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| Seafood |
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 Korea
is a peninsula, surrounded by water to the East, West, and South. So it
should come as no surprise that Koreans eat a large amount of seafood,
including fish, eel, crab, squid, whale and many different types of
shellfish. They get very specific about their seafood, with over half a
dozen names for octopus, depending on its size. Almost every market has
shops with water tanks to keep seafood alive. Busan's Jagalchi Fish
Market is truly an unbelievable sight, with hundreds of merchants
selling anything that swims, wiggles, or dive, all destined to be dinner
for someone. Note: Most seafood dishes are served with the animals
whole. |
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Jangeo-gui (Broiled Eel) |
Korea's hot summers are the best time to have a dish of broiled eel.
Koreans believe the dish helps increase stamina and eat it to avoid heat
exhaustion. Eels are sliced longways and the bones removed before being
seasoned with sesame oil, sesame seeds, soy sauce, and sugar. The strips
are then broiled. |
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Maeun-tang (Hot Spicy Fish Soup) |
 Restaurants
that offer this dish often allow you to select your fish from an
aquarium. Many specialty seafood restaurants have several aquariums from
which you may select. Popular fishes for this dish include red snapper,
sea bass, yellow corvina, codfish, globefish, croakers, pollacks, and
even fresh water fish like carp. It can also be made with crabsand
clams. (The price is calculated based on the weight of the fish.)
The cleaned fish is cut into several pieces and boiled with ground beef
and green vegetables such as watercress and garland chrysanthemum, along
with red pepper paste. Hot pepper sauce and vegetables are added to this
mixture, then it is seasoned with pepper powder, garlic, soy sauce, and
more pepper paste. The main flavoring for this popular dish is fiery
kochujang (red bean paste).
This soup is one of Korean's most popular side dishes when drinking. It
can be made from left-over pieces of raw fish. If you order raw fish and
rice, the soup is made from left-over parts of the fish. |
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| Nakji
Bokkeum (Stir-fried Octopus) |
An octopus is cut into bite-sized pieces, along with carrots, onions,
green onions, and watercress. This dish is cooked in a round-bottomed
Chinese wok over a strong fire and mixed with pre-cooked rice. Red
pepper powder and black powder are added as the main seasonings. |
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| Nakji-jeongol
(Octopus Stew) |
Seasoned octopus and vegetables are
arranged in a pan casserole with beef broth and cooked at your table.
Cooked noodles are added when the soup is boiling. Octopus is a favorite
dish of Koreans. |
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| Saengseon-gui
(Grilled Fish) |
 The Korean way of grilling seafood is to use the entire fish (including
the head!) with simple seasonings such as salt, soy sauce, or hot pepper
sauce. Popular choices of fish for this style of cooking include
snapper, herring, mackerel, sole, and flounder. Grilled squid (ojingeo-gui)
is also very pupular. Taehap-gui (grilled clams) are opened and seasoned
with sesame seeds and salt and served garnished with finely chopped
scallions, sesame seeds, and black pepper. |
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