As the weather gets colder, soup gains popularity as a side meal. This Korean fish cake soup (Eomuk-guk, 어묵국 or Odeng-guk, 오뎅국) is a perfect Korean comfort food.
It is quite easy to make and also all the ingredients used are quite affordable. Maybe that’s why it is also a popular drink snack to accompany soju (소주) – a Korean distilled alcoholic drink.
SOME FACTS ABOUT KOREAN FISH CAKES
- Korean fish cakes are called Odeng (오뎅) or Eomuk (어묵). Though Odeng is influenced by Oden from Japan. So in recent years, as part of a Korean language purification movement, the use of Eomuk is more encouraged.
- Typically Korean fish cakes are made with surimi, wheat flour, carrots, onion, salt, sugar and other additives. These ingredients are mixed, kneaded, shaped then boiled, steamed or fried.
- I don’t know about you, but in general, the perception is that packaged Korean fish cakes typically available from a Korean grocery stores are “not healthy”. But nonetheless, it’s cheaper and more convenient than making them yourself.
- If you’re looking for a healthier choice of Korean fish cakes, you should check out two of my fish cake recipes. One is for side dishes and the other one is for soup making.
INGREDIENTS FOR 2 SERVINGS
MAIN
- 200g (7 ounces) Korean fish cakes (4 rectangle fish cake sheets) or homemade fish cakes
- 30g (1 ounce) green onion, thinly sliced
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp rice wine
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- A few cracks of ground black pepper
- (Optional) fine sea salt to taste – I didn’t use any.
BROTH
- 6 cups water
- 10g (0.4 ounces) dried kelp
- 30g (1 ounce) dried anchovy, head and black innards removed
- 100g (3.5 ounces) white radish/Korean radish/daikon radish, thinly sliced
* 1 Tbsp = 15ml, 1 Cup = 250ml
**If you want to learn more about Korean ingredients, check my 30 essential Korean cooking ingredients list!
STEPS
BROTH
1.Put the water (6 cups) in a medium/large pot and add the dried kelp and anchovies. (If you can use a large tea infuser, it will be a much neater process later!) Boil it for 10 mins uncovered on medium heat.
2. Take out (& discard) the kelp and add the radish slices. Boil the radish and anchovy for a further 10 mins.
3. Take out and set aside the radish. Sieve through the boiled stock over damp cheese/linen cloth to remove small particles from the kelp and anchovies. (If you don’t mind these particles floating in your soup, you can skip sieving and just remove the anchovies from the broth. But I recommend sieving!)
4.(This step should start co-currently as step 1 or step 2 to save your time.) Run some hot water onto the fish cake sheets to remove the excess oil coating. (Store bought fish cakes are deep fried!)
Slice the fish cakes into small rectangle size. Or slice them in long strips and stick through with some wooden skewers for a fancier look. (I made 6 skewers and each stick has 2 long strips of fish cakes on it.)
5. Boil the broth and radish (from step 3) on medium high heat and add the soy sauce, rice wine and garlic. Stir briefly. Once boiled, reduce the heat to medium. Add the fish cakes into the soup then boil until they are soft and the flavour from the soup has soaked up (about 3 to 5 mins).
Depending on your size of pot, you may want to splash some soup over the fish cakes with your ladle to deepen the flavour. (Add some salt to taste if you require, but I didn’t add any.) Sprinkle a few cracks of ground black pepper and green onions just before serving.
6. Serve hot (with freshly cooked steamed rice and side dishes).
NOTE
- If you can only find dried kelp or dried anchovy but not both, supplement that portion by using the other available ingredients. You may need to season with salt at the end.
- I also served with sweet, tangy, soy dipping sauce for fish cakes. You can check out my recipe from here.
https://mykoreankitchen.com/korean-fish-cake-soup/