Among the abundance of Korean salads, pickled herring occupies a special place. Like many other oriental delicacies, this appetizer is prepared using the pickling process . Korean herring, the recipe for which contains vinegar or lemon juice, can be stored in the refrigerator for a long time. Cooking this delicious snack is very simple, and the process takes very little time. Let's try to understand all the subtleties.
Herring heh - a combination of tastes and aromas
In this recipe several tastes are found and complement each other perfectly: spicy, sour, salty, sweet. The dish is complemented by a variety of fragrant spices, so beloved by the peoples of the Far East and often used in many traditional cuisines. And our compatriots often use in cooking and fresh herbs. This can not be called an element of the classic recipe, but one thing is clear - it does not harm the dish at all.
Choose a fish
Before you cook herring in Korean, we’ll go to the fish store and find there fresh-frozen or chilled carcasses. Both small and larger fatty varieties are suitable. You can use the Danube, Iwashi, and any other breed of herring. The fish should have a silvery skin, clear eyes, a characteristic mild odor.
Herring Cleaning Process
Korean herring, the recipe of which is designed for raw fish, requires preliminary preparation. The process may seem complicated, but in fact, peeling herring can be quite quick and easy. And in this recipe, preparing fish is a very important point, because nobody wants to suddenly find a sharp bone in a delicate fragrant piece.
First of all, you need to cut off the head and remove the skin.
The next step is to cleanse the guts. For this, the abdomen must be cut to the rear fin and open. The lower part, on which hard plates grow, is better to cut. Korean herring can be cooked together with caviar or milk.
With a sharp knife we cut fish from the back to the spine. Further actions are best done with your hands. Pressing the pulp to the ribs with your fingers, carefully pull out the spine. Using a fork, you can remove other bones from the fillet.
Prepared halves of herring, as well as milk or caviar, are ready for further cooking.
Product proportions
Korean herring, the recipe of which is often supplemented with onions, carrots, celery and many other vegetables, can be cooked without strictly following any norms. But adhere to medium proportions is still worth it.
For pickling 2 large herrings (about 800 g) you will need a dessert spoon of salt, a teaspoon of sugar, a pinch of pepper, a tablespoon of vinegar and about 40 grams of vegetable oil. Korean herring with carrots is very tasty. And how much to put it, tell your own intuition and culinary preferences. You can get by with one small carrot.
Recipe
It is convenient to pickle herring right away in the same bowl in which it will be stored in the refrigerator. An ordinary glass jar, plastic or ceramic sudok will do. Thin pieces are laid in layers, sprinkled with a mixture of salt, sugar and pepper. There, they add onion, chopped in rings or half rings, grated carrots on a Korean grater. Fish should be laid as tightly as possible. Vegetable oil and vinegar are mixed and mixed with fish. If the liquid does not cover the pieces completely, you can add a little water.
We bring originality! Using Extra Ingredients
Thickness and a special aroma are added to this recipe by a spoonful of good tomato sauce. If it’s summer in the yard and Korean herring is cooked in the kitchen, the recipe can be supplemented with slices of bell pepper, fried eggplant slices, radish, leek, spinach.
From spices to fragrant Korean snacks, star anise, cloves, nutmeg, paprika, marjoram, a mixture of peppers, bay leaf are suitable.
Pickling duration
In order for the pieces to be completely saturated, six to eight hours are enough. For complete confidence in the readiness, you can leave herring in Korean in a marinade for the night.
Shortly before serving, it is advisable to try the dish on salt. If necessary, you can add it. Otherwise, if the fish is too salty, you just need to dilute the marinade with oil or water. The same applies to the amount of vinegar. If the proportions of a certain ingredient are not chosen very accurately, this can still be fixed at the middle stage of pickling. The taste of the dish is best revealed in a day.
Korean Herring Serving
Usually this appetizer is served with simple side dishes. It is combined with mashed potatoes, jacket potatoes, rice and buckwheat porridge. Sometimes vegetables are served as a garnish for fish "heh": vinaigrette, stew, sauté. You can also experiment with legumes by preparing, for example, chickpeas or pea puree.
Herring is often prepared especially for sandwiches, and then they are spread on buttered slices of Borodino bread, white loaf, bruschetta. Korean herring can be a filling for baskets, pancakes, pita rolls.
If this dish is served as an independent snack, it is laid out in a salad bowl, and a serving spoon is served to each. Korean herring is eaten with special snack forks.
This dish goes well with other oriental salads, homemade pickles, pickled mushrooms, salads from seasonal vegetables.