{"id":14516,"date":"2019-08-06T13:16:19","date_gmt":"2019-08-06T20:16:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kimchimari.com\/?p=14516"},"modified":"2021-06-08T15:29:11","modified_gmt":"2021-06-08T22:29:11","slug":"anchovy-broth-korean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kimchimari.com\/anchovy-broth-korean\/","title":{"rendered":"Anchovy Broth for Korean Recipes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anchovy broth is the base stock for many Korean recipes from soups and stews and so it’s a must recipe in Korean Cooking. In this post, I share how to make 3 different variations of this wonderful broth including tips for making ahead.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Anchovy Broth Variations (From Left to Right -Cold Anchovy Broth, Simple Broth, Anchovy + Kelp Broth, Veg Anchovy Broth)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Anchovy broth (stock) or Myeolchi Yuksu (\uba78\uce58\uc721\uc218) is a very simple fish broth that adds a very clean and mild umami flavor to many Korean soup or stews. It may almost taste like nothing when you taste it by itself but it adds such a great depth of flavor to your dishes. Knowing how to make this broth was such a life changer for me as a newlywed cook because often times I didn’t have time to make the richer beef broth for soups and stews – which usually takes hours.<\/p>\n

As you can see simply from the colors, the differences in flavor between the 4 broths<\/strong> is that broth flavor gets more complex and strong as the color goes dark (from left to right). The number of ingredients added also increases with darker colors. Now you may wonder, why not just make and use the stronger tasting broth for everything??<\/p>\n

Well.. you can but I’m sure you heard of the term ‘less is more ‘… and I’m a firm believer that the same concept applies to cooking too. And because broth #4 has shrimps and shitake, they may add some unwanted flavor for some dishes. But you are welcome to try it and see how you like it.<\/p>\n

So, be sure to read below, which broth I recommend for which dishes. But first, a little bit about the ingredient.<\/p>\n

About Korean Dried Anchovies for Broth\/Stock (Gukmulyong Maleun Myeolchi\u00a0 \uad6d\ubb3c\uc6a9 \ub9c8\ub978 \uba78\uce58)<\/h2>\n

MEANING<\/strong> – Gukmul \uad6d\ubb3c literally means soup water<\/em> and Yong \uc6a9 means ‘for use in<\/em>‘. Maleun \ub9c8\ub978 means dried<\/em>.<\/p>\n

SCIENTIFIC NAME<\/strong> – Also called Japanese Anchovy<\/strong>, Engraulis Japonicus <\/i><\/strong>is a schooling fish of the family Engraulidae<\/a>. It’s commonly found in the Pacific Ocean near Korea, Japan, Philipines and Indonesia. It is said to grow as large as 12-13 cm.<\/p>\n

How Anchovies are Dried<\/b> – Did you know that freshly caught anchovies are boiled in huge cauldrons and<\/strong> then dried in sun? This link is from a Korean site but you can see the pictures of boiling and drying anchovies at the bottom of this post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

SIZES<\/strong> – Korean anchovies (Myeolchi \uba78\uce58) comes in all different sizes from tiny ones (1-2 cm) to big ones – as big or even bigger than 10-11 cm!! And for making broth, anchovies bigger than 6 cm<\/strong> are usually used. I tend to use the ones that are a bit smaller than the largest soup anchovies because personally, I don’t think the extra-large ones make as yummy a stock as do these.<\/p>\n

I had 2 different sizes in my fridge that I use for soup stock and here’s a picture of the dried anchovies for broth.<\/p>\n

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Different size dried anchovies for stock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The left ones are about 6 cm (2.3 in) long and the right ones are about\u00a0 7-8cm (3 in) long. I like to use the bigger ones on the right but the smaller ones on the left work fine too. You just need to use more if using the smaller ones.<\/p>\n

TIPS for Perfect Anchovy Broth<\/h2>\n

BUYING TIPS<\/strong> – If you can, buy ones that are from Korea if possible –\u00a0 they just produce a tastier stock. Buy ones that are less dry (not totally rock hard)<\/strong> which means they are fresher. BEST way is to actually taste the fish<\/strong> and see how it tastes. You will find that one actually taste better than the other. Remember, don’t eat the big anchovy whole including the guts<\/em> \ud83d\ude1d\ud83d\ude23- take out the guts before eating them because the gut part can taste pretty unpleasant.<\/p>\n

Why do you gut the anchovies before making stock?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The reason for gutting the anchovies is because it can leave an unpleasant bitter taste to the stock if there are lots of it. BUT – you actually don’t have to gut them if they are around the size that I use (above).<\/p>\n

Do you ALWAYS NEED to gut them?<\/h3>\n

NO. Most recipes will tell you to always gut the anchovies before making broth and take the head off. Taking the gut out is necessary only if the fish is really big<\/strong> (around 3 inch or bigger) otherwise, it’s totally fine to use the whole thing. I used to gut them before too because that’s what I’ve always been told but I found that it’s actually fine to use the whole thing when they are about the sizes in the picture above.<\/p>\n

How do you gut the Korean dried anchovies for anchovy broth?<\/h3>\n

Using both hands, hold the anchovies so the back is facing up. Split the anchovies in the middle (from the back) then it will split open in half, exposing the backbones and the gut. Take out the gut. As you do, the head will naturally fall off. Don’t discard the heads, SAVE the heads. <\/strong>My mom used to save all the heads and use it to make stock later. Use about the same volume of heads as when using whole anchovies.<\/p>\n

How to choose\/buy good quality Myeolchi<\/h3>\n