Many Canadians, perhaps even most Canadians, have never eaten raw fish. However, maki, nigiri, and sashimi sushi is available in Japanese restaurants in Canada. As a result, some Canadians enjoy eating raw fish very much, and they generally associate this food with Japanese cuisine. But raw fish is a popular food in Korea as well.
A uniquely Korean raw fish dish is Pohang mul hoe (approximately pronounced "Pohang mool hway", "포항 물회" in Korean). In Korean, "mul" ("물") is water and "hoe" ("회") is sliced raw fish. Knowing this, one may assume that water and raw fish are the main constituents of Pohang mul hoe. However, these ingredients are accompanied by a large quantity of vegetables and fruit, including shredded cucumber, dry sea weed, chopped cabbage, and long slices of Asian pear. Furthermore, Pohang mul hoe is usually served with a number of vegetable side dishes, including cabbage kimchi, radish kimchi, preserved red beans, boiled peanuts, pickled sea weed, and sliced tofu. Thus, there are a lot more vegetables in Pohang mul hoe than in typical servings of Japanese sushi.
Pohang mul hoe is served in a metal bowl, the fish presented on a beautiful mound of mixed vegetables and topped with dry seaweed. It must be seasoned and watered before it is eaten. We had Pohang mul hoe at a restaurant in the Daeyeon district of Busan, where recommendations for seasoning the mul hoe, written in Korean of course, are laminated onto the tables. A restaurant patron sitting near to us offered to help season our mul hoe. However, one of us had experienced mul hoe before, having been introduced to it by a Korean colleague, and so we seasoned it in our own way. The recommended seasoning for Pohang mul hoe includes one table spoon of brown sugar, three table spoons of apple vinegar, at least one table spoon of spicy red pepper paste, and approximately half a cup of water. We prefer to have it with less sugar, and only one or two table spoons of the red pepper paste depending on how spicy we feel like making it.
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| The sign advertising the restaurant where we had Pohang mul hoe, in Daeyeon-dong, Busan. |
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| Live fish in aquariums in front of the restaurant. |
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| Unseasoned Pohang mul hoe, just brought to us by our server. |
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| The instructions for seasoning the Pohang mul hoe. |
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| Pohang mul hoe, seasoned with sugar, vinegar, red pepper paste and water. |
A serving of mul hoe is a substantial quantity of food, but in addition to the previously described vegetable side dishes, an order of Pohang mul hoe also includes a serving of hot fish soup. This soup contains what remains of the fish with which the mul hoe was made, as well as some sliced radish, chopped leaks and tofu cubes. The broth consists of boiled fish and red pepper paste.
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| The hot fish soup that accompanies the Pohang mul hoe. |
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| Yup. There was a fish head in there. |
We appreciate Pohang mul hoe for many reasons. First of all, seasoning the mul hoe prior to eating it is quite fun, and provides an opportunity for personalizing its taste.
Secondly, Pohang mul hoe is absolutely delicious! The cool crunchiness of the raw vegetables provides a delectable complement to the soft subtle flavour of the raw fish. The hot fish soup that accompanies the mul hoe is also delicious. Though we were surprised to find that it contained fish parts that we were not familiar with, including a complete fish head, the more adventurous one of us sought to eat as much of the fish as he possibly could. To separate the meat from the bones, he often resorted to using his fingers. In contrast, the Koreans eating next to us skillfully did so using their chop sticks. The more squeamish one of us enjoyed the rich flavours of the soup, but ate mostly the tofu and the vegetables, opting to avoid the fish head.
Thirdly, Pohang mul hoe is made with very fresh ingredients. This is particularly true in the late autumn, when the vegetables are recently harvested and therefore taste their absolute best. Furthermore, until shortly before it is to be eaten, the fish is stored alive in aquariums in front of the restaurant.
Fourthly, Pohang mul hoe is a health nut's dream! The vegetables that it contains are extra nutritious, as they are raw. In addition, fish is perhaps the healthiest meat. As a result, we were convinced that our bodies were thanking us for taking care of them so well after we ate mul hoe.
Finally, Pohang mul hoe is an example of a dish that originated in a particular region of Korea, and that efficiently makes use of the local food resources that are present in that region. Pohang is a city located on the southeastern coast of the Korean peninsula. It is perhaps best known as the home of the Pohang Iron and Steel Company (POSCO), now one of the world's largest multinational steel corporations. But Pohang is also a fishing community, so naturally, there is a lot of fish available there. Most of the year, Pohang is very warm. Before the advent of refrigerators, it was probably very difficult to preserve meat in Pohang, especially during the summer. Keeping them alive in tanks would have been an effective way to preserve fish prior to the availability of refrigerators in Pohang. This practice continues to this day.
If you are visiting Korea, and want to try Pohang mul hoe, we recommend that you ask someone to recommend you a location. In many Korean cities, there are a number of Pohang mul hoe locations. Often, they look very similar, but the quality and taste of the food is not consistent between them. For instance, in Busan, there is a Pohang mul hoe restaurant in Daeyeon-dong and another in Danggam-dong. We prefer the Daeyeon location. If you cannot find someone to recommend you a location, you should search for a Pohang mul hoe restaurant that is full of Korean customers. A busy restaurant is likely better than an empty one.
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| The Pohang mul hoe restaurant in Daeyeon-dong, Busan. |
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| The Pohang mul hoe restaurant in Danggam-dong, Busan. |
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