[Food]

[Food] Mineo (Surf Fish, 민어)

Since the Chosun dynasty within the Korean peninsula more than 500 years ago, Mineo (Surf Fish, 민어) has been an unique seafood for stamina and a gourmet dish for people. It's usually been eaten by the royal and noble family because it is rarely caught and is expensive due to the lack of cold storage technology.

The Chinese character for Mineo's 'Min(民)' means 'common people', which is ironic because a common person has caught but not actually eaten, it because of its cost. Mineo is considered one of the tastiest types of fish in Korea with people saying that the sliced raw fillet of mineo gives the best taste. Its flesh, air bladder, skin and bones are all precious ingredients for fishcake, stew, spicy cold dishes and soup that can be cooked with mineo.

Mineo tastes best in summer and winter because it fattens itself for the breeding season and survives the winter :) Moreover, male mineo tastes better than female mineo because it doesn't lose fat even in the breeding season (August and September).

They are usually caught by sea fishing in the West Sea (the Yellow Sea) of Korea, along the coast of Jeolla province. This is one of the reasons why mineo has become so expensive. However, people who ever eaten mineo as a raw fillet say raw mineo fillet is one of the best fish they have ever eaten.

Chewy and soft with marine and savory taste :) Some people say it's even better than eating raw tuna fillet.

Mineo (surf fish) belongs to the same family as the croaker/yellow corbina, but is much bigger

Bon Appétit! 

[Food]

[Food] Suneohoe and Borymyul Twigim (선어회와 보리멸 튀김, Fermented Raw Fish and Deep Fried Sillaginoid)

A few weeks ago in the hot summer days in Korea, I went to Yeosu, Jeolla Province which is located in deep southern Korea. Yeosu was just a common port city with a story of the Great Admiral Yi Sunsin and his legendary naval battle with the turtle ship. However, since the song 'Yeosu Night Sea' by Busker Busker (Famous trio band in Korea) became very popular 8 years ago (and still is), now it's always booming with visitors from all over the country who want to take in the evening sea view in Yeosu and savor its unique gourmet.

Yeosu has a few unique gourmets that can only be found in Jeolla Province: Gatkimchi (Mustard kimchi), Suneohoe (Fermented Raw Fish) and Borymyul Twigim (Deep Fried Sillaginoid).

Suneohoe (Fermented Raw Fish) is an unique style of seafood cuisine that can be found in the southern areas of Korea and Japan. In Yeosu, they usually use Spanish mackerel, butter fish and croaker. Cook fillets fresh fish and ferment them for 2~3 days according to their traditional way. Fermentation adds more taste and a silky and unique flavor to the fish :)

Dish and table style of Jeolla Province is famous for a plentiful variety of dishes

Suneohoe (Fermented Raw Fish). Spanish mackerel (Left and middle column), butter fish (top right) and crooker (bottom right). 

When a dish of suneohoe is served on my table, the restaurant owner kindly taught us how to enjoy it Yeosu-style. We need unsalted laver, white kimchi, pickled ginger, secret sauce of restaurant, doenjang, chopped garlic, pickled spring onion and gatkimchi.

First, place unsalted laver on your personal dish.

Second, choose your topping Gatkimchi (Mustard Kimchi) / White Kimchi (Sweet and sour kimchi) / Pickled Spring Onion

Gatkimchi (Mustard kimchi) that you can only eat in Jeolla Province. Spicy, sour and pungent flavor. Its texture is very crunchy and crisp.

 

Baek Kimchi (White Kimchi). Non-spicy, sweet and sour.

Pickled spring onion. Sour, sweet and salty.

Last, pick your fish fillet from the dish (fat and back of Spanish mackerel / Butter Fish / Croaker) and dip it into a secret sauce (mixture of sesame oil, doenjang, chili and more), and top it with pickled ginger and chopped garlic with doenjang paste :)

Pickled ginger

Then what you will have in your dish is one of following :)

Unsalted laver, fermented fish fillet, white kimchi, pickled ginger and garlic with doenjang paste

Unsalted laver, fermented fish fillet, gatkimchi, pickled ginger and garlic with doenjang paste

Unsalted laver, fermented fish fillet, pickled spring onion, pickled ginger and garlic with doenjang paste

Savory, salty, sweet, sour, pungent, crunchy and crispy flavors are all mixed on your palate to give you a profound and mysterious taste. There's no proper way to explain this flavor but it has an absolutely attractive and fascinating flavor. Spanish mackerel is usually eaten roasted, and butter fish is usually eaten steamed, but I never thought they would be this good in raw fillet.

The next dish I ordered was Borymyul Twigim (Deep-Fried Sillaginoid) which is a signature dish at the restaurant that I visited :) It looks like Fish and Chips but with fired onion and sweet potato instead of chips :)

Borymyul (Sillaginoid)

Deep-fried borymyul is crispy and crunchy on the outside with a silky and savory inside :) It really tastes like deep-fried fish that I tasted in Melbourne :)

If you are planning to visit Korea, please never forget Yeosu with its beautiful evening sea and unique and delicious dishes :) I really hope you don't miss any of them.

Bon Appétit!

[Food] Gulbi (굴비, Dried Yellow Corvina)

[Food]

[Food] Gulbi (굴비, Dried Yellow Corvina)

A corvina / croaker {It's called Jogi (조기) in Korean}

Once upon a time in the 12th century of Korea when Goryeo dynasty ruled the Korean peninsula. Mr. Ja-kyum Lee, who was father-in-law of King Injo of Goryeo dynasty, was exiled to Bubsungpo, Younggwang of Jeonnam province for committing a treason against the king.

At Bubsungpo of Younggwang, he tasted a jogi (corvina / croaker) that was dried by sea breeze and salt and it was so nice. Therefore Mr. Lee devoted Bubsungpo's jogi to King Injo with a name 'Gul-Bi' on it which means 'I never give in'. Since then, sea breeze and salt dried jogi was named 'Gul-Bi' and this name is still used in today's Korea :)

Bubsungpo, Younggwang, Jeonnam (South-western province of Korea) where famous for Gulbi

Jogi (조기, it means 'give energy' in Korean) had been caught in the Korean peninsula long time ago and it is still very popular and typical fish of Korean dish. Jogi is very expensive fish now, but it was cheap and common fish in 1960~1970 of Korea. The young of Jogi is used for ingredient of fish juice, which is luxurious ingredient for kimchi.

Corvina

Gulbi is a salt-marinated Jogi, it is usually dipped into salt water and dried by see breeze. However Bubsungpo (where famous for Younggwang gulbi) Gulbi uses different method. They marinate jogi by making layers of sea salt and jogi more than a year.

There is another way of making Gulbi which is Bori (Barley) Gulbi, it marinates corvina in sea salt more than 2 years and put sea salt marinated fish into heap of barley. Then these barley absorbs moisture and oil from fish to be dried. Bori gulbi is tastier then normal gulbi because it is less salty and less fishy with scent of barley.

Corvnias are being dried by see breeze to be gulbi

Corvinas are marinated, well dried and ready to go as good gulbi

Well-made gulbis are sold at small and big fish stores, department store and even exported to China and Japan. Gulbi's flesh is very firm, savory, little salty but very soft when it is crushed in mouth. So it is really good side or main dish for meal of Eastern culture with plain rice. Gulbi is usually grilled, roasted and also used in spicy stew in the southwest region of Korea.

'Golden' roasted gulbi

Premium gulbi gift set, it's price tag shows '$700' on it.

In the next article, I will be back with a story about gulbi and Jogijjigae (Spicy Corvina Stew) :)



Bon Appétit!