One of the all-time great Korean side dishes can be whipped up in your home kitchen in under 20 minutes! Let's make a sweet and savory Korean Fish Cake Side Dish (eomuk bokkeum).
Korean fish cakes are made of finely ground fish and seasonings, and they have been a beloved part of Korean street food culture for centuries. And after a recent trip to Korea, it's a popular dish in my kitchen, as well!
While this eomuk bokkeum recipe is most often served as a savory side dish along with Korean BBQ, I make and serve this stir fry as a main dish. It's quick and easy and so satisfying.
Ingredients needed for this recipe:
Before we get to the step by step directions, a few notes about the ingredients:
Fish cake: Korean fish cake is found in the freezer section of your local Asian grocery store and it's usually shaped into thin sheets in a rectangular shape. You could also use this sweet and spicy sauce recipe over tofu sheets for a vegetarian stir-fry dish.
Sauce: our stir-fry sauce is a 4-ingredient wonder. Just soy sauce, gochujang, raw sugar and sesame oil. Substitute brown sugar or good old granulated white sugar for the raw sugar, if needed.
Full ingredient list and measurements included in the printable recipe card below.
Step by step instructions:
1. Prep fish cakes
To begin, boil a pot of water and then remove from heat. Drop the fish cakes into the water and stir for about 30 seconds, removing excess oil from the surface and also softening the sheets. Pull the fish cakes from the water and dry well with paper towels or an absorbent tea towel.
Next, slice the fish cakes into strips about 1 inch wide and 2 inches long.
2. Prep ingredients
Thinly slice the onion, red bell pepper, green bell pepper and garlic. Cut scallions into 1-inch long pieces.
3. Make sauce
Before starting the stir-fry, make the sauce. Combine soy sauce, gochujang, sugar and sesame oil in a small bowl. Stir well to combine and set aside.
4. Stir fry all ingredients
Finally, start your wok or large skillet over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of neutral oil (such as canola, avocado oil or vegetable oil) to the frying pan, along with thinly sliced onion and bell pepper. Sauté for about 4 minutes, until the green and red peppers and onions are fragrant and softened a bit, but still have a little bite.
Add garlic and toss, cooking for another minute. Add thin strips of fish cakes and scallions, tossing and frying another minute.
Finally, add the sauce, coating the ingredients in the glaze and cooking until the fish cakes and veggies absorb the flavorful sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning.
5. Serve and enjoy
Top with sesame seeds and additional scallions or chives. Serve with kimchi and steamed white rice.
FAQs and Serving Suggestions:
Korean fish cake stir fry is a complimentary side dish for lots of Korean recipes. But my favorite way to serve this dish is as an entree over steamed rice with a big helping of kimchi. It's a ridiculously delicious and fast way to get dinner on the table and there's literally never any leftovers. If you're looking for a buffet experience, add a Veggie Pancake with Shrimp and throw in some Din Tai Fung Cucumber Salad. The cucumbers aren't Korean, but add beautiful and complimentary flavors.
Korean fish cake, or eomuk/odeng, is a traditional Korean snack made from finely ground white fish mixed with starch, seasonings, and sometimes other seafood ingredients. The mixture is then shaped into sheets and fried until golden. These staples of nearly every Korean kitchen are the perfect balance of savory, umami flavors and a slightly bouncy texture that makes them so addictive and enjoyable.
The level of spiciness in Korean fish cake can vary depending on the recipe. For this gochujang sauce recipe, you'll have a low-to-medium level of heat. If you're sensitive to spice, start with half the gochujang, then taste the sauce before adding to your pan and determine if you want more heat.
Traditional Korean fish cake is typically made with some kind of wheat or starch, which may contain gluten. However, some variations might use gluten-free starch or other substitutes. If you have gluten sensitivities or allergies, check your labels before buying the fish cake (Google Translate app can help with reading labels!)
To store leftover fish cake stir fry, keep the fish cakes in sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat, warm gently over medium heat in a skillet until hot.
Spicy Korean Fish Cake Stir Fry (Eomuk Bokkeum)
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 (main dish) 1x
Ingredients
12 ounces Korean fish cake sheets (6 thin sheets)
1 cup mixed red and green bell pepper, julienned
½ cup yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
½ cup scallions, sliced into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon neutral oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Sauce:
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon gochujang
1 tablespoon raw sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
Instructions
- To begin, boil a pot of water and remove from heat. Drop the fish cakes into the water and stir for about 30 seconds, removing surface oil and softening the sheets.
- Next, remove the fish cakes and dry them well, then slice into strips about 1 inch wide and 2 inches long. Thinly slice the onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cut scallions into 1-inch long pieces.
- Before starting the stir-fry, make the sauce. Combine soy sauce, gochujang, sugar and sesame oil in a small bowl. Stir well to combine and set aside.
- Finally, start your wok or large skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of neutral oil, along with thinly sliced onion and bell pepper. Saute for about 4 minutes. Add garlic and toss, cooking for another minute. Add strips of fish cakes and scallions, tossing and frying another minute. Add the sauce, coating the ingredients and cooking until the fish cakes and veggies absorb the flavorful sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Top with sesame seeds and more scallions or chives. Serve with kimchi and steamed white rice.
Notes
Find Korean fish cake sheets at your local Korean market (in the freezer section) or at some more general Asian markets.
For a non-spicy version of this recipe, reduce or eliminate the gochujang. While this is a spicy fish cake stir fry, it is a pretty mild spice. I encourage you to taste the sauce and add more gochujang for a spicy sauce, if desired.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Dinner, Lunch, Side
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Asian, Korean
Amelia
Had no idea this was so easy to make! Loved finding the ingredients at the local asian market and making it at home. Thanks for the recipe! Will add it to our regular rotation.
Christina Jolam
Love hearing this, Amelia! Thanks for coming back to leave a positive review!