice
I have made this kimchi fried rice recipe 1000 times in my restaurant kitchen. It is scaled down here to serve two people as a side or one person as a big meal. I am calling it a “recipe” but really, the amounts can change as you like. If you follow it, it will be delicious. But, if you like more of one ingredient and less of another, adjust as you like. Kimchi and rice are the only must haves. The important thing is that it is hot and it tastes good and that there is enough for everyone.
This will turn out best with day old, cold rice. If you plan to cook rice the same day, spread it on a plate, cool it and refrigerate it uncovered until it is completely cold and a bit dry. This doesn’t take more than an hour or two. Doing this will allow the starch in the rice to firm up. The drier the rice is, the more kimchi juice it will be able to absorb without getting mushy. If you use hot rice right out of the rice cooker, the texture of the finished rice will be mushy and sticky.
Gochujang is fermented Korean chili paste which you can buy at any Korean grocer. Lately, I have seen it at most regular supermarkets as well. It will add some spice and funk to this dish but it is optional. It always comes in a little red rectangular plastic tub. Just like this:
Roasted Korean Seaweed (aka Gim or Laver) can be found at any Asian grocer and maybe at your local supermarket too. It comes in bigger sheets or little packets which I prefer because they work as one serving. Looks something like this:
The big packs are ok too but make sure to wrap the leftover sheets tightly. Humidity will destroy them in a day.
The older and more sour your kimchi, the better the end flavour of this rice dish.
Vegans, this will work just fine with no meat. Mushrooms are very good in this recipe as well.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups cooked white short grain rice chilled in the refrigerator
- 1 cup sour kimchi with juice
- 1 teaspoon gochujang (optional)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1/2 cup chopped roasted Korean seaweed (laver)
- 1 egg per person
- 1 cup chopped protein of your choice (I have used summer sausage and chicken here because I have it on hand. My first choice would be a nice smokey bacon)
- Olive Oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Process:
Cook sausage (or bacon or mushrooms) in olive oil until it starts to brown..
Add sliced chicken… (all of these proteins are optional)
Season with salt and pepper and cook all the way through…
Stir in kimchi with juice and gochujang if you are using it…
Meanwhile, fry up an egg in a separate pan…
When kimchi is heated through, add cold rice, chop and stir it until kimchi and liquid is incorporated. It should be HOT…
This looks good, even colour, no chunks of white rice, steaming…
Add sesame oil and mix through. Check for seasoning now and adjust salt and pepper…
Plate the rice and top with crushed seaweed and toasted sesame seeds…
Add fried egg and garnish with green onion…
That’s it! A portion this size with enough meat/mushrooms in it should feed one person as is. Or, you can use this as a side for any other dish like fish, steak, pork chop, kebabs, chicken, grilled veggies..almost anything.
A good recipe for homemade cut cabbage kimchi can be found in this post.
For other ideas on what to do with kimchi at home check this post.
If you have any questions or or comments please leave them below.
If you enjoy the content and would like to contribute towards website maintenance and development, you can make a donation here.