Homemade Cheese Eomuk (Cheese Fish Cake)
A homemade snack made by filling ground seafood paste with cheese, then deep-frying or baking it.
Translated from Korean by AI and not yet checked by a native speaker. Amounts and numbers are taken directly from the original recipe. Read the Korean original →
This homemade fish cake is made by shaping ground seafood paste of frozen pollack and squid around cheese, then deep-frying it. Thoroughly squeezing out moisture from the paste is key to achieving a chewy texture, and it is cooked slowly in low-temperature oil or baked in the oven. It makes a great snack or anju (bar snack) enjoyed warm while the cheese is soft and melted.
- Servings
- about 3–4 servings
- Cook time
- 40 minprep not included
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spiciness
- Mildly spicy
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Frozen pollack1 whole
- Shrimp meata little
- Squid body1 whole
- Pizza cheese (shredded mozzarella)
- Sliced cheese
- Breadcrumbs
Vegetables
- Carrot1/2
- Onion1/2
- Red chili pepper2
- Cheongyang chili pepper (hot green chili)2
Seasoning
- Minced garlic1 tbsp
- Mirin (cooking rice wine)1 tbsp
- Salt1 tsp
- Sugar1 tsp
- Ground black pepper1 tsp
Paste
- Flour (or frying mix (twigim-garu))3 tbsp
- Egg white2
- Potato starch2 tbsp
- Instead of frozen pollack and squid, you can also use other ingredients such as dried cod fillets, mackerel, or Pacific saury.
- You can replace the Cheongyang chili peppers and red chili peppers with bell peppers.
- Once the paste is mixed, let it sit for about 20 minutes so the seasonings meld together.
Steps
Roughly chop the squid and frozen pollack, wrap them tightly in cheesecloth, and squeeze out all the moisture completely.
If the mixture is too wet, you will have to add a lot of flour when kneading, which ruins the flavor.
Aside from these ingredients, other items like dried cod fillets, mackerel, or Pacific saury work well too.
Squid grinds easily in a blender if you freeze it slightly beforehand.
Here are the pizza cheese and sliced cheese that will go inside the fish cakes.
Get the breadcrumbs ready as well.
They are also clean and delicious if you fry them directly without coating them in breadcrumbs.
Finely mince all the carrot, onion, and chili peppers.
I made mine spicy with Cheongyang chili peppers and red chili peppers.
You can replace them with bell peppers.
Cut one block of pizza cheese into 8 pieces.
I only used 4 of them.
To the ground fish and minced vegetables, add all the seasonings above (garlic, salt, pepper, sugar, mirin), egg whites, flour, and potato starch, then mix well.
If it feels a bit too wet, adjust the consistency with flour.
Once the paste is done, just leave it for about 20 minutes so the seasonings can meld together.
Flatten a portion of paste, place the cheese inside, and roll it up using a knife.
It is also fun to make them in different shapes.
Then simply coat them in breadcrumbs.
Fry them in cooking oil, cooking slowly over low temperature.
If you fry at a high temperature, the outside will burn while the inside remains uncooked.
This batch will be baked in the oven.
Bake at 200°C for about 35-40 minutes.
Spray oil over the surface.
The cheese leaked out a bit in the middle, so it looks a little messy.
Even so, the inside is thoroughly cooked.
Ppunwife's tips
- You must squeeze out all the moisture from the fish so you do not have to add too much flour when making the paste, keeping it delicious.
- Freezing the squid slightly before blending makes it grind smoothly.
- When deep-frying, cook slowly over low temperature so the inside cooks through without burning the outside.
- Anything with cheese inside tastes best when eaten piping hot.
FAQ
Why do I need to remove the moisture when making the seafood paste?
If there is too much water in the fish and squid, the paste becomes overly wet, requiring too much flour and dulling the flavor. Be sure to wrap them in cheesecloth and squeeze the moisture out tightly.
How should I manage the heat when deep-frying?
Cooking at a high temperature will burn the outside while leaving the inside raw, so it is best to fry slowly in low-temperature oil.
What temperature should the oven be set to?
Spray oil over the surface and bake in an oven preheated to 200°C for about 35 to 40 minutes.
Can I use other vegetables instead of the chili peppers in the paste?
If you want to tone down the heat, you can substitute bell peppers for the Cheongyang chili peppers or red chili peppers.
