Myulchi Bokkeum
So much blogging to catch up on!
First things first: our favorite whole-animal snack of the moment.. myulchi bokkeum!
A while back, Alex and I went to a Korean store, and he bought a bag of tiny dried fish to snack on. When he didn't like them plain and Mitch didn't either, I started looking around for a way to prepare them. We'll be buying more, for sure, because of this recipe.
There are two variations that we've tried: spicy and non-spicy. I served them to the parents in fancy glasses:
Basically, the recipe is:
Toast a bunch of the fish (a cup or so) in a nonstick pan on medium heat until they start to brown and crackle a little. It gets rid of some of their fishiness. Then, push them all to one side, and in the other side, add a tablespoon or so of brown sugar. Tilt the pan, so just the sugar is on the heat, and wait until it melts and bubbles. For the spicy version, then add some garlic, hot pepper paste, about a teaspoon of water. Mix with the sugar, then with the fish. Pour into a bowl and drizzle with a little sesame oil, if you'd like. For the non-spicy version, I omitted the hot pepper paste and added some sesame seeds, instead.
I think there are a lot of variations of this recipe. Some use corn syrup or white sugar. It think the main thing is to let the brown sugar bubble and caramelize so the fish get all crunchy and sweet-salty, and then add whatever flavorings you want.
First things first: our favorite whole-animal snack of the moment.. myulchi bokkeum!
A while back, Alex and I went to a Korean store, and he bought a bag of tiny dried fish to snack on. When he didn't like them plain and Mitch didn't either, I started looking around for a way to prepare them. We'll be buying more, for sure, because of this recipe.
There are two variations that we've tried: spicy and non-spicy. I served them to the parents in fancy glasses:
Toast a bunch of the fish (a cup or so) in a nonstick pan on medium heat until they start to brown and crackle a little. It gets rid of some of their fishiness. Then, push them all to one side, and in the other side, add a tablespoon or so of brown sugar. Tilt the pan, so just the sugar is on the heat, and wait until it melts and bubbles. For the spicy version, then add some garlic, hot pepper paste, about a teaspoon of water. Mix with the sugar, then with the fish. Pour into a bowl and drizzle with a little sesame oil, if you'd like. For the non-spicy version, I omitted the hot pepper paste and added some sesame seeds, instead.
I think there are a lot of variations of this recipe. Some use corn syrup or white sugar. It think the main thing is to let the brown sugar bubble and caramelize so the fish get all crunchy and sweet-salty, and then add whatever flavorings you want.
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