By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Victoria Shangina from Russia
Photos = Victoria Shangina

People from all around the world have visited the Pyeongchang Olympics to see the incredible performance of the athletes, but what can can do in Pyeongchang between the Olympics and Paralympics, and more importantly, what can you taste? Today, I want to talk about Pyeongchang rainbow trout.

The Pyeongchang area is rich with flavors. One of the special flavor is the taste of fresh fish. To taste it, I came all way to the southern Pyeongchang, to the Mitan-myeon (미탄면) trout farm.

The trout farm I visited is the biggest in the area. It has special water tanks separated from each other for fish of different ages. Every tank is equipped with a feeding machine that automatically spreads fish food. As it can't do it all, however, the fish farm owner still has to do some work the old way, with a scoop.



There's a wrong and and right way to feed fish with a scoop. The proper way is to use granules and give them maximum spread and distribution.

I never saw so many fish in one place at the same time.

The owner gave us a tour around his beautiful farm. During the tour, I learned interesting facts about trout and about fishery more generally.

I didn't know that it takes 15 months for fish to grow from egg to a full-grown adult. During the growing process, fish need fresh, clean and cold water. That is why any environmental pollution is very dangerous for the fish business. This farm specifically is equipped with water filters, even though the farm is situated in a mountainous area rich with natural springs and fresh water from the rivers and streams.

The winter, when the Olympics took place, is the best season to eat trout, as it tastes the best in the wintertime.

As the owner says, all seasons are hard for fish production. In the winter, the mountain area of Pyeongchang may be very cold and the fish tanks may freeze. This is very dangerous for fish, as they may die. That's why the owner and his workers have to clean the fish tanks from ice.

The summer is also a hard time. In the summer, Pyeonchang may be hot with summer rains. Water sources dry out and the fish die. Also, water can become too hot for the fish and the fish may die.

To make fish production a little easier, fish farms collaborate. Some farms produce only fish eggs and let them become small fish, while others grow the small fishes into full-grown adults.

While the fish are growing, they are selected and divided by size. To do this, the owner has to spend over two hours a day in the cold water wearing a special costume to set up a fence and to select the fish that are too big or too small.



This fish farm doesn't only have fish tanks. The tanks are surrounded by a garden with nice Europe-style decorations, with streams and tables where you can sit and enjoy the day. Of course, it's also a nice place to take amazing pictures. The place itself is very beautiful. It's surrounded by mountains and the relaxing scenery of fields.

There's a restaurant at the fish farm where you can taste the freshest trout you've ever had. It serves all variety of Korean fish dishes, plus the restaurant's chef-manager, the owner's wife, has a team that plans special dishes just for non-Koreans. These dishes are less spicy and resemble Italian food.

I tried the vegetable mixed rice topped with trout (곤드레송어덮밥), the trout-stuffed dumplings (송어만두), the saw sliced trout (송어회), deep fried trout (송어튀김) and spicy trout stew (매운탕).

All the dishes were amazingly fresh and delicious.





There's a special way in which to eat raw sliced trout. You need to mix fresh vegetables, wild sesame oil, soy bean powder, minced garlic and red pepper sauce. It tastes so good. The soy bean powder really makes the whole dish.

The biggest surprise for me were the trout-stuffed dumplings. The sauce for the dumplings was made from coconut milk, and the dumplings themselves were topped with young radish and dried coconut. I never thought that fish and coconut could go so well together.

The whole experience at the fish farm was totally worth it.

wisdom117@korea.kr

* This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.