Spicy and Clean Eomuk Bokkeum (Stir-Fried Fish Cakes)
A savory soy sauce eomuk bokkeum made clean and spicy with bird's eye chilies, perfect as a side dish or a gimbap filling.
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 →
Square fish cakes are thinly julienned and stir-fried, making this dish great as a side dish for rice as well as a filling for gimbap. Using bird's eye chilies instead of gochugaru adds a sharp, clean kick of heat without making the dish messy. Minced garlic and large green onion are first bloomed in oil for aroma, then stir-fried with a soy sauce seasoning to finish easily.
- Servings
- about 3–4 servings
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spiciness
- Spicy
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Square fish cake (eomuk)4 sheets, 200 g
- Large green onion (daepa)1/4 stalk
- Bird's eye chili5
Seasoning
- Minced garlic1 tbsp
- Oyster sauce1/2 tbsp
- Regular soy sauce (jin-ganjang)1 tbsp
- Mirin (cooking rice wine)1 tbsp
- Corn syrup (mulyeot)1 tbsp
- Toasted sesame oil1/2 tbsp
- Toasted sesame seeds1/2 tbsp
- You can use 2 Cheongyang chili peppers instead of bird's eye chilies.
Steps
Slice the ingredients
Thinly julienne the square fish cake.
Crush the bird's eye chilies finely and slice the large green onion.
You can use 2 Cheongyang chili peppers instead of bird's eye chilies.
Make the stir-fried fish cakes
Heat oil in a pan, then add 1 tbsp minced garlic, the large green onion, and the bird's eye chilies, stir-frying without burning to bring out their aroma.
Add the julienned fish cake and all seasoning ingredients except the toasted sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds, then stir-fry so the seasoning coats evenly.
Finish by adding the toasted sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds at the end.
I forgot to take a final shot, so I am using an older photo instead.
Using bird's eye chilies instead of gochugaru gives it a nice clean kick of heat without looking messy when used in gimbap.
Roll the gimbap
Along with the stir-fried fish cake, I prepared julienned carrots, egg garnish, and pickled radish.
Season freshly cooked rice with toasted sesame oil, salt, and toasted sesame seeds.
For 4 bowls of rice, gently mix in 1 tsp salt, 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil, and 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds; the heat of the rice helps dissolve the salt well, so it is best to mix while still warm.
Spread the rice thinly all the way to the edges of the dried seaweed sheet, place the julienned ingredients on the bottom first, and layer the remaining ingredients on top. This keeps the filling from scattering and helps the gimbap roll up neatly.
Also, if there are many fillings, rolling the seaweed vertically gives a more stable roll.
Brush a light coating of toasted sesame oil over the surface, slice, and finish with a sprinkle of ground toasted sesame seeds.
Made with 4 ingredients: spicy fish cake paired with the crunchy texture of 2-year-old pickled radish.
Ppunwife's tips
- Using bird's eye chilies instead of gochugaru gives it a nice clean kick of heat without looking messy when used in gimbap.
- For 4 bowls of rice, gently mix in 1 tsp salt, 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil, and 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds; the heat of the rice helps dissolve the salt well, so it is best to mix while still warm.
- Spread the rice thinly all the way to the edges of the dried seaweed sheet, place the julienned ingredients on the bottom first, and layer the remaining ingredients on top so the gimbap rolls up neatly without scattering.
- If there are many fillings for your gimbap, rolling the seaweed sheet vertically gives a more stable roll.
FAQ
What can I substitute if I don't have bird's eye chilies?
You can substitute 2 Cheongyang chili peppers instead of bird's eye chilies to add the spicy kick.
Why use dried chilies instead of gochugaru for gimbap fish cake?
Using bird's eye chilies instead of gochugaru keeps the filling clean without smearing or separating inside the gimbap while maintaining a spicy flavor.
Is there a trick to keep the fillings from falling apart when rolling gimbap?
Spread the rice thinly to the edges of the dried seaweed sheet, layer julienned ingredients on the bottom first, and set the other ingredients on top to keep them neat. When there are many fillings, rolling the seaweed vertically helps keep everything secure.
