In Korea, eel helps beat the heat
A variety of eels prepared in different ways. Gaetjangeo is usually eaten with soup. You dip the raw fish into the hot broth. By Jun Eun-seon
Earlier this week, Korea celebrated Chobok, the day that signals the start of the hot summer season by the lunar calendar. And many Koreans are trying to stay strong even while sweating under the scorching sun by eating seasonal, nutritional foods.
Many go for traditional chicken soup as it is easily found anywhere. But if you don’t mind spending a bit more, you could try out different types of eel, known to boost energy, especially if you’re traveling to the southern coastal areas of Korea.
Among numerous types of eel, or jangeo in Korean, in season right now is gaetjangeo or pike eel. Since this type is found in the southern ocean, try out this special treat if you plan on heading to the shore for summer vacation.
Gaetjangeo
Korea’s southern coastal areas become abundant with gaetjangeo every summer because they travel around deep waters during the winter and then move up to the coastal waters during the warmer weather to spawn.
Until the 1990s, Koreans didn’t get to eat much of this type of eel because it was mostly sold to Japan.
However, now the majority of this type of eel is consumed domestically, even though this type of eel is the most expensive out of all the varieties here.
This eel is usually eaten raw or cooked in shabu-shabu, or hot pot. Smaller eels, less than 200 grams (seven ounces), are usually served raw, while the bigger ones are used for shabu-shabu. In a pot containing hot broth and vegetables, the eel is briefly dipped in to cook before eating.
This style of cooking gaetjangeo in hot soup is known to have started about 20 years ago in Yeosu, South Jeolla.
Along with Yeosu, Jangheung County, also in South Jeolla, is known for such eel soup. Either raw or with soup, one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of gaetjangeo costs around 70,000 won ($61) at restaurants within these areas.
Gomjangeo
Gomjangeo, or inshore hagfish, is probably the ugliest of the eel enjoyed in Korea.
Gomjangeo is popular in spicy sauce.
Busan locals, who were deprived of food, gathered the flesh, adding spicy sauce and then grilling it to eat.
The alley where gomjangeo is sold at Busan’s Jagalchi Market is still the most vibrant part of the market. There are about 100 merchants on the street grilling eel to order. Some of the oldest storefronts have been there since the Korean War. It costs about 30,000 won for a two-person serving of gomjangeo.
“There are many loyal patrons who have been coming for the past three or four decades,” said Park Bok-sun, who has been serving customers there for 45 years. “It is a bit uncomfortable and loud here, but that adds more [fun] to the overall eating experience.
Different preparations for the eel can be found in other areas of Busan. Some restaurants cook it live on top of a bundle of straw over fire. You can easily peel off the charred skin, and then dip the white flesh in oil sauce. One kilogram costs around 60,000 won.
Bungjangeo
Another popular type is bungjangeo, or conger eel, better known in Korea as anago. This is the most commonly consumed type of eel in Korea and often comes as a side dish at modern-style raw fish restaurants.
This eel is easily found during any season in Korea and it is hence the cheapest of them all. The body is thicker than other species, so there is more to eat.
Bungjangeo is also commonly eaten raw. Because it is so easy for anyone to enjoy this type of eel raw, it is also known as a dish that helps people get into eating raw fish.
However, many villages in the southern coastal areas make a spicy soup with it. This soup used to be the staple for seamen returning from a long fishing journey. Therefore many of the popular restaurants serving this soup are located near harbors and open at dawn. A bowl usually costs 10,000 won.
Whiles in South Jeolla the soup is usually red and spicy, in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang, it is prepared with spinach and doenjang, or fermented bean paste.
Baemjangeo
While the other types of eel listed live in the ocean, baemjangeo, a species of anguillid eel commonly known as Japanese eel, spend part of its life in freshwater rivers.
Many enjoy eating bungjangeo in a spicy soup. By Jun Eun-seon
Baemjangeo is grilled in salt or spicy sauce. By Lim Hyun-dong
BY SOHN MIN-HO, HONG JI-YEON [lee.sunmin@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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