Anger Burger

I know what you’re thinking: where’s that crazy white girl who makes whack Asian food?  Well, I’m baaack!  And this time with a badly mangled Korean dish, just because I don’t want the Japanese to think I’m picking on them.

Months ago I asked what a particular banchan was at my local Korean BBQ joint, and I didn’t remember until very recently that the server answered what sounded like “Oh dang!”  I was like, “I know, right!  But what is it?”

Turns out, it’s fishcake.  A flat version of fishcake, which is then sliced into ribbons and fried in a very fragrant sauce.  In other words, Sunday Kibble.

First I had to learn to love the gochujang, a primary Korean condiment that looks totally terrifying (look at the package, it’s practically screaming to warn you not to put it in your mouth!) but is in fact pretty excellent.  It is a chili paste, but the Korean chillies are rather mild — don’t get me wrong, it’s a-spicy, but it looks way, way more spicy than it actually is.  More important is the flavor, a salty-sweet heat that confused me until I realized that I’m so used to heat being combined with vinegar in the U.S. and Mexico that I forgot that chillis aren’t actually astringent in and of themselves..  There’s also a mild fermented aspect to gochujang, which is quite pleasant and sort of malty.  It’s a really beguiling flavor, one I suspect I’ll be sneaking into anything that needs a bite.

Anyway, it goes into a sauce that you blend up quickly, though between you and me I put off this recipe just because I had to haul the blender out.  C’mon, I have to blend the sauce? I need a nap.

Okay, so, the fishcake.  Don’t be afraid of the fishcake.  First of all, it is 100% no different than fake crab.  It’s just whitefish reformed into a different shape.  Second of all, it’s a nice way to mix up your fish protein.  Third of all – look at it!  It’s weird!  That’s enough for me.  And for the record, at my local Korean market these were kept in the grocery case near the tofu, but you’re on your own at your Korean market.

Those get chopped up.  I’ve seen them sliced into big pieces, but I wanted mine a little smaller.

We now interrupt this program for a little bit of pickled-stuff porn.  Mmm, pickled stuff.   I ate this on the side.

The fishcake gets quickly fried with onions, carrots and the chili sauce that we made in the blender, and the whole thing takes less than 20 minutes from start to finish.  It isn’t exactly like the stuff I get at the Korean BBQ place, but it’s pretty damn good.  The only word of warning that I have is to open a window: after dinner I took a short walk and when I returned I realized we are that neighbor that stinks up the hallway with suspicious and unfamiliar odors.

Odaeng — Korean Fishcake
this recipe is from Hannaone’s Korean Recipes, which hasn’t been updated since late 2008 but is still a good resource for Korean cooking – her recipe actually didn’t call for any gochujang, but I’m certain the odaeng I’m used to having has gochujang in it, so I added it.  I made some other changes which are reflected here.

Sauce:
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. rice wine (I used mirin)
4 cloves garlic
1/2 inch knob of fresh ginger, peeled
2 tsp. sesame oil
1 heaping tsp. gochujang

Food:
2 sheets Korean fried fishcake, sliced
1/2 white onion, sliced thin
1 large carrot, sliced thin

• Put all ingredients for the sauce into a blender or food processor.  It will be fussy because it isn’t very much volume – if you’re feeling trustworthy, you should double the above recipe and then keep half in the fridge for use later in the week.  Anyway, just keep poking at the sauce with a spatula between blendings and you’ll get it pretty much smooth eventually.

• Start by sauteing the fishcake slices in a little oil until the pieces take on a golden brown color, about 3 or 4 minutes over medium heat.  Add the carrots, onion and sauce and cook, stirring, until the onions are softened but still have shape and the sauce seems to have absorbed into the fishcake, about 5 more minutes.

• Eat warm with rice or do as the Koreans do and eat as a cold snack.  It’s actually really good cold, especially with some fresh sliced cucumber.