I promised to post dried pollock soup (북어국 – book e guk ) in this blog recently and one of my readers reminded me a few days ago…. Thanks for the reminder!!! I am still in Sydney and winter is approaching… I think it’s a perfect weather for soup!! Let’s begin….
Dried Pollock soup
(serves 4 people)
- 40g Dried Pollock pieces
- ½ packet of tofu, sliced in 1cm thickness
- 1 spring onion, sliced diagonally
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 5 cups of Water
- 1/2 tbsp chopped garlic
- ¼ Korean radish, slice thinly
- 2 tbsp of sesame oil
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- salt and white pepper to season
Before we begin, just a little note about the pollock. I never thought twice about this fish until I moved to Singapore and discovered just how difficult it is to source this type of fish. When my family first moved to Sydney we often had pollock dishes as there were many good quality Korean groceries. It was easy to get hold of various types of pollock either fresh or frozen. Koreans use fresh, frozen and dried pollock in various dishes. Fresh and frozen ones are usually used for stews (동태찌개) and dried ones are for soup or fried. For those who have never seen this fish, check this link.
- Soak the dried pollock in water for 30minutes and then drain. I found another type of pollock in my pantry and decide to use a few pieces of it in the soup (refer to the picture below). Extra pollock like these chunks really enhance the stock flavour. Soak these chunky ones in a bowl as well.
- On a medium heat, pour the sesame oil in a pot and fry the pollock and chopped garlic. Season them with soy sauce and fish sauce.
- Add the radish and continue to fry all ingredients together.
- Pour 5 cups of water and boil on medium to high heat for 10-15 minutes. You can also add Korean soy bean sprouts at this point.
- Add the beaten egg and sliced tofu to the soup and cook for another 2 minutes. I am not a big fan of tofu so I skipped it this time.
- As a final touch, season the soup with salt and pepper and add sliced spring onion .
- Serve the soup either in individual bowls with hot cooked rice or simply place the whole pot on the table for everyone to share.
Doesn’t the soup look flavoursome and homely? I am heading out to a Korean grocery to grab ingredients for tonight’s dinner! Enjoy….