By Honorary Reporter Myrtle Iris S. Villaraza from Philippines

Photos = Myrtle Iris S. Villaraza

What food do you crave when the weather is cold? In the Philippines, the weather can get chilly from December to January, and sometimes even in February.

Eomukguk (Korean fish cake soup) is often served as street food in Korea at a pojangmacha (street kiosk), with skewered fish cakes being cooked in clear broth. The vendor serves the food with the soup in a separate cup. The fish cake and broth form a deliciously warm combination.

I decided to try making eomukguk at home using a recipe from the website Korean Bapsang. I got dried anchovies for the broth, cut the fish cake into small pieces, sliced the radish into thin and small rectangles, minced garlic and chopped green onions. Then I made anchovy broth by following the recipe. I didn't have large anchovies so I used smaller ones available at the time. 

The process was easy. I boiled the anchovies in water for around 30 minutes, removed the fish by straining and set the broth aside. Next, I boiled water and put the fish cake in for a few seconds. The recipe said quickly blanching the fish cake in boiling water removes extra oil. Afterwards, I took the broth I prepared earlier, put the radish slices in and boiled them until soft. I added garlic, soy sauce, salt and pepper then the fish cake and green onions. After boiling the soup for five minutes, my first eomukguk was done. 

Making eomukguk was simple and took me about an hour. (Myrtle Iris S. Villaraza)

I was happy with the results. I used ingredients in the Philippines but my dish tasted similar to the eomukguk I used to have in Korea. My family also enjoyed it, so I'll definitely make the dish again. And when we visit Korea together someday, I'll take them to a pojangmacha so they can get the authentic eomukguk experience.

My first attempt at making eomukguk ended up like this. (Myrtle Iris S. Villaraza)

enny0611@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.