Korean Stir-fried Fish Cake (Eomuk Bokkeum or Odeng Bokkeum) – Asian Recipes At Home (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between Odeng and eomuk? ›

Generally speaking, eomuk is an inherent Korean word which refers to the fish cake made by mashing fish and adding other things together to form a dough. Odeng is speculated to have evolved from Japanese. It is a long and flat type skewered and cooked with other vegetables and eggs.

Eomuk means fish cake and Bokkeum means stir fry. Eomuk is typically made with a mix of mild flavored fish, starch and vegetables. It's first made into a paste, then steamed or deep fried.

Popular eomuk fishcake dishes include stir fried eomuk with assorted vegetables, and eomuk soup with a refreshing radish broth. Eomuk soup, with its steaming hot broth is a well-loved winter fixture across the country.

The Korean word 'eomuk' was coined to replace the Japanese word 'oden,' which is a Japanese dish consisting of various fish cakes as main ingredients, but in Korea refers more to fish cakes than the dish made of fish cakes.

Samjin Fish Cake is the best fish cake in Korea.

Is Korean Fish Cake Healthy? Fish Cakes (Odeng) can be healthy food if it's made with high-quality fish meat with not too many fillers and deep fried in clean oil. Lesser quality ones could be deep fried in oil that's been overused and you may be able to smell a bit of rancid oil which may not be healthy.

Before we start, what is Korean Odeng (Eomuk) made of? It's typically, a mix of alaskan pollock, cod, tilapia, and others depending on the region and season. The leftover pieces from these fishes are grounded into a paste and mixed with flour.

To make the non-spicy version, just leave out the gochujang. I don't think Korean peppers are spicy at all but you can leave those out too if you want. This will last in the fridge for up to 5 days. You do not have to reheat it to serve but you can if you prefer.

Eomuk (어묵) is processed seafood made with pureed fish. It translates to fish cake, but obviously not the fish cake known in Western cooking. There are various dishes made with eomuk, including Eomuk soup which is hugely popular as street foods in Korea.

Since they're already pre-cooked, you don't need to prepare them separately. Yay for easy one-pot meals! You can even toss frozen pieces straight into boiling water; they should cook as fast as the noodles.

Are Korean fish cakes processed? ›

In the Korean Food Standards Codex, fish cakes are defined as a processed marine product containing salt-soluble protein from fish meat (1).

Odeng are Korean fish cakes, and the name of a brothy soup served with those fish cakes. The name “odeng” comes from the Japanese word “oden,” a fish-cake nabemono, or hot pot. Korean rice cakes also go by the name “eomuk,” and you'll find odeng soup called eomuk guk (“guk” means “boiling water” or “soup”).

Narutomaki is actually a type of kamaboko (steamed fish cake). Both have been consumed as a topping, ingredient, and snack.

Kamaboko (蒲鉾, かまぼこ), or Japanese fish cake, is a processed seafood product eaten in Japanese cuisine. It consists of pureed white fish paste (surimi すり身) that's steamed, grilled, or fried until cooked and firm. You can eat it as is, cut it into a beautiful pattern, or use it as a garnish.

But, sadly Eomuk died after some months and Jin bought another sugar glider named Gukmul to accompany Odeng. Unfortunately, Odeng died in 2019 after a height accident.

Oden is one of the Japanese hotpot dishes. It consists of various ingredients simmered in a soy-flavored light dashi (Japanese cooking stock made from seaweed and bonito) broth.

Korean fish cakes are called Odeng (오뎅) or Eomuk (어묵).