Odeng Soup - Skewered Fish Cake with Broth

Its getting chilly here in Korea. Early winter winds put us at 2 degrees C the other day. As I was getting out of the subway, I noticed there was a small crowd around a pojangmacha (Korean street food cart). People were huddled over munching away at skewers of odeng.

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Three steps past the cart, I couldn't resist either. So I turned back around and had 2 sticks myself. It cost me a grand total of $1. Gotta love cheap street food. The best part about street odeng is that it comes with a complementary broth. It is mild seafood broth - rich and slightly salty (The street vendors like to put msg into the broth). Makes it irresistible.

That's when I figured that we should try making this on Future Neighbor. It's simple, easy, and very Korean. If you've never had fish cakes before, try it out. (We also have a stir-fried recipe.) I like to call it the sausage of the sea, well because technically it is. It is a mix of white fish scraps, surimi and minced vegetables. If you travel in Asia, you will that fish cake is everywhere.

Odeng Soup

Odeng! It tastes so good straight off the pojang macha carts. Here's how to replicate that flavor at home!

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Servings: 2 people

Course: Medium

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• Korean radish - 500 grams
• Spring onion - 10 inch piece
• Dried anchovies - 10 pieces
• Dashima - iPhone-sized piece
• Water - 4.5 cups
• Soup soy sauce - 1 Tablespoon
• Minced garlic - ½ Tablespoon
• Salt - ½ teaspoon

Hot pot Ingredients

• Fish cake sheets - 10-12
• Spring onion - 2 tablespoon garnish
• Cheongyang chili pepper - 1
• Red chili pepper - 1
• Shiitake mushrooms - 3
• Crown daisy - small handful

Dipping Sauce

• Soy sauce - 2 Tablespoon
• Vinegar - few drops
• Sesame seeds - shake

Method

 

Make Soup

1. Use a peeler and skin-off a section of the Korean radish. Then cut two sections away from the radish. Slice these sections into small equal pieces (reference video).
2. Take a large pot out. Place in green onion. Place cleaned, dried anchovies into in (place them in a empty tea bag if you have). Next, put in dashima pieces. Then place in the water. Bring pot up to a boil.
3. After 5 minutes of boiling, take out the dashima pieces. Reduce the heat to a medium low and let broth simmer for additional 10 minutes.

Prep Odeng and Season Soup

1. Fold an odeng sheet and place onto each skewers (reference video). Try to make 3 folds.
2. After 10 minutes, check back on the soup. Place in the soup soy sauce, minced garlic and salt. Then gently take out the boiled radish pieces and set aside for later (don't throw away!). Strain the liquid through a kitchen cloth or towel. Broth is ready - set aside

Chop Veggies (Optional)

1. This step is all optional. Use the veggies you can find. Cut spring onion into small pieces. Cut the green and red chili into small pieces as well. Take off the stems off the mushroom. And then trim off the ends of the crown daisies.

Setup Hot Pot

1. Place skewers and boiled radish to one side of the hot pot. Then add in the vegetables to another side. Add the broth over the top. Put on a medium heat.
2. Give some time for the broth to come back up to the boil. Use a soup ladle to distribute the broth evenly throughout the pan.
3. After about 5 minutes of soft boiling, its ready to eat. Dip in the soy sauce and enjoy!

Notes

• Broth is key. No suprise that we are using an anchovy-kelp base. But the secret ingredient is Korean Radish. The Korean radish, as it cooks, releases its flavourful juices, infusing the broth with richness and depth in flavor.
• Make sure you don't throw away the Korean radish after cooking the broth. Use it as an ingredient in the odeng soup. It tastes delicious with some soy sauce
• Watch video below for more details

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