Sea bream, or domi in Korean (도미), is one of the best seafoods out there, especially in the spring. It's known for its light and clean taste, and doesn't go rotten easily. For this reason, sea bream is often used in luxury Korean cuisine. Sea bream is so delicious that it even originated an idiom that goes “The head of a fish tastes the best“ (어두일미, 魚頭一味).

Domimyeon or sea bream casserole with vegetables sounds more like a noodle dish as myeon means "noodles" in Korean. However, it's actually a casserole made for court banquets or to be enjoyed with glasses of liquor. It's a royal dish made from sliced and fried sea bream served with beef, various vegetables and noodles. The dish is tasty and it looks wonderful, as the colorful ingredients are balanced in beautiful harmony, amusing all five of the senses.

According to the “Joseon Yorihak” (조선요리학, 朝鮮料理學), a 1940 book about the ingredients found in Korean cuisine, the origins of food and table manners in general, domimyeon is also known as seunggi aktang (승기악탕, 勝妓樂湯), or seungga gitang (승가기탕, 勝佳妓湯). This means "a dish more amusing and beautiful than enjoying time with female entertainers." It got that epithet from a court official named Heo Jong (허종, 許琮) (1434-1494). During the reign of the ninth Joseon monarch, King Seongjong (성종, 成宗) (1457-1494), Hamgyeong-do Province used to suffer from invasions by Jurchen warriors and other Manchurian tribes. The king ordered Heo Jong to build the Uiju Yeongmun gate and to protect the kingdom by dispatching soldiers to the region. Heo successfully protected the land and the residents were so touched they offered a special dish to him after thinking about how to express their gratitude. That dish was domimyeon. Heo then named the dish seunggi aktang.



** Ingredients
500 grams (small, 1 body) sea bream
0.8 grams (1/5 teaspoon) salt
0.1 grams ground white pepper
Broth:
150 grams beef (brisket, shank)
1.2 kilograms (6 cups) water

Seasoning Sauce One:
3 grams (1/2 teaspoon) clear soy sauce
1 gram (1/4 teaspoon) sesame oil
60 grams beef (top round, sirloin)

Seasoning Sauce Two:
6 grams (1 teaspoon) clear soy sauce
4.5 grams (1 teaspoon) minced green onion
2.8 grams (1/2 teaspoon) minced garlic
0.1 grams ground black pepper
1 gram (1/4 teaspoon) sesame oil

Dumplings:
20 grams minced beef
10 grams tofu

Seasoning Sauce Three:
2 grams (1/3 teaspoon) soy sauce
2.3 grams (1.2 teaspoon) minced green onion
1.8 grams (1/4 teaspoon) minced garlic
0.1 grams ground black pepper
2 grams (1/2 teaspoon) sesame oil

10 grams (2 each) brown oak mushrooms
1 gram stone mushrooms
2 grams Jew's ear mushrooms
20 grams (1 each) red pepper
40 grams potato starch noodles
20 grams crown daisy
3.5 grams (1 teaspoon) pine nuts
8 grams (4 each) gingko nuts
10 grams (2 each) shelled walnuts
15 grams watercress
180 grams (3 each) eggs
21 grams (3 tablespoons) wheat flour
26 grams (2 tablespoons) cooking oil
800 grams (4 cups) broth
9 grams (1/2 tablespoon) clear soy sauce
4 grams (1 teaspoon) salt



** Preparation
1. Remove the scales, fins and internal organs of the sea-bream and rinse the carcass. Slice fillets from both sides of the fish and cut them into 4-centimeter wide and 5-centimeter long slices. Sprinkle on the salt and ground white pepper. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Rub the fish to dry it, with a cotton cloth.
2. Using a cotton cloth, clean off the blood from the beef for the broth. Clean the blood of the top round, also using a cotton cloth. Shred it at intervals of about 0.3 centimeters, and season it with seasoning sauce two.
3. Again, clean away any blood on the minced beef with a cotton cloth. Wrap the tofu with a dry cotton cloth and squeeze out any water. Mash it together. Season the mixture of minced beef and tofu with seasoning sauce three and shape the dumplings into circles about 1.5 centimeters in diameter.
4. Soak the mushrooms in water for 1 hour. Remove the stems of the brown oak mushrooms and wipe away any water with a cotton cloth. Cut them into slices that are 2 centimeters wide and 4-5 centimeters long. Wash the stone mushrooms by rubbing them with a wet cotton cloth. Chop them finely and mix them with the egg white. Trim the Jew's ear mushrooms and separate them sheet by sheet.
5. Trim and wash the crown daisies. Halve the red peppers lengthwise and cut them into 2 centimeter wide and 4-5 centimeter long slices. Soak the potato starch noodles in water for 1 hour.
6. Remove the tops of the pine nuts and clean the nuts with a dry cotton cloth. Soak the walnuts in warm water and skin them, if necessary. Stir-fry the gingko nuts in their shells.
7. Fry the egg in a frying pan for the garnish. Also fry the stone mushrooms and watercress with a coating of flour and beaten eggs. Cut them into slices the same size as the brown oak mushroom slices.

** Recipe
1. Put the water and the beef in a pot and heat it for 7 minutes over high. When it boils, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the broth through a cotton cloth. Take out the beef, slice it into 2 centimeter wide, 1.5 centimeter long and 0.3 centimeter thick pieces. Season them with 40 grams of seasoning sauce one.
2. Coat the beef dumplings with the flour and beaten egg. Fry them for about 3 minutes over a medium heat.
3. Coat the slices of sea-bream with the flour and beaten egg. Preheat a frying pan with oil. Fry it over medium for 2 minutes. Turn it, and fry it for another 2 minutes.
4. Place the boiled and sliced beef, seasoned beef and potato starch noodles in the simmering pot. Add the sea bream head and bones to it. Place the fried sea bream, egg garnish, vegetables and nuts around the pot. Add the broth and boil it for 4 minutes over high. When it boils, season it with diluted clear soy sauce and salt. Bring it to a boil and finally put the crown daisies on top.



Managed by Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
In cooperation with the Institute of Traditional Korean Food (ITKF)
Recipe from “The Beauty of Korean Food: 100 Best-Loved Recipes”
arete@korea.kr