Hungover? Feeling Under the Weather? Dried Pollack Soup to the Rescue!

Growing up, I remember my dad and his friends eating the dried pollack soup (북엇국) often on weekends. I didn't know then, but it makes a lot of sense now that I know this is one of the go-to hangover items for Koreans... lol. I get it. It's warm, hearty, yet light and clear (because the protein is fish not meat), with just the right about of spicy kick to it. Koreans express this taste as 시원하다. This soup is a must in other occasions besides a morning-after-a-night-out. People make the soup during a ceremony of remembrance of their deceased family members. Also, this dish is popular when you feel under the weather.

It's surprisingly simple to make, but getting that "clean with a kick, aka 시원한" taste right is not that easy. Thankfully, Baek Jong-won's recipe nails the taste with a few simple steps.

1. Ingredients

• Dried pollack - approximately 50g of dried pollack (you can find the already-sliced ones from a Asian grocery store, often called 북어채 or 황태채. Picture reference here)

• Minced garlic - 1 TBSP

• Concentrated soy sauce, aka soy sauce for soups (국간장) - 2 TBSP (be careful not to use regular soy sauce, which is labeled as 진간장 or just 간장. Confused? This might help)

• Salted shrimp sauce (새우젓) - 2 TBSP

• Green onion - 2 stems, chopped

• Sesame oil

• Eggs - 2 - whisked

• Optional: If you want the spicy kick, you will need about 2 green Korean chili peppers (청양고추), finely chopped

• Optional: You can add 1/2 a pack of tofu, diced

1. Recipe

• Prep

• Chop green onion stems

• Mince the garlic

• Whisk eggs

• Cut dried pollack (if necessary). You can use kitchen scissors

• Optional: Finely chop Korean chili peppers

• Stir-fry Dried Pollack

• Place dried pollack into a medium mixing bowl

• Add 2 cups of water into the mixing bowl and soak the dried pollack completely in it for about 10 second

• This is to prevent the dried pollack to burn when stir-frying

• Place a medium-size pot on a stove then turn the heat up to medium-high

• Evenly coat the bottom of the pot with sesame oil

• Squeeze the water out of the pollack pieces then place them in a pot (do not throw the mixing bowl water away)

• Stir-fry the pollack in sesame oil for about 1 minute

• Cook

• Add water from the mixing bowl into the pot

• Add another 4 cups of fresh water into the pot

• Pro-tip: If you have 쌀뜨물 (cloudy water left after washing rice) that's better to use. Alternatively, you can also use 사골국물 (beef bone broth) instead if you want to make the soup extra hearty. Totally optional

• Add 1 TBSP of minced garlic

• Add 2 TBSP of concentrated soy sauce (aka soy sauce for soups, or 국간장)

• Add 2 TBSP of salted shrimp sauce (새우젓)

• Bring the pot to a boil

• Add whisked eggs, stirring well

• Optional: Chop about 2 green Korean chili peppers (청양고추) finely and add it into the pot if you'd like a spicy kick

• Optional: Chop about 1/2 a pack of tofu into small pieces and add it into the pot

• Bring the pot to a second boil

• Turn the heat off

That's it! Serve the soup in a bowl; if you'd like, you can sprinkle black peppers sparingly before serving. You can enjoy this soup with rice on the side, or by mixing the rice in the soup.

Extras:

• I added an extra ingredient, tofu, in the soup as the final step, although the video recipe didn't call for it. Tofu is one of the popular add-on ingredients, so feel free to add for yourself :)

• I prefer adding a little bit of Korean red chili pepper slices -- they add a nice kick to the dish, especially if you like it spicy.

• For a visual reference, check out this YouTube clip where Baek Jong-won creates this amazing dish. The clip should help you visualize the cooking process, even if you don't understand Korean.

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