When the mercury drops, it’s time for oysters

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When the mercury drops, it’s time for oysters

테스트

Cheonbuk-myeon in Boryeong, South Chungcheong, is famous for oysters grilled on coal fires, giving them a smoky, briny flavor. [LIM HYUN-DONG]

Many living creatures wither during the winter, but oysters are exceptional. They become fatter and juicier as the weather gets fierce and harsh.

Winter is the best season to gorge on seafood, and oysters are one of the most widely enjoyed treats from the ocean.

Korea reportedly produces 290,000 tons of farm-raised oysters every year, as well as many more harvested from the wild.

The JoongAng Ilbo recently headed down to the West Sea to explore the best oysters in the region.

Oysters from the West Sea only account for less than 1 percent of Korea’s total, while the South Gyeongsang region, located on the South Sea, produces about 90 percent.

The two areas offer starkly different tastes.

Oysters from the West Sea are smaller and chewier, and taste more strongly of the sea.

The two regions also raise oysters in different ways.

Tongyeong, the country’s leading producer of oysters located on the South Sea, attaches seed oysters to ropes and soaks the ropes in the ocean until the oysters grow big enough to be harvested. Tongyeong says its products are big and fat because oysters are able to feed on plankton all throughout the year.

But oysters from the West Sea grow on mudflats or rocks on the seashore. Unlike the South Sea, the West Sea has large tidal changes, so the oysters spend most of their time outside the saltwater. Many say West Sea oysters are made with the wind and sun, and develop a richer flavor as a result.

During a recent visit to the West Sea, the drive was long and the weather bitterly cold, but things improved with the arrival of every imaginable oyster dish, from oysters grilled over a coal fire to noodles tossed with the oysters.

Oysters are scrumptious when eaten raw or with a dab of sweet, spicy red pepper sauce, but in Korea, they’re also eaten with steamed rice and gingko nuts or dried dates.

Oysters produced in January are supposed to taste the best, but oyster catchers, mostly women in their 60s, 70s and 80s, said this winter was not cold enough to make oysters grow big, adding that people should wait until February if they want to eat ripe oysters.

테스트

Oyster catchers, mostly women in their 60s, 70s and 80s, harvest oysters on the mudflat of Ganwol Island at low tide. [LIM HYUN-DONG]

If you have had enough of winter activities, an oyster-themed trip is a highly recommended way to explore the peninsula before things warm up.

Gangwol Island

The best place for an oyster-themed trip in the West Sea is near Cheonsuman Bay. The bay is often dubbed a treasure trove for seafood. Spots like Ganwol Island, Seosan and Cheonbuk-myeon in Boryeong are both located near Cheonsuman Bay.

테스트

From top: Famous local products from Ganwol Island in South Chungcheong include eoriguljeot, or fermented oysters; oyster rice; oyster jeon, or pancakes; and oysters served with the watery brine of dongchimi, a type of kimchi made with radish. [LIM HYUN-DONG]

Unlike its name, Ganwol Island is not an island anymore because it was connected to the mainland in 1984 when the entire nation was under a land reclamation development project. Back then, mudflats were considered valueless land.

This mudflat on the West Sea survived, although the production of oysters declined substantially compared to before the development project.

In order to increase oyster production, farmers on Ganwol Island have scattered stones on the mudflat so that oysters can have a place to grow. This type of farming produces oysters that are closest to wild ones.

During a recent visit to the island, this reporter accompanied six oyster catchers. There are 60 old women who make a living by harvesting oysters on the island.

The women used T-shaped skewers to pick oysters from rocks and stones, quickly shucking the oysters and putting only the flesh into their baskets.

The grannies said they only harvest oysters that are 3 years old because their size is most suitable for making fermented oysters, called eoriguljeot in Korean.

Ganwol Island is famous for its eoriguljeot, which are made with dried red pepper powder and condiments like garlic, sugar and daepa, or Korean leek.

Lee Seong-sun, 85, has been harvesting oysters since she was married at the age of 18. She passed some freshly harvested oysters to this reporter and said, “Try some. You have no idea how tasty oysters are in Ganwol Island.”

Another oyster catcher, No Du-yeon, 80, said, “We used to go to small islands to catch oysters in the old days. But now, the islands have all become rice paddy fields.”

In the past, these women used to ride small boats to go to Seosan to sell oysters, but now, they sell their catch to fishing village cooperatives in their town, which in turn ferment the oysters.

Many fishing villages located in the West Sea make their own eoriguljeot, but fermented oysters made with those from Ganwol Island are considered the best quality.

Kim Deok-sin, head of Muhakpyo Eoriguljeot, a company that sells fermented oysters, said, “Oysters from Ganwol Island are solid even after they are fermented. And they are not salty compared to other similar varieties.”

Cheonbuk-myeon

About 70 restaurants serving oysters are located in Jangeun-ri in Cheonbuk-myeon, Boryeong, and the cluster of eateries is located a mere 20-minute drive away from Ganwol Island.

The restaurants held an oyster festival earlier this month, and an average 15,000 people visited the festival every day during its duration.

Cheonbuk-myeon is famous for oysters grilled on coal fires.

Oyster catchers themselves were the first to start grilling oysters on coal fire. They would light coal briquettes to warm their hands, and they later used the fires to grill oysters for lunch or dinner while they labored.

On a weekday earlier this month, a sea of people flooded into the oyster restaurants when the clock struck noon.

Each restaurant was soon filled with the sound of sizzling, with the occasional pop of an oyster suddenly opening. People wore a cotton glove on one hand and held a knife in the other, and went to work shucking their meal.

The grilled oysters tasted much better than raw oysters because the fire had given them a smoky flavor.

Kim Deok-im, 66, said she came from Yeoju, Gyeonggi, to eat oysters and said she visits Cheonbuk-myeon every winter to get her fill.

“We ate grilled oysters last night, and we made oyster soup this morning in the hotel room. I think I can keep eating oysters,” she said.

A restaurant owner standing next to Kim smiled. “She’s my regular,” the owner said. “She’s been visiting my restaurant for the past 10 years.”

Along with grilled oysters, restaurants in Cheonbuk-myeon offer other dishes. They include oyster noodles and oyster rice, often served with different types of kimchi. Just like the oysters, the kimchi tastes different in this area because in Cheonbuk-myeon, the national dish is traditionally made by soaking napa cabbages in saltwater instead of using coarse sea salt.

Another way of enjoying oyster is eating it with the watery brine of dongchimi, a type of kimchi made with radish. Chopped cucumbers and carrots are added to the liquid along with a little bit of dried red pepper powder. This is a favorite hangover cure for people living in Cheonbuk-myeon.

Due to the nationwide development project in the ’80s, Cheonbuk-myeon also lost much of its mudflats.

In order to increase oyster production, pines are used. Pine pillars are erected on the mudflat so that oysters can have a place to grow. When they reach a certain size, they fall off the pine pillars and live on their own on the mudflat. These types of oysters are considered naturally grown oysters.

But Cheonbuk-myeon is still short on oysters, and it has to source oysters from Yeosu and Tongyeong because oysters from the South Sea can be harvested after just a year, whereas those from the West Sea have to grow for between three and five years.
BY CHOI SEUNG-PYO [so@joongang.co.kr]

Info

It takes about two hours by car from City Hall in central Seoul to get to Ganwol Island.

Steamed oyster rice is a must-eat delicacy of Ganwol Island. A hefty serving of oyster rice for a single person is 12,000 won ($10) and the price is the same wherever you go. Oysters are steamed with rice, gingko nuts and dried dates. You can add soy sauce to taste.

Ganwol Island, which is often dubbed a treasure trove of seafood, offers many things to eat other than oysters. For this year, production of heart-shaped clams is good. The clams are often enjoyed as shabu-shabu. One kilogram of heart-shaped clams costs 65,000 won.

When you stop by Cheonbuk-myeon, don’t miss the grilled oysters. Four servings are priced at 30,000 won. Oyster rice here is 10,000 won, and oyster noodles cost 6,000 won.



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