Photo: Hyeon-Jeong Suk · CC BY 2.0
Eomuk-bokkeum (Stir-fried Fish Cake)
A classic Korean side dish of fish cake stir-fried with vegetables in a sweet soy sauce. Made from everyday ingredients in one pan in 10 minutes, and just as good cold for lunchboxes.
Ingredients
- Fish cake sheets (eomuk) · about 200g, cut bite-size4 sheets
- Onion · sliced0.5
- Large green onion · sliced on the bias0.5
- Carrot · julienned, optional0.25
- Green chili · optional1
- Cooking oil1 tbsp
- Toasted sesame seeds1 tsp
- Sauce
- Soy sauce1.5 tbsp
- Oligo syrup (or corn syrup)1 tbsp
- Sugar0.5 tbsp
- Minced garlic0.5 tbsp
- Sesame oil1 tsp
- Chili flakes (gochugaru) · optional0.5 tsp
Steps
- ⏲ 2 min
Blanch the fish cakes briefly (or pour hot water over them in a sieve) to remove surface oil, then cut into bite-size pieces.
- ⏲ 1 min
Stir the sauce ingredients (soy, syrup, sugar, garlic, sesame oil, chili flakes) together in a small bowl.
- ⏲ 2 min
Heat the oil in a pan over medium and stir-fry the onion and carrot 1–2 minutes until softened.
- ⏲ 3 min
Add the fish cakes and stir-fry 2–3 minutes until lightly golden.
- ⏲ 2 min 30 sec
Pour in the sauce and toss to coat evenly. Add the green onion and chili and stir-fry 1–2 minutes more until glossy.
- ⏲ 30 sec
Off the heat, sprinkle with sesame seeds. Great warm or cooled as a lunchbox side.
Tips & Variations
Variations
- Soy (mild): Skip the chili flakes for a kid-friendly soy version.
- Spicy: Add 1 tsp gochujang for a spicy kick.
- Saucy: Add 2–3 tbsp water to the sauce for a moist version great over rice.
- Ketchup style: Sweet-and-tangy with ketchup and soy (snack-bar style).
Tips
- Blanch the fish cakes to remove oil so they take the sauce and aren't greasy.
- Premix the sauce and add it all at once for even coating.
- Stir-fry fast over medium heat — long high heat makes fish cake chewy.
- Add the syrup at the end for gloss without burning.
- It tastes great cold, so it's perfect for lunchboxes and make-ahead banchan.
The basics behind this dish
- Building Umami: Glutamate, Synergy, and LayersUmami is built in layers, not added from one bottle. The key is synergy: glutamate plus nucleotides multiply each other rather than adding up.
- Blanching: Keeping Vegetables GreenBlanched vegetables go dull because of acid and heat. Why the pot should be large, why the lid stays off, and what the ice bath is really for.
- Salt: When You Add It Matters More Than How MuchThe same amount of salt either draws water out or seasons all the way through, depending on when it goes in. Osmosis, seasoning in layers, and why salt types are not interchangeable by volume.
More of the same kind
More from this country
Sign in to edit.
AI-drafted, editor-reviewed · edits: 0 ·Edit history
https://cookiki.com/en/r/eomuk-bokkeum · cookiki · User contributions are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.